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How to choose an AI SEO agency (and what to ask before you sign)

Short version: pick the one that shows you the exact change before it goes live, asks for the access it needs to make it, and judges results against your own Search Console data. Walk away from anyone who guarantees rankings, buys links, or won't say who touches your site. Last updated 6 October 2026.

"AI SEO" gets used for two different things. Some agencies mean using AI tools to do ordinary SEO faster. Others mean getting your business named in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers (also called AEO or GEO). Most good ones now do both, so the first question is which one you are buying. The rest of this page is a checklist you can take into any sales call, ours included.

1. What access will they need, and why?

Real SEO work needs real access. Expect to be asked for:

• Google Search Console (and Bing Webmaster Tools if you use it). This is where your clicks, impressions and rankings actually live. Read access is enough for measuring; ask what else they want and why.
• Your site's code or CMS. Fixing titles, redirects, internal links, schema and page speed means changing the site. An agency with no way to change it can only send you a list.
• Analytics or sales data, so results can be judged on customers and revenue, not only traffic.

Ask where each credential is stored, who can see it, and how you revoke it. Give the least access that does the job, and use accounts you can remove.

Where Dinkum stands: we need your site's code. Dinkum works by opening pull requests against your repository, so a git-hosted site (GitHub) is a requirement. If yours isn't on GitHub, we'll migrate it for you first, keeping every URL, redirect and page title. We also need Search Console access, a Slack channel, and about ten minutes a day to approve a change.

2. What does each deliverable look like?

"Content", "technical fixes" and "link building" are labels, not deliverables. Ask to see a real example of each one, and what you'd receive on day 1, week 1 and month 1.

• A fix: the specific page, what was wrong, the before and after, and the evidence it mattered (for example, a page at position 11 with a title that isn't earning clicks).
• A new page: the search it targets, why you can win it, and what it says that the pages already ranking don't.
• An AI-answer change: the question buyers ask an AI tool, what the tool says today, and the page you'll change so it can say something accurate.
• A report: one that says what changed on your site, not only what moved in a third-party rank tracker.

A 40-page audit is not a deliverable. A change on your site is.

3. How are changes approved?

Somebody is going to edit pages that customers read. You should know exactly how that works.

• Is every change shown to you before it goes live, or only listed afterwards?
• Can you say no, and what happens next?
• Which parts of the site are off limits (checkout, logins, anything with customer data)?
• Can you undo a change? With version control, every change is a record you can revert.
• Who checks that claims on your pages (prices, features, limits) are true?

Where Dinkum stands: each change arrives as a pull request with its reasoning attached. A second AI reviews it, and pages are rendered on desktop and phone before you see it. You approve it, ask for changes, or close it. Nothing reaches your live site until you say so.

4. How will results be judged?

SEO is slow, so a vague answer here is how retainers drift on for a year. Ask:

• What is the baseline, and who measures it? It should be your Search Console data, not a figure only they can see.
• When is each change judged, and against what? A change should be compared with the rest of the site over the same period, so a seasonal bump isn't claimed as a win.
• What happens to a change that doesn't work?
• Do they track AI answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI answers) with a fixed set of questions, or just show you one screenshot?

Where Dinkum stands: every change is judged at 14 and 28 days against the rest of the site, and we track Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI answers. Search moves slowly: a single change usually shows up in two to four weeks, and traffic compounds over months.

5. Red flags

• Guaranteed rankings, traffic or AI citations. Nobody controls Google or an AI model, and Google's own guidance warns against anyone who guarantees a #1 ranking.
• Link buying or "private blog networks". Paid links that pass ranking signals break Google's spam policies and can get a site demoted.
• No access to the site, but promises of fixes. Either someone on your team will do the work, or it won't be done. Ask which.
• No named person or process for who changes what.
• Reports built from vanity numbers, such as keywords ranked or "domain authority", with no tie to clicks or customers.
• Invented proof. Case studies with no client name or numbers you can't check. Ask for something you can verify.
• Bulk pages with the keyword swapped. Templated pages are what Google's spam updates target.
• Long lock-in with ownership of content or tooling staying with them. Ask what you keep if you stop.

Three ways to buy: agency, consultant, managed service

The right model depends on who on your side will do the work. These are typical patterns, not a statement about any one company; check each provider's own terms.

Dinkum is the managed service in this table, so weigh our view accordingly. The questions above apply to us as much as to anyone.

A short list to take to the call

1. What access do you need, and what's the minimum?
2. Show me a real change from start to finish.
3. Where do I approve changes, and can I refuse one?
4. How and when do you judge whether a change worked?
5. What do I keep if I leave?
6. Do you track what AI tools say about us, and how?
7. What won't you do? (A good answer includes link buying and guarantees.)

Questions

Do I need an AI SEO agency, or is regular SEO enough?

The basics are the same: a site Google can read, pages that answer real searches, and claims that are true. AI answers add a second job: making sure tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity find accurate information about you on pages they trust. Most providers now cover both.

How long before I see results?

Expect work shipped in the first week. Search rankings usually respond in two to four weeks per change, and the gains build over months. Treat any promise of faster as a red flag.

Can an agency work on my site without access to the code?

It can advise, and it can edit through a CMS login if your site has one. It can't fix redirects, schema, speed or templates it can't reach. Dinkum needs the code because it works through pull requests.