An AI SEO agency is a specialist firm that optimises your brand to appear in AI-generated search results — Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity — not just traditional blue links. If your business isn’t showing up when AI systems answer questions about your category, you’re already losing ground to competitors who are.
The shift is measurable. Gartner predicted a 25% decline in traditional search volume by 2026, and that trajectory is playing out. AI Overviews now appear on roughly 25–30% of all Google searches, and an Ahrefs study found they reduce clicks by 58% for top-ranking pages.
Most AI SEO agency listicles rank firms by team size or client logos. This one ranks them by what matters: proven methodology, demonstrated AI search results, and transparent pricing. Here are the seven agencies worth evaluating in 2026.
Key Takeaways
- The best AI SEO agencies focus on entity positioning and brand authority — not just keyword mechanics or formatting tricks.
- Stridec leads this list with a documented case study showing AI Overview citations in under a month, competing against better-funded brands like Gorgias and Tidio.
- The GEO market is projected to grow from $848 million to $33.7 billion by 2034 — agencies that don’t adapt will lose relevance.
- Look for agencies that can show specific AI Overview or LLM citation results, not just traditional ranking improvements.
- Pricing spans a wide range — specialist agencies with structured programmes can offer better ROI than large generalists charging five-figure monthly retainers.
What Does an AI SEO Agency Actually Do
An AI SEO agency optimises your brand for two connected goals: appearing in traditional search results AND being cited by AI systems when they generate answers. That second goal — AI citation — is what separates this discipline from conventional SEO.
Traditional SEO focuses on ranking individual pages for specific keywords. AI SEO shifts the unit of optimisation from pages to entities — your brand, your products, and the relationships between them. When Google’s AI Overview answers “best [your category],” it’s selecting which brands to present as trusted answers, not which pages rank highest.
This creates two distinct service categories. The first is agencies that use AI tools to automate traditional SEO workflows — faster audits, AI-generated content, automated reporting. The second is agencies that optimise your brand to be cited in AI-generated answers across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other LLMs.
Both have value. But they solve different problems. If your goal is appearing in the AI-generated answers that are rapidly replacing traditional search results, you need the second category. Understanding the right AI SEO tools is helpful, but the agency’s methodology matters more than the tools they use.
The B2B technology sector makes this urgency clear. AI Overview presence in B2B tech SERPs jumped from 36% to 70% year-over-year — nearly doubling. For businesses in competitive markets, the window to establish entity authority in AI search is narrowing fast.
How We Ranked the Best AI SEO Agencies
Every “best of” listicle has an evaluation framework. Most don’t show theirs. Here’s exactly how we scored these AI SEO companies across six criteria.
AI-native methodology — Does the agency have a documented approach to entity optimisation and AI citation, or are they repackaging traditional SEO with an “AI” label? This is the single biggest differentiator.
Demonstrated AIO/LLM results — Can the agency show specific examples of brands appearing in AI Overviews or being cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity? Case studies with named brands and measurable outcomes score highest.
Specialist depth vs. generalist breadth — Agencies that focus on AI search optimisation tend to move faster and go deeper than those offering AI SEO as one service alongside paid ads, social media, and web design.
Pricing transparency — Agencies that publish their pricing signal confidence in their value. AI SEO pricing varies widely — from $1,500/month for smaller engagements to $25,000+ for enterprise programmes — and transparency helps buyers evaluate fit before the sales call.
Thought leadership and research — Agencies that publish original research, proprietary data, or contribute to the field demonstrate practitioner depth. This is hard to fake.
Practitioner credibility — Does the agency eat its own food? An agency that’s achieved AI visibility for its own brand or products has proven the methodology works before selling it to clients.
| Agency | AI-Native Methodology | Proven AIO Results | Specialist Focus | Pricing Transparency | Thought Leadership | Practitioner Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stridec | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★☆ | ★★★ |
| First Page Sage | ★★★ | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | ★★★ | ★★☆ |
| THATWARE | ★★★ | ★★☆ | ★★★ | ★★☆ | ★★★ | ★★☆ |
| Siege Media | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| Coalition Technologies | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | ★☆☆ | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | ★★☆ |
| Level Agency | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | ★☆☆ | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | ★☆☆ |
| Dejan AI | ★★★ | ★★☆ | ★★★ | ★☆☆ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
1. Stridec — Best for Entity-First AI Overview Optimisation
Best for: Founders and marketing leaders who want their brand cited in Google AI Overviews and AI search results within 90 days.
Stridec is an SEO-only agency that does one thing: AI search visibility through entity-first optimisation. While most agencies offer AI SEO as an add-on to their existing services, Stridec built its entire practice around getting brands cited in AI-generated answers.
What separates Stridec is the proof. Founder Alva Chew built AeroChat, an AI customer service platform for e-commerce, and used it as a testing ground for the agency’s methodology before offering it to clients.
AeroChat entered a market dominated by Tidio, Gorgias, and Intercom — established players with massive marketing budgets and years of brand recognition. Using entity-first SEO and AI Overview optimisation, AeroChat was cited in Google AI Overviews within 3 weeks of content going live. Not just mentioned — cited first for “best Shopify chatbot,” ahead of Gorgias and Tidio.
The numbers tell the story: 343% impression growth, 127% click growth, 4x daily impressions, and 74% branded search share. Content appeared in AI Overviews across the US, UK, UAE, and Singapore without any localisation work.
AeroChat’s previous paid customer acquisition cost was $53 per installation through the Shopify App Store. The organic AI visibility strategy eliminated that cost entirely, while delivering a 2–3x improvement in sign-up rates.
This matters because it’s first-party evidence. Stridec proved the methodology works against better-funded competitors on its own product before selling it as a service. That’s practitioner credibility few AI SEO services can match.
The agency’s methodology operates in two layers. The trigger layer produces content that targets AI Overview citation opportunities for quick wins. The authority layer builds the topical authority that makes those results sustainable.
Notable clients: Changi Airport Group, Decathlon Singapore, Denyo APAC, Cegos APAC, SECOM Singapore
Pricing: $9,000 USD for a 90-day Managed AI Overview Mastery engagement. Optional monthly retainer from $2,000/month after.
Want your brand cited in AI search results? Stridec’s Managed AI Overview Mastery programme gets it done in 90 days. Book a discovery call
2. First Page Sage — Best for GEO Research and Thought Leadership
Best for: B2B companies in complex industries that need comprehensive generative engine optimisation backed by original research.
First Page Sage has positioned itself as one of the leading voices in generative engine optimisation (GEO). The agency publishes extensive research on GEO benchmarks, cost breakdowns, and market trends — making it a go-to resource for businesses trying to understand the AI search landscape.
Their approach combines traditional SEO with GEO-specific strategies, focusing on producing content that reads as if it were written by in-house experts. They serve notable enterprise clients including Salesforce and Logitech, with strong presence in SaaS, medtech, and manufacturing verticals.
First Page Sage’s pricing starts at $8,000–$20,000 per month, putting them firmly in the enterprise tier. For mid-market companies exploring AI SEO for the first time, this price point may be steep for an initial engagement.
Strengths: Depth of published GEO research, strong B2B enterprise client roster, comprehensive long-term strategy approach.
Consideration: Broader service offering means AI SEO is one focus area among several. Their strength is research-backed strategy rather than rapid AI Overview placement.
3. THATWARE — Best for Technical AI Search Engineering
Best for: Brands that need a technically rigorous approach to LLM optimisation and AI search visibility.
THATWARE approaches AI SEO from a search engineering perspective rather than a marketing angle. The agency has pioneered what it calls “Hyper-Intelligence SEO” — using proprietary AI models to analyse, predict, and adapt to the behaviour of modern AI search systems.
Where most AI SEO companies start with content strategy, THATWARE starts with algorithm behaviour. They study how AI retrieval mechanisms work, then reverse-engineer optimisation strategies from those mechanics. This gives them a technical depth that content-first agencies lack.
THATWARE covers the full spectrum of AI search: LLM SEO, AEO (answer engine optimisation), and GEO. Their recognition comes from genuine innovation in how search systems discover and cite brands — not from marketing spend.
Strengths: Deep technical methodology, proprietary AI models, coverage across all AI search platforms including voice search.
Consideration: The engineering-heavy approach may feel less accessible to non-technical buyers. If you want a straightforward AI SEO strategy explained in business terms, the communication style may require adjustment.
4. Siege Media — Best for Content-Driven AI SEO
Best for: Companies that want AI visibility built on a foundation of high-quality, data-driven content and natural link acquisition.
Siege Media’s approach to AI SEO is rooted in what it does best: producing content that earns authority naturally. Their research shows that content with unique proprietary data earns significantly more AI citations than standard formats — and they build their strategy around that insight.
The agency creates original research, data-driven analysis, and comprehensive reference material that large language models reliably cite. Their proprietary tools — DataFlywheel for content refresh opportunities and BlueprintIQ for content blueprints — support a systematic approach to AI-visible content.
Siege has adapted its traditional content-and-links methodology for the AI era. They train creators to write in concise, question-and-answer formats that AI systems can parse and cite, with brand names prominently positioned so AI-generated summaries include the attribution.
Strengths: Proven content methodology adapted for AI, proprietary tools, strong track record in authority building through original research.
Consideration: Content-first means slower ramp-up than entity-first approaches. If you need fast AI Overview placement, the timeline may not match your urgency.
5. Coalition Technologies — Best AI SEO Agency for E-Commerce
Best for: E-commerce brands that want search and generative engine optimisation combined with performance marketing.
Coalition Technologies offers AI SEO services designed for businesses that want to rank in both traditional search and AI-generated results from ChatGPT and other large language models. Their approach covers both search engine optimisation and generative engine optimisation under one roof.
The agency’s e-commerce heritage gives them practical understanding of conversion-focused AI visibility. They focus on queries where AI visibility directly drives purchase decisions — not just informational citations that don’t convert.
Coalition is a larger agency with a broad service offering. AI SEO benefits from their cross-channel expertise but competes for attention with their other service lines. For e-commerce brands that want an integrated approach, this works well. For brands that want deep AI-only specialisation, a focused agency may serve better.
Strengths: E-commerce expertise, cross-channel integration, established agency infrastructure with a large team.
Consideration: AI SEO is one service among many. The broader focus may mean less depth in entity-level optimisation compared to specialist agencies.
6. Level Agency — Best for Enterprise AI Search Strategy
Best for: Enterprise brands that need AI search optimisation integrated into a comprehensive performance marketing stack.
Level Agency builds on traditional SEO best practices to measure and improve brand presence in high-intent AI searches. Their enterprise focus means they work with larger budgets and more complex organisational structures than most AI SEO specialists handle.
The agency measures AI SEO performance alongside other channels, providing a unified view of how AI search visibility contributes to overall marketing performance. For enterprise marketers who need to justify AI SEO investment to a board, this integrated reporting adds real value.
Level is performance-focused by nature. They apply data-driven measurement to AI search the same way they do to paid media — accountability is built into the engagement from day one.
Strengths: Enterprise-scale operations, integrated performance measurement, strong data and analytics capability.
Consideration: Generalist performance agency with AI SEO capability rather than an AI SEO specialist. Smaller brands may find the enterprise approach oversized for their needs.
7. Dejan AI — Best for AI Search Innovation
Best for: Brands that want a research-driven AI SEO agency at the cutting edge of AI search mechanics.
Dejan AI, led by Dan Petrovic, has earned global recognition for innovation in AI search optimisation. Petrovic trained a language model from scratch to understand retrieval mechanics firsthand — a level of technical investment that’s rare in the agency world.
The agency’s entire technology portfolio is built in-house: algorithms, models, tools, workflows, and pipelines. This gives them a depth of understanding in how AI search systems select, cite, and represent brands that few other agencies can match.
Based in Australia, Dejan AI approaches AI SEO as a technical discipline rather than a marketing one. Their focus is on being selected, cited, and accurately represented when language models generate answers. For brands that value deep technical rigour, Petrovic’s practitioner credibility is a significant draw.
Strengths: Deep technical innovation, in-house AI models, founder-led practitioner credibility, published research contributions to the AI search field.
Consideration: Pricing isn’t publicly listed, which makes it harder to evaluate fit without a conversation. The research-driven approach may feel more experimental than process-driven for brands that want a predictable playbook.
Conclusion
The agencies on this list share one trait: they treat AI search as a distinct discipline, not a feature bolted onto traditional SEO. That distinction will only sharpen as AI Overviews expand and LLM-powered search platforms claim more of the buyer’s discovery journey.
The AI SEO agencies winning right now aren’t the biggest or most established. They’re the ones that shifted from keyword-first to entity-first methodology — and can prove it with named case studies, specific metrics, and brands that actually appear in AI-generated answers.
If you’re evaluating an AI SEO agency, start with the proof. Ask for specific examples of AI Overview citations. Ask which brands they’ve gotten cited alongside category leaders. The answers will tell you everything about whether you’re hiring a specialist or a generalist with a new label.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an AI SEO agency and a traditional SEO agency?
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A traditional SEO agency focuses on ranking your web pages in organic search results through keywords, backlinks, and technical optimisation. An AI SEO agency goes further — it optimises your brand to be cited as a trusted source in AI-generated answers from Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI search platforms. The core methodology shifts from page-level keyword targeting to entity-level brand positioning.
How much does it cost to hire an AI SEO agency?
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AI SEO agency pricing typically ranges from $1,500/month for small business programmes to $25,000+/month for enterprise engagements. Specialist agencies like Stridec offer structured programmes at $9,000 for a 90-day engagement, while larger generalist agencies charge $8,000–$20,000/month on retainer. The right investment depends on your market competitiveness and whether you need full-service implementation or strategic guidance.
Can an AI SEO agency guarantee AI Overview placements?
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No. AI-generated answers are probabilistic — they vary based on query phrasing, user context, model version, and retrieval conditions. Any agency promising guaranteed positions doesn’t understand how large language models work. A credible AI SEO agency will show you a proven methodology, transparent reporting, and a track record of achieving AI citations for named brands with specific metrics.
What is generative engine optimisation (GEO)?
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Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the practice of optimising your brand and content to appear in AI-generated search results. It covers strategies for Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI-powered search platforms. The GEO market is projected to grow from $848 million in 2025 to over $33 billion by 2034, making it one of the fastest-growing disciplines in digital marketing.
How long does it take to see results from AI SEO?
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Timeline varies by methodology and market competitiveness. Entity-first approaches can produce AI Overview citations in as little as 3 weeks — as demonstrated by Stridec’s AeroChat case study. Broader AI search visibility typically builds over 60–90 days as topical authority compounds. Traditional SEO timelines of 6–12 months don’t apply when the methodology targets AI citation rather than keyword ranking alone.
Ready to get your brand cited in Google AI Overviews? Stridec’s entity-first methodology has been proven on our own products and replicated for clients. Book a discovery call to discuss your AI search strategy, or get the AI Overview Playbook to understand the methodology first.
