The Impact of AI SEO on Marketing Agencies
AI is changing SEO agencies by adding new work, not by ending the old. Google says optimising for generative AI search is still SEO. 1 Reports now track mentions and citations as well as rankings, and agencies cannot honestly promise outcomes. A December 2024 SE Ranking dataset of 260 agencies found 61% planned to add AI Overview services, from before AI Mode launched. 3
- Google says generative AI search optimisation is still SEO, and it ignores llms.txt and special markup. 1
- 61% of 260 surveyed agencies planned to add AI Overview and other AI-engine services, most of them inside existing packages. 3
- Tools that track AI answers cost from about $29 to a few hundred dollars a month, so judgement is the paid part. 6
- Google warns that third-party AEO and GEO tools and services cannot promise results. 2
- Chalk Labs is an agency, so read our own section with that interest in mind.
How is AI changing SEO agencies?
It is widening the job. Agencies still do technical SEO, content and links. They now also research the questions people ask AI assistants, check whether a brand appears in answers, and report on that. The core skill, understanding what searchers need and making a site easy to trust, has not changed.
Google's own guide says optimising for generative AI search is optimising for the search experience, and thus still SEO. 1 It also lists things site owners can ignore for Google, including llms.txt files, chunking content and rewriting content just for AI systems. 1
That matters for agencies selling novelty. A service that rests on a special file or format, rather than on useful pages and clean technical basics, deserves a hard question.
Which agency deliverables are changing?
Five deliverables are shifting. The table shows the old version, the new one, and the evidence behind the change. Treat the evidence as signals, because most of it comes from tool vendors.
One change is easy to see. Ahrefs found that only 37.9% of URLs cited in Google AI Overviews also appeared in the first ten results blocks (37.1% counting organic results only) in its March 2026 study of 863,000 keyword results, down from about 76% in July 2025. 9 A first-page rank report no longer tells the whole story.
| Old deliverable | New or added | Evidence and caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword list | Question and prompt research, including fan-out | Citations now often come from pages found by related sub-searches, per Ahrefs |
| Rank report | Mention and citation tracking in AI answers | Citations come and go, so report trends, not single runs |
| Link building | Earning brand mentions and digital PR | Mentions correlated far more with AI visibility than links did; correlation only |
| Blog volume | Fewer pages with original expertise | Google asks for non-commodity content, not pages for every variation |
| Monthly ranking call | Quarterly review of shortlist presence and enquiries | Needs self-reported lead source, which clients must collect |
Do brand mentions really matter more than links now?
In one large study, yes, as a correlation. Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands and found branded web mentions correlated with AI visibility at 0.66 to 0.71 across three AI surfaces, while backlinks and URL rating had very weak correlations. 8 It said correlation is not causation.
This helps explain why agencies are adding PR, reviews and expert content to their service lists. It does not mean links are worthless for classic search. Google says seeking inauthentic mentions across the web is not as helpful as it might seem. 1
The safe reading: earn mentions by being worth mentioning. Buying mentions is unlikely to hold up, though that is our view, not a Google rule.
What is happening to agency pricing?
Prices vary widely, and AI work is still being priced. A December 2024 SE Ranking dataset of 260 agencies (170 survey respondents plus 90 from its catalogue), from before AI Mode launched, found $500 to $1,000 a month was the most popular retainer, with 64% charging under $1,000. 3 Backlinko's 2026 guide, based on over 300 SEO professionals, reports $1,001 to $2,500 as the most common band. 4
The two surveys sampled different groups, so the gap is not a contradiction. On AI work, SE Ranking found 61% of agencies planned to add AI Overview and similar services, and 43% planned to include them in existing offers while 18% planned an extra charge. 3 Agencies with finalised pricing reported an average of about $937 a month for AI Overview optimisation. 3 That figure includes planned prices and comes from a small subgroup.
Backlinko's page has no pricing for AI search or generative engine optimisation. 4 Anyone quoting an "industry rate" for AI SEO is working from thin data.
Are tools replacing agencies?
Tools replace the measuring, not the thinking. Otterly lists tracking plans at $29, $189 and $489 a month for 15, 100 and 400 prompts. 6 Ahrefs lists its Brand Radar add-on from $199 a month. 5 Profound publishes no paid-tier prices, only a free trial and a custom Enterprise plan. 7 Tracking Gemini, AI Mode or Claude costs extra.
A tracker can tell you that you were missing from an answer. It cannot tell you which page to write, which fact is wrong on which site, or how to earn a mention from a trusted source. Those are agency and in-house skills.
Google also advises caution about third-party services, saying they cannot guarantee performance and listing AEO and GEO tools and services among those to think about critically. 2
What are the risks for agencies and their clients?
Three risks stand out. The first is mass content. Google says using generative AI to produce many pages without adding value may violate its spam policy on scaled content abuse. 11 Agencies that sell hundreds of pages need to show each one earns its place.
The second is over-reading noise. Ahrefs ran a test with 34 self-promotional pages and found about one quarter of citations appeared once for one query on one assistant and never returned. 10 The author works for Ahrefs, and it was a small experiment. A client report built on one good week is misleading.
The third is promises. Outcomes depend on search engines and AI models that no agency controls, so a promise of fixed citations or rankings by a set date is a warning sign.
What should clients ask an agency now?
Ask for specifics. A good agency can name the pages it will make, the questions they answer, and how it will check for mentions. It should also say what it will not do, and how it handles AI-written drafts.
Our guide on how to hire an AI SEO expert goes deeper, and the agency versus in-house comparison helps if you are weighing options.
- 1. Which questions will you research, and how do you find them?
- 2. How will you check whether we appear in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity?
- 3. How do you use AI to draft, and who checks facts and adds expertise?
- 4. What will you report each month, and what will you not claim?
- 5. How will we capture leads that say they came from AI?
- 6. What happens to the pages and data if we stop?
- 7. Which results can you show that are your own, not a vendor's?
Where does Chalk Labs fit, and what is our interest?
We are an agency, so we gain if you hire one. Rahil Jain co-founded Chalk Labs and runs its AI SEO programme. We offer three plans. Strategic Consulting is $1,000 one-time: we hand you the plan and you execute. Strategic Execution at $3,000 a month and Deep Execution at $4,000 a month are done for you, on a three-month programme pre-paid monthly that you can pause or stop at the end of any month.
We do not guarantee rankings, citations or lead counts. Our proof is a local shop, Meru Trophy in Bengaluru, which reached 27,300 Google clicks in 16 months, and a personal-brand site. We run the same method on our own site. We have no published enterprise or B2B case of our own, and our results are measured in months.
How can a business weigh an agency retainer?
Work backwards from what a customer is worth. If a retainer costs $2,000 a month and an average customer brings $3,000 in the first year, you need roughly one extra customer every six weeks to break even. That is a clear test of whether the plan is plausible for you.
The calculator on this page does the same arithmetic with your numbers. The defaults are invented, and the cost is only an example inside the survey ranges above.
Frequently asked questions
Will AI put SEO agencies out of business?
Not on current evidence. Google says generative AI search optimisation is still SEO, and 61% of surveyed agencies planned to add AI services. Routine reporting and drafting are being automated. Strategy, expertise, technical fixes and honest measurement remain the parts that clients pay a person to do well.
How much does an AI SEO agency charge?
There is no reliable standard yet. SE Ranking's survey found agencies with finalised AI Overview pricing quoted about $937 a month on average, from a small subgroup. General SEO retainers most often fall between $500 and $2,500 a month. Ask for scope and deliverables, not just a number.
Should I use an AI tool instead of an agency?
Use a tool if you can act on what it shows. Trackers start at about $29 a month and tell you where you are missing. They do not write pages, fix site problems or earn mentions. If you have no time or skills for that, an agency or consultant may be worth the cost.
What is the biggest red flag when hiring?
A promise of specific rankings or citations. Google says third-party tools and services cannot guarantee performance. Also be wary of agencies that sell hundreds of AI-written pages with no expert input, or those that cannot show their own measured results and explain how they were measured.
Sources
- Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Optimising for generative AI search is still SEO; things to ignore include llms.txt, chunking, rewriting for AI systems and inauthentic mentions; non-commodity content. Page last updated 2026-07-10.
- Google Search's Guidance on Third-Party SEO Tools & Advice · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Google does not evaluate third-party services; they cannot guarantee performance; AEO or GEO tools are listed among services to think critically about. Last updated 2026-06-05.
- SEO pricing survey insights: How much does SEO cost in 2025? · SE RankingOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 260 agencies, published 2024-12-13: $500 to $1,000 most popular retainer, 64% under $1,000; 61% plan to add AI Overview and other AI-engine optimisation (43% inside existing offers, 18% as extra); about $937 a month average among agencies with finalised pricing, including planned prices; sample may be too small for significance.
- SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost in 2026? (New Data) · BacklinkoOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Survey of over 300 SEO professionals: $1,000 to $2,500 average monthly cost, $1,001 to $2,500 most common retainer band; hourly $50 to $100; no AI search or GEO pricing on the page. Updated 2025-12-29.
- Ahrefs Pricing · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Brand Radar AI add-on from $199 a month; plans from $29 to $1,499 a month. Vendor list prices as of 2026-10-20.
- Otterly.AI Pricing · Otterly.AIOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Lite $29, Standard $189, Premium $489 a month for 15, 100 and 400 prompts; a second lower price set is also shown; Claude, AI Mode and Gemini are paid add-ons.
- Profound Pricing · ProfoundOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Free trial and custom-priced Enterprise plan; no public paid-tier prices.
- AI Brand Visibility Correlations (75K brands) · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 75,000 brands: branded web mentions correlated 0.66 to 0.71 with AI visibility; backlinks and URL rating very weak; correlation is not causation.
- Update: 38% of AI Overview Citations Pull From The Top 10 · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 863,000 keyword SERPs and 4 million AI Overview URLs, March 2026: 37.9% of cited URLs in the organic top 10, about 38% now vs about 76% in July 2025; Ahrefs links the shift to query fan-out.
- Self-Promotional Content Works-Until It Backfires (AI SEO Experiment) · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 34 pages, 9,886 AI answers, February to May 2026: about one quarter of citations appeared once and never returned; author works for Ahrefs; small experiment.
- Google Search's guidance on using generative AI content on your website · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Generative AI is useful for research and structure; using it to generate many pages without adding value may violate the scaled content abuse policy; fact-check all AI content. Last updated 2026-10-01.