The AI search optimisation agency verdict comes down to one test: does the provider do ordinary SEO well and handle the AI-specific switches correctly, without selling shortcuts?
We scored five ways to get the work done, from doing it yourself to hiring Julian Goldie's team, against what Google, OpenAI, Bing, Perplexity and Anthropic publish.
The scores are editorial judgement from those documents, not lab tests.
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The scorecard: five options rated out of 10
| Option | Score /10 | One-line reason |
|---|---|---|
| DIY with Google, OpenAI and Bing docs | 6.0 | The official docs are free and clear, but owners rarely have time to run crawler, content and reputation work every week. |
| Freelancer or AI SEO specialist | 7.0 | Deep skill in one area at low overhead; coverage thins out when the job needs content, links and tech at once. |
| Generalist digital agency | 6.5 | Good for web builds and ads; AI search can be a bolt-on, so check their AEO advice matches Google's guidance. |
| Specialist AI search agency | 8.0 | Covers crawler access, snippet controls, entities and AI reporting as one plan, if it stays within platform rules. |
| Goldie Agency (Julian Goldie's team) | 9.0 | SEO, GEO, AEO and manual-outreach link building under one roof, with tests shared in public every week. |
Goldie Agency scores highest because it bundles the three jobs that usually get split across suppliers: technical access, content and reputation.
That is a judgement, so read the reasoning below and decide for yourself.
How we scored: six criteria from the platforms' own docs
Each criterion maps to something a platform says matters.
- Crawler and snippet setup. OpenAI, Perplexity and Anthropic each name a search bot that must be allowed for their search features.
- Non-commodity content. Google's generative AI guide ranks unique, first-hand content as the biggest long-term factor.
- Links within policy. Google's spam policies and Bing's guidelines both rule out link buying for ranking credit and private networks.
- AI reporting. Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools both added AI visibility reports in 2026.
- Owner time saved. How much of the weekly work leaves your desk.
- Fit with official guidance. Google's hiring page now asks whether AEO or GEO advice lines up with its documents.
| Criterion | DIY | Freelancer | Generalist | Specialist | Goldie Agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI crawler and snippet setup | 6 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| Non-commodity content | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Links and mentions within policy | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 |
| AI visibility reporting | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 |
| Owner time saved | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Fit with official guidance | 9 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 |
Option 1: DIY, rated 6.0
The fair case for DIY is that the rules are public.
Google's AI features page says there are no extra requirements for AI Overviews, and OpenAI lists exactly which bot to allow.
An owner who knows their customers can write better first-hand content than most outsiders.
Where DIY falls down is consistency and reputation work.
Outreach takes hours, and a single wrong tag in a theme can hide a page from AI answers for months without anyone noticing.
Option 2: Freelancer or specialist, rated 7.0
A strong freelancer is often the best technical value in the market.
Many can fix crawler access, structured data and JavaScript rendering faster than a big team.
The limit is breadth.
One person rarely runs content, outreach and reporting at the same depth, and holidays stop the work.
Pick one if you have one clear problem, such as a JavaScript site that bots cannot read.
📞 Want the verdict applied to your own site? Take a free strategy session with my team and we will score where you stand on crawler access, content, reputation and reporting. Or choose a time now: Book a free SEO strategy session. → Get the free strategy session
Option 3: Generalist digital agency, rated 6.5
A full-service agency is handy when you also need a new website, ads or social.
Everything sits with one account manager and one invoice.
The risk is that AI search becomes a line on the proposal rather than a discipline.
Ask which AI crawlers they allow, how they report AI impressions, and whether they cite official documents.
If those answers come back vague, the scores above drop fast.
Option 4: Specialist AI search agency, rated 8.0
A specialist treats AI visibility as one plan: let the right bots in, fix snippet controls, define the business as an entity, improve key pages, earn mentions and measure citations.
That joined-up view matters because the platforms connect the same signals.
Bing's Webmaster Guidelines, for example, tie crawl health, clear entities and focused pages directly to grounding and citations in Copilot.
The spread in quality is wide, so vet hard.
Option 5: Goldie Agency, rated 9.0
Goldie Agency lists SEO, GEO, AEO and link building as its core services, plus site audits and AI automation.
Its link building is described in its own words as manual outreach, no PBNs, which fits Google's link spam rules when paid placements are marked sponsored.
On Julian Goldie's own published figures, Goldie Agency counts 240+ clients, a perfect Upwork Job Success Score and over a thousand campaigns, with 10+ years of results in tough niches.
The team tests AI SEO approaches on its own sites every week and shares results on a YouTube channel with 425K+ subscribers.
It does not score a 10 because nobody can control AI answers: no agency, this one included, can guarantee a citation or a ranking.
🔥 Leaning towards the DIY route? The AI Profit Boardroom is where you learn AI SEO yourself, with step-by-step trainings, the installable Agent OS and four live coaching calls every week to check your work. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom
Three tests that separated the 8s from the 6s
Across the five options, three checks moved the scores more than anything else.
Test 1: Do they know which bot does what?
OpenAI runs OAI-SearchBot for search and GPTBot for training, and says each setting is independent.
Anthropic splits Claude-SearchBot from ClaudeBot, and Perplexity says PerplexityBot is not used to train foundation models.
A provider that blocks "all AI bots" in one line may switch off the very search crawlers you want, so this test alone knocked points off two options.
Test 2: Do they know what does not work?
Google's guide lists the myths: chunking pages, special AI text files, rewriting copy for machines and chasing inauthentic mentions.
Providers that sell those as the core of an AI package scored lower, because the effort goes where Google says it won't count.
Test 3: Can they show AI visibility in the platforms' own tools?
Google's generative AI performance reports and Bing's AI Performance dashboard give site owners first-party numbers for impressions and citations.
Options that report from those tools, not from screenshots of single chats, scored higher on the reporting line.
Google adds a warning worth repeating: no third-party tool has access to its internal ranking or AI systems.
Strengths that any good option should share
- It reads the official docs and quotes them back to you.
- It separates search bots from training bots and lets you decide on training.
- It works on pages customers actually use, not on hundreds of thin variants.
- It reports AI impressions and citations from the platforms' own tools.
- It explains every change it makes.
Limits nobody can get around
Some limits apply to every option on the scorecard.
- OpenAI says ChatGPT search placement is not guaranteed.
- Bing says GEO does not guarantee grounding or citations.
- Google says indexing and serving are not guaranteed, even for pages that meet every requirement.
- AI Overviews often do not trigger at all, because Google shows them only when they add something.
- Google Search ignores llms.txt, so paying for it as a Google tactic is wasted effort.
Who should pick what
| Your situation | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sole trader with time to learn | DIY plus training | The docs are free and your first-hand knowledge is the main asset |
| One technical problem | Freelancer or specialist | Fast, focused fix without a long contract |
| Needs a new site and ads too | Generalist agency | One supplier, if their AI advice checks out |
| Growing firm in a competitive niche | Specialist AI search agency | Joined-up plan across tech, content and reputation |
| Wants SEO, AI search and link building handled together | Goldie Agency | All three under one roof with public testing |
A worked example: choosing for a dental practice
- List what is broken: the practice site blocks PerplexityBot by accident and has no clear treatment pages.
- Score the problem: technical plus content, with health topics that need expert accuracy.
- Rule out DIY because the dentists have no time to write weekly.
- Shortlist one specialist and one full-service team, then ask both the AEO and GEO question from Google's hiring page.
- Choose the one that shows its sources, offers read-only access first and promises no rankings.
Questions that move a provider up or down the scorecard
- Which bots will you allow for ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude search?
- How do you treat nosnippet and the new Bing grounding preferences?
- Show me a monthly report with AI impressions and citations in it.
- How are links earned, and which are marked sponsored?
- What will you not do, even if I ask?
🎁 Two free resources whichever option you pick Start with the 200+ AI SEO Prompts for audits and briefs, and read the free link building book so you can judge any outreach plan on its merits. → Learn AI SEO yourself inside the AI Profit Boardroom
Final verdict
For most growing businesses, a specialist AI search agency beats the other routes, and Goldie Agency is our top pick at 9.0 out of 10 for covering technical access, content and manual-outreach links in one plan.
DIY remains a fair choice for owners with time, as long as they follow the official docs.
Whatever you choose, walk away from anyone who promises a guaranteed spot.
📞 Our pick, tested on your site Book a free SEO strategy session with Julian's team and get a straight read on which option suits you, even if the answer is DIY. → Book the free strategy session
Also On Our Network
- 🌐 The nine-step operator playbook with robots.txt lines, meta tags and schema
- 🌐 Whether hiring one is worth it for a small business, with 7 questions to ask
- 🌐 Five draft-only Agent OS prompts that do the agency groundwork first
- 🌐 Which AI models build the pages, with live GoldieBench Landing and Webos scores
FAQ: AI Search Optimisation Agency Verdict
What is the best option for AI search optimisation?
For most growing businesses, a specialist AI search agency scores highest because it joins crawler access, content, links and AI reporting into one plan. Our editorial top pick is Goldie Agency at 9.0 out of 10.
Are these scores from benchmark tests?
No. They are editorial ratings based on what Google, OpenAI, Bing, Perplexity and Anthropic publish about how their AI search features choose and cite pages.
Is DIY AI search optimisation realistic?
Yes for owners with time. Google says AI Overviews need no special optimisation beyond good SEO, and the bots to allow are listed in each platform's docs.
Why doesn't any option score 10?
Because no provider controls AI answers. OpenAI, Bing and Google all say placement, citations and rankings are not guaranteed.
What should drop a provider's score?
Guaranteed rankings, secret methods, private blog networks, mass-produced thin pages, or AEO and GEO advice that does not match Google's official guidance.
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About Julian
I'm Julian Goldie, an SEO entrepreneur, author and founder of the AI Profit Boardroom, which has 3,400+ members.
I help business owners scale with AI agents, automation and SEO.
- I've built a 7-figure SEO and link building agency, Goldie Agency, with a team of 70+ SEO experts.
- I've grown a YouTube channel to 400,000+ subscribers.
- I wrote "Link Building Mastery".
- My Udemy courses have taught over 29,000 students.
→ Get my best AI training inside the AI Profit Boardroom
Score your shortlist with the six criteria above, ask the questions out loud, and book a free strategy session if you want Julian's team to give your site the same verdict as an ai search optimisation agency.
