What a GEO agency does for a local business
A GEO agency for a local business makes sure that when someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode or Perplexity “who should I use in my city”, the engines have accurate facts about you and enough outside proof to include you. That is mostly source work, not content volume.
Look at where local AI answers come from. In BrightLocal’s analysis of about 1.9 million citations in US local AI answers, business websites made up 42% of citations, Google Business Profiles 28.63% and Yelp 9.53% (BrightLocal, Sep 2026). Our own check on 3 October 2026 pointed the same way:
- ChatGPT shows local businesses as cards with a star rating and a review count, in 38 of 40 runs of our first round.
- In the UK and EU those numbers are your Google profile. In seven countries, 12 of 12 businesses we checked by name had cards that matched their Google profile exactly.
- In the US, about half the cards come from Yelp. 159 of 341 US cards carried Yelp’s logo and Yelp’s rating, which is often lower than the Google one.
- ChatGPT searches for reviews, not for your homepage. Its web search was typically one query like “dentist Austin reviews 2026”, and it cited about two domains per answer, mostly directories and rating sites.
So the job is to get those sources complete, consistent and current, and to give engines a page on your own site that states the facts they can’t find elsewhere. Our samples are small (29 questions in 10 countries, one day); the full data is on our research page.
Why ranking on Google Maps isn’t enough
Ranking well in Google Maps does not mean AI assistants recommend you. In BrightLocal’s study, a tracked business appeared in 66% of Google Maps results but only in 33% of ChatGPT answers, 32% of Google AI Mode answers and 38% of AI Overviews (BrightLocal, Sep 2026).
The engines also disagree with each other. When we asked the same question on the same day, the lists from ChatGPT and Gemini overlapped little, a Jaccard similarity of 0.17 to 0.22 across our three rounds, where 1 would mean identical lists. For one plumbing question in Denver they had no business in common at all (the details are on our plumbing page). Across all engines, one local question produced 13 to 25 different business names.
That is why a GEO programme measures each engine separately and fixes the shared inputs that all of them read.
The GEO programme, phase by phase
Our GEO programme has three phases: find out, fix, keep it right. Every deliverable has a written acceptance criterion, so you can check that it was done.
| Phase | Block | Deliverable | Acceptance criterion | Timing | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Audit | Free audit | What ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Mode say about you; who they name instead | Each engine asked several times; results as “named in k of n” | About a minute | Free |
| 1 · Audit | Deep audit | Every page, profile and directory AI reads; evidence for each finding; plan with hours | At least 10 prioritized actions, or a refund within 14 days | 5–10 working days | from $1,200 / €890 |
| 2 · Fix | AI crawler access | robots.txt and firewall settings that let search and AI crawlers in | GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and Google crawlers get HTTP 200, not a block page | Week 1 | in Foundation |
| 2 · Fix | Structured data | Organization / LocalBusiness markup that matches your real name, address and phone | Validates in Google’s Rich Results Test; matches the Google profile | Week 1–2 | in Foundation |
| 2 · Fix | Business profiles | Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, complete and in your name | Verified; correct primary category; hours, services and website link filled | Week 1–3 | in Foundation |
| 2 · Fix | Directories and NAP | The listings AI cites in your country and industry, with one consistent name, address and phone | Agreed list of N directories corrected, with before/after evidence | Week 2–4 | in Foundation |
| 2 · Fix | Review process | A simple way to ask every customer for a review | Running; no filtering of unhappy customers, no incentives | Week 2–3 | in Foundation |
| 2 · Fix | Pages AI can quote | Service pages that state prices, process, area and who does the work | Facts readable without JavaScript; same facts as on the profiles | Week 2–5 | in Foundation / Full |
| 2 · Fix | Mentions and PR | Local press, associations, partners that name you | Agreed list of placements, each with a live link or citation | Week 4–10 | in Full |
| 2 · Fix | Second language or location | Pages and profiles for a second language or site | Same checks as above, per language or location | Week 6–10 | in Full |
| 3 · Keep | Monitor / Maintain / Grow | Monthly measurement; profiles kept correct; 1–2 pages a month; PR on Grow | Same questions, engines and run counts every month | Monthly | from $149 / $790 / $1,900 a month |
Prices excl. VAT. Foundation $3,000–4,500 (€2,400–3,200); Full $6,500–9,000 (€4,400–6,500). Timing depends on how many locations and services you have.
Phase 1: audit
Start with the free audit to see what ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Mode say about you and who they name instead. If you want the full picture, the deep AI visibility audit checks every page, profile and directory AI reads, asks the engines about your business by name, and turns it into a costed plan. The fee is credited in full to implementation if you start within 30 days.
Phase 2: implementation
We fix what the audit found, in fixed blocks rather than open-ended hours. Most local businesses start with Foundation: crawler access, structured data, the three big business profiles, the directories AI cites in your country, a review process and service pages with prices. Full adds pages for the questions buyers ask, mentions and local PR, and a second language or location. The profile and directory work is the core of our local AI search service.
Two things we see often in audits: a business’s own sources contradict each other, and the engines pick one version. In our by-name checks, 12 of 21 businesses had a website, Google profile or booking system that disagreed on hours, phone or address. The businesses whose website and Google profile agreed got the cleanest answers.
Phase 3: keep it right
AI answers change and profiles drift. Monitor measures every month; Maintain also keeps profiles and directories correct, runs the review process and adds one or two pages a month; Grow adds content, PR and more languages. All monthly plans run month to month with 30 days’ notice. Every profile and account is set up in your name from day one.
Start with the audit, credited 100% if you continue within 30 days.
How we measure results (and what we won’t claim)
We measure AI visibility the way the engines behave: several runs, several engines, reported as “named in k of n answers”. One screenshot proves very little, and here is why.
| Named in | 1 of 5 | 2 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 5 of 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 44 | 21 | 8 | 6 | 11 |
Our check, 3 Oct 2026: 8 local questions in 5 countries, ChatGPT asked 5 times each, 90 different businesses named. Half appeared in only one of five identical searches.
In that first round, 44 of the 90 businesses ChatGPT named appeared in only one of five runs; just 25 were named in three or more. Of the names in a first run, only 21 of 37 belonged to that stable group. Going from three to five runs grew the list from 67 to 90 names, so paid measurement uses five ChatGPT runs per question. BrightLocal found the same at scale: asked the same question again, engines repeat only 20–33% of the businesses they named (BrightLocal, Sep 2026).
Our method, in short:
- A fixed set of questions, agreed with you before work starts, the ones your customers ask, in their language.
- Repeated runs: ChatGPT five times, Gemini three times, Google AI Mode once or twice per question, with Google’s map results as a reference. We read the answers people see in the apps, not developer APIs: in our check, only 6 of 24 businesses named by the ChatGPT API appeared in the app.
- Reported as fractions with dates: “named in 3 of 5 ChatGPT answers on 3 October”.
- Baseline, then the identical measurement after 60 and 90 days.
What we never say: “#1 in ChatGPT”, an “AI visibility score” from one run, or “you are invisible in AI”. A single missing mention isn’t proof of that. The full protocol is on our methodology page.
What GEO costs
With us, GEO starts free and has fixed prices per phase. US agencies quote about $1,500–5,000 a month for small businesses and $5,000–25,000+ for mid-size companies (WebFX, May 2026, an agency’s own figures). In Austria, one GEO agency lists €990–1,900 a month (ithelps, checked 3 Oct 2026).
- Deep audit: from $1,200 (€890), credited 100% to implementation within 30 days.
- Implementation: from $3,000 (€2,400) for one location.
- Maintain: from $790 (€590) a month, no minimum term.
See full pricing. Prices exclude VAT.
Who this is for (and who it isn’t)
GEO with us fits single- and few-location businesses that people visit, call or book, with real reviews and clear services: dental practices, med spas, real-estate agents, law firms, trades and movers. Our industry pages show what AI cites in each: dentists, real estate, law firms, and more industries.
It is not a fit if you sell only online, want a guaranteed position, or want reviews bought or written for you. We follow the FTC’s 2024 rule on fake reviews and the UK’s DMCC Act: no buying, no filtering out unhappy customers, no incentives.
Proof
Our proof is published, dated and anonymized. The Vienna real-estate case study shows what a deep audit found for a real agency and the fix plan that followed. Our research publishes the raw pattern behind every number on this page: 29 local questions in 10 countries, and 23 businesses checked by name. We are also running a pilot programme with two or three businesses per industry; results will be published with dates, before and after.
We don’t publish invented cases or testimonials, and we don’t show an “AI visibility increase” percentage, those numbers can’t be measured from single runs.
FAQ
How is a GEO agency different from my SEO agency?
The foundations are the same. GEO adds the sources AI reads for local answers, your Google profile, directories, reviews and pages that state prices, and measures with repeated AI answers instead of rankings. If your SEO agency already does both, keep it.
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend us?
No, and nobody can. Asked the same question twice, AI engines repeat only 20–33% of the businesses they named (BrightLocal, Sep 2026). We guarantee the work: deliverables with written acceptance criteria, and a before/after measurement on the same questions, engines and run counts.
How do I choose a GEO agency?
Ask for the measurement method (how many runs, which engines, which dates), a sample report, deliverables with acceptance criteria, experience with Google profiles and local directories, and published prices. Be wary of “AI visibility” percentages taken from one run.
Does GEO work for a local business, or only for big brands?
Local is where the inputs are most concrete. ChatGPT’s business cards carry the rating and review count from your Google profile, or, in the US, often from Yelp. Fixing those sources is specific, checkable work.
Do I need a GEO consultant or a full agency?
If someone on your side can implement, a deep audit with a plan and a couple of calls is enough, see our AI SEO consultant option. If nobody can, we do the work in fixed blocks.
How much does GEO cost?
With us, a deep audit starts at $1,200 (€890), implementation at $3,000 (€2,400) and monthly maintenance at $790 (€590). Full ranges are on the pricing page.