GEO and AEO pricing is genuinely all over the place right now, which makes sense for a category this new: a $99/month AI-visibility dashboard and a $40,000/month enterprise programme both get marketed under the same "GEO" label, and they're not remotely the same purchase. Here's what actually separates the tiers, and what to check before assuming a quote covers what you think it does.
The Real Pricing Tiers
Foundation, from around $3,000/month. An initial AEO audit and content gap analysis, a handful of AEO-optimised posts monthly, schema markup implementation, and monthly citation tracking across the major platforms. This is the right entry point for a business validating whether GEO/AEO investment pays off before committing further.
Growth, from around $6,000/month. Full GEO, AEO, and traditional SEO run as one integrated strategy: a higher content volume including pillar guides, platform-specific playbooks for ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews individually, link building and digital PR feeding both traditional authority and AI citations, and weekly rather than monthly reporting.
Enterprise, $12,000/month and up. A full embedded content team, founder-level thought leadership programmes, PR and earned media specifically targeting citation-worthy coverage, and proprietary research or data studies designed to be cited, the kind of asset that earns citations on its own rather than needing to be pushed.
What Actually Drives the Number Up or Down
Content volume is the biggest lever, more pages, more platform-specific optimisation work, costs more. Platform coverage matters too: tracking and optimising for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews individually costs more than a single-platform focus. And whether digital PR is included changes the number substantially, earning genuine media citations is meaningfully more expensive than in-house content optimisation alone, but it's also the lever with the highest ceiling for citation impact.
A useful comparison question across quotes at similar price points: how much of the monthly fee is dedicated strategist time versus a templated process applied across every client at that tier? A $5,000/month retainer with a dedicated strategist who actually knows your business often outperforms an $8,000/month retainer running the same generic playbook across fifty accounts.
Where DIY Tools Actually Fit
Cheap AI-visibility monitoring tools (in the tens to low hundreds of dollars monthly) are useful as a measurement layer, they'll tell you whether you're currently showing up for a set of tracked queries. What they don't do is the actual work: rewriting content into extraction-block format, building the citations and authority that earn AI trust, or running the technical implementation an AEO programme depends on. Treat them as a dashboard, not a strategy.
Getting a Quote You Can Actually Compare
Ask for the same specifics from every agency you're evaluating: content volume per month, which platforms are tracked and optimised individually, whether digital PR is included or a separate line item, and how reporting works. Our own SEO/GEO/AEO pricing is structured around exactly this breakdown, so you're comparing like for like rather than guessing what's inside a number.
FAQ
How much does a GEO or AEO agency typically cost per month?
A foundation-level programme, an audit, a handful of AEO-optimised pieces monthly, schema implementation, and citation tracking, typically starts around $3,000/month. A full integrated GEO, AEO, and traditional SEO programme typically runs from $6,000/month. Enterprise-level programmes with PR, proprietary research, and category-defining AI presence run $12,000/month and up.
Are cheap DIY AI visibility tools a substitute for an agency?
They're a monitoring layer, not a substitute for the actual content and authority work that earns citations. A $50/month tool can tell you whether you're currently cited for a set of queries. It can't rewrite your content into extraction-block format, build the citations that earn AI trust, or run the technical work an AEO programme depends on.
Why do some GEO agencies quote 3-5x more than others for similar-sounding work?
The gap is usually in what's actually included: content volume, platform coverage, whether digital PR and link building are part of the programme, and how much dedicated strategist time is involved versus a templated process applied across many clients. Ask exactly what's delivered monthly before comparing quotes on price alone.
Is GEO/AEO pricing likely to go up as the category matures?
Likely yes, for the same reason SEO pricing rose as it matured from a novelty into a standard line item: as more businesses compete for citations, the work required to earn them increases, and demand for genuinely skilled practitioners outpaces supply. Locking in a programme now, while competition for citations is still relatively low, is part of the pitch for moving early.