Someone has offered to make your business appear in AI answers. The proposal sounds different from your usual SEO work, and the price probably is too. What are you actually buying?
Start by asking which search experience they mean. Google’s AI features, a Google Maps result and an answer from another company’s assistant are different things. A promise that treats them as one channel is difficult to assess.
For Google specifically, the guidance is clear: the familiar SEO foundations still apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google says there is no additional technical requirement or special markup needed for those features, and being eligible does not guarantee inclusion. Google Search Central explains the requirements.
That is a useful starting point for the conversation. Ask for a list of the work, the reason for each task and the way progress will be judged.
Your service, explained clearly
Where you work, who you help and how to take the next step.
Get specific about the customer’s question
Imagine a catering business serving events across Melbourne. Someone comparing options needs to know the type of catering, the areas served, dietary arrangements, booking requirements and what happens after an enquiry.
A page saying “innovative catering solutions” leaves most of that unanswered. A page explaining which events the business handles and how to request a quote gives the customer something to act on.
That example is our editorial recommendation, not a claim that adding those answers will secure an AI citation. The useful test is whether a real customer can make a better decision after reading the page.
What a sensible proposal should explain
The page: Which customer question is unanswered? Is the business’s own experience available to write a useful answer?
The technical work: Can the intended page be accessed and indexed? Are important details available as readable content? Is the mobile experience usable?
The evidence: Are project examples accurate? Does the service description match what the business actually does?
The measurement: What will be reported, over which period, and how will enquiries be distinguished from visits? An attractive chart of impressions is only part of the story.
Local search deserves its own conversation
A service business may depend heavily on nearby customers. Google identifies relevance, distance and prominence as factors in local results. It also states that businesses cannot pay for improved organic local ranking. Read Google’s local ranking guidance.
Our practical recommendation is to check the basics before commissioning a large content project: your business details, hours, services and website link should be accurate and maintained by someone with authorised access. Your website should explain the locations you genuinely serve. If customers can leave reviews, request honest feedback without inventing or manipulating it.
Bring these questions to the next proposal
Good answers should make the proposed work easier to understand. If the pitch relies on guaranteed appearances or a secret file that supposedly fixes everything, ask for the platform’s own documentation before deciding.
