A 7-Question Guide to Hiring Your AI Visibility Partner

Deciding to invest in your brand's AI visibility is a critical step toward future-proofing your business. For many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), outsourcing this function is a smart, strategic move. Business owners are often stretched thin, and finding the time and resources for specialized marketing is a significant challenge [1].

However, choosing the right partner is just as important as the decision to outsource. The market is filled with platforms that offer data and dashboards, but they often leave the most difficult part—implementation—entirely up to you. This creates what we call the AI Visibility Execution Gap: the all-too-common space between knowing what to do and having the resources to actually do it. Research shows that for many SMBs, the primary barriers to adopting new technology are a lack of qualified staff and budget constraints [2].

This guide provides a 7-question framework to help you vet potential partners. Use these questions to look past the sales pitch and find a partner who will close the execution gap, act as an extension of your team, and deliver tangible results.

Question 1: What is your process for implementation?

This is the single most important question you can ask. The value of an AI visibility strategy lies in its execution, not just its recommendations. Many platforms will provide you with a list of opportunities but leave the heavy lifting to your team.

Ask them directly: 'Do you execute the technical website fixes and content changes on our behalf, or do you just provide a list of recommendations?'

The ideal partner offers a 'done-for-you' service. They don't just hand you a blueprint; they bring the construction crew. This is crucial because most SMBs don't have a developer on standby to implement structured data or a content team with the bandwidth to create AI-optimized articles. A partner with an in-house team of experts ensures that recommendations are implemented correctly, efficiently, and without adding to your team's workload. This approach bridges the gap between insights and outcomes, which is the core challenge in any DIY vs. done-for-you AI visibility decision.

Question 2: What specific tasks are included in your service?

AI visibility, sometimes called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) or Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), is not a single activity. It's a multi-faceted discipline that requires a coordinated effort across technical, content, and authority-building workstreams. A partner who only addresses one area will leave you with an incomplete and ineffective strategy.

Ask for specifics: 'Does your service cover technical fixes like structured data, creating new AI-optimized blog posts, and performing outreach to earn digital mentions?'

Look for a comprehensive service that manages the three core pillars of AI visibility:

1. Technical Optimization: This includes backend fixes like implementing schema markup to help AI models understand your content, improving site speed, and ensuring your site is structured for easy crawling and chunking [3].
2. Content Creation: This involves developing new, high-quality content designed to answer specific customer questions and be easily synthesized by AI models. It also includes optimizing existing content to be more 'citable'.
3. Authority Building: This is the process of signaling to AI models that you are a trustworthy source. It involves activities like strategic outreach to earn digital mentions on reputable sites and building a strong profile of expertise.

A true partner can manage all three, providing a holistic strategy that drives real results.

Question 3: How do you price your services?

A partner's pricing model says a lot about their philosophy. Traditional agency models often rely on large, opaque monthly retainers that can be difficult to justify and are prone to scope creep. In fact, recent studies show that 75% of brands are looking to change their agency remuneration models, with many citing a lack of transparency as a key issue [4].

Ask about their structure: 'Is your service priced as a large, variable monthly retainer, or is it a predictable, flat-rate add-on to a platform subscription?'

An ideal partner offers a transparent, flat-rate pricing model. This approach, often delivered as an add-on to a core software platform, provides a clear and predictable cost structure. It allows you to budget effectively without worrying about surprise fees or hourly charges. This model aligns the partner's success with yours and ensures you are paying for outcomes, not just hours. When evaluating options, it's essential to consider the total cost of ownership, not just the subscription fee, to understand the true ROI of AI visibility tools.

Question 4: Who will be managing our account and executing the work?

In a field as new and dynamic as AI visibility, human expertise is non-negotiable. A dashboard can give you data, but it can't provide strategic guidance, interpret nuance, or ensure quality control. As noted by Harvard Business Review, human judgment is essential for interpreting data and making nuanced decisions that machines cannot replicate.

Inquire about your team: 'Will we have a dedicated account manager as a single point of contact? What is their expertise in AI search optimization?'

A strong partner will assign you a dedicated account manager. This individual should be an expert in AI visibility who serves as your strategic guide and single point of contact. They are responsible for understanding your business goals, building the action plan, overseeing the quality of the implementation work, and translating results into clear, meaningful reports. This human-in-the-loop approach is critical for navigating the complexities of AI search and ensuring the strategy adapts to your unique business needs.

Question 5: How do you measure and report on success?

Success in AI visibility cannot be measured with traditional SEO metrics alone. While rankings and traffic are still important, the primary goal is to influence how AI models perceive and represent your brand in their answers. Your partner should be able to track and report on KPIs that directly reflect this.

Ask about their metrics: 'What key performance indicators (KPIs) do you track? How will you show us that our visibility in platforms like Google AI Overview and ChatGPT is improving?'

Look for a partner who focuses on AI-centric metrics. According to frameworks outlined by industry experts, this should include:

• Share of Voice: The percentage of AI answers for your key topics that mention your brand.
• Citation Frequency: How often your website is cited as a source in AI-generated responses.
• Brand Sentiment: The context in which your brand is mentioned (positive, neutral, or negative).
• Competitor Benchmarking: How your visibility compares to your key competitors in AI answers.

A good partner uses these metrics to demonstrate progress and turn AI visibility insights into a revenue-focused plan.

Question 6: How do you tailor your strategy to our business?

A one-size-fits-all strategy is a recipe for failure in AI visibility. Your industry, target audience, and competitive landscape are unique, and your strategy must reflect that. A generic checklist of 'best practices' is not enough.

Probe their process: 'What is your process for analyzing our specific market and building a custom action plan?'

A data-driven partner will begin with a deep analysis of your current AI visibility. This process should involve a comprehensive AI competitor analysis to understand who AI models currently trust in your space. They should also analyze the specific questions your customers are asking AI to identify your most valuable opportunities. This initial discovery phase is essential for building a tailored execution plan that prioritizes actions based on their potential impact on your business goals.

Question 7: What does the onboarding process look like?

A smooth and transparent onboarding process is a strong indicator of a well-organized and professional partner. It sets the stage for a successful long-term relationship by establishing clear expectations and demonstrating a commitment to your success from day one. A structured onboarding is a recognized best practice for client success [5].

Ask about the timeline: 'Can you walk me through your onboarding process? What are the key milestones for the first 30, 60, and 90 days?'

The right partner will have a documented onboarding plan. This should include initial kickoff meetings, technical and content audits, strategy development, and a clear roadmap with deliverables and timelines. They should be able to tell you exactly what to expect in the first month and beyond, giving you confidence that you are in capable hands. A clear plan, like a 30-day AI visibility plan, shows they have a proven process for delivering results.

Make Your Choice with Confidence

Choosing a partner to manage your AI visibility is a critical decision that will impact your brand's growth for years to come. Use these seven questions as your checklist to find a partner who will act as a true extension of your team—one focused on execution, not just reports.

Before you start interviewing potential partners, it’s essential to get a clear baseline of where you stand. Start by getting your free, no-obligation AI visibility one-pager from Searchify. It will show you exactly how AI perceives your brand today and give you the data you need to have an informed conversation with any potential partner.