How Agencies Can Package and Sell AI Visibility Services

The New Agency Imperative: Why AI Visibility Is Your Next Major Revenue Stream

The landscape of digital discovery is being fundamentally rewritten. For years, the primary goal was to rank on Google. Today, your clients' customers are increasingly turning to AI models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews for answers. This shift from a list of links to a synthesized response creates a new battleground for brand presence. This is the era of AI visibility.

This isn't a distant future. The change is happening now. Recent industry surveys show that over 54% of businesses now expect their digital marketing partners to guide them through the world of AI search. Your clients are already asking why their competitors are being mentioned in AI-generated answers while they remain invisible. They want to know how they perform in this new channel, and they are looking to you for the solution.

This new discipline is often called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) or, more simply, AI visibility optimization. It's not a replacement for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but a critical evolution. As one industry playbook puts it, the difference is simple. SEO answers the question, “Can Google find it?” while AI visibility answers, “Will an AI mention it and cite it?” [1]. Strong SEO fundamentals like technical health and quality content are still the foundation, but they are no longer enough.

For many agencies, this presents a significant challenge. Client questions about AI performance are met with uncertainty because there hasn't been a clear, monetizable way to address them. This guide provides the playbook to solve that problem. It will walk you through how to structure, package, price, and sell AI visibility services, turning client anxiety into a structured, profitable new revenue stream for your agency.

How to Sell AI Visibility: Using a Foundational Audit to Win Retainers

Most clients have heard about “showing up in ChatGPT,” but they don’t know what it takes or how to measure it. This ambiguity is your opportunity. Instead of pitching a vague, expensive retainer for an unproven service, the most effective sales framework starts with a low-risk, high-value audit. The goal is to prove the problem with data before you propose the solution.

A quick, initial field check can be incredibly powerful. As one expert suggests, you can start by manually searching 5-10 key phrases for a client across Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and ChatGPT. Take screenshots, note which competitors appear, and document where your client is absent. This simple exercise moves the conversation from “we think there’s a problem” to “here is the exact gap.”

To make this process even more professional and data-driven, you can use a tool designed for this exact purpose. An automated tool like Searchify's free AI visibility one-pager is the perfect 'foot-in-the-door' asset. For a prospect, you can generate a concise, data-backed report that instantly visualizes their current standing. This isn't a sales pitch; it's a diagnostic tool that establishes your credibility and expertise from the first interaction.

The sales conversation becomes straightforward and compelling. You present the one-pager and walk the prospect through the findings:

• Visibility Gaps: "Here are the ten most important questions your customers are asking AI. You currently don't appear in the answers for eight of them."
• Competitor Wins: "For high-intent queries like 'best software for X,' your main competitor is being cited 70% of the time. We can see the exact sources they are using to win these mentions."
• Inaccurate Information: "When your brand is mentioned, the information is outdated. AI models are referencing an old press release from three years ago."

Once a client sees this concrete data, their next question is almost always, “How do we fix this?” This is the natural transition from a one-time audit to a discussion about your ongoing services. You have successfully used a small, tangible deliverable to open the door to a larger, recurring retainer.

Packaging Your AI Visibility Services: A 3-Tiered Framework for Agencies

Once you've demonstrated the need for AI visibility, you must have a clear and structured way to sell the solution. Vague promises won't work. Clients want to know what they are buying. Productizing your services into distinct packages makes them easier to understand, sell, and deliver. Here is a three-tiered framework that your agency can adapt and offer.

Tier 1: The AI Visibility Audit (One-Time Project)

This is your entry-level, comprehensive diagnostic. It goes far deeper than the initial one-pager used for the sales process. This paid project is designed to deliver a complete picture of a client's AI presence and a strategic roadmap for improvement. It's the perfect offering for clients who are convinced of the problem but aren't ready to commit to a monthly retainer.

Key Deliverables:

• Baseline Metrics: A full analysis of Brand Visibility and Citation Rate across multiple AI engines (e.g., ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Claude).
• Competitive Analysis: An in-depth look at which competitors are winning citations for the client's most important commercial queries and an analysis of the sources AI models prefer.
• Content & Technical Fix-List: A prioritized list of actionable recommendations. This includes identifying content gaps, pages with unclear structure, missing schema, and technical issues preventing AI crawlers from properly accessing the site [2].
• Strategic Roadmap: A clear plan outlining the steps needed to close the visibility gap.

Tier 2: AI Visibility Monitoring & Optimization (Monthly Retainer)

This is your core ongoing service, designed for clients who want to actively improve and protect their AI visibility. This retainer moves from diagnosis to execution, turning the insights from the audit into measurable progress. It’s a natural upsell from the Tier 1 audit.

Key Deliverables:

• Continuous Performance Tracking: Monthly or weekly monitoring of Brand Visibility, Citation Rate, Share of Voice, and competitor presence for a set of core prompts.
• Content Optimization: Implementing recommendations to improve existing content. This involves updating pages with clearer structures, adding direct answers, incorporating fresh data, and improving internal linking to make them more “AI-friendly,” a key part of an audit for AI readability [3].
• On-Page Implementation: Executing the technical and content-based fixes identified in the initial audit or through ongoing monitoring.
• Performance Reporting: A monthly report detailing progress, showing before-and-after comparisons, and outlining the focus for the next cycle.

Tier 3: Full-Service AI Visibility Management (Premium Partnership)

This is your top-tier, all-inclusive offering for clients who want to dominate their category in AI search and want a partner to handle everything. It encompasses all the services of Tier 2 but adds proactive and strategic initiatives to build long-term authority.

Key Deliverables:

• All Tier 2 Services: Includes continuous monitoring, optimization, and reporting.
• Proactive Content Creation: Identifying and creating new content to fill strategic gaps where the client is absent and competitors are weak.
• Full Technical Implementation: Handling all technical website fixes, from schema markup to optimizing for AI crawlers like GPTBot.
• Authority Building: Strategic outreach to third-party sites that AI models trust, aiming to secure valuable brand mentions and citations.
• Strategic Oversight: Acting as the client's dedicated AI visibility strategist, providing quarterly business reviews and adapting the roadmap as AI models evolve.

For this premium tier, agencies can gain a significant competitive edge by leveraging a platform with a full-service component. For example, an agency using Searchify can utilize its full-service add-on to deliver this comprehensive management. This allows the agency to provide the value of a dedicated, expert AI visibility team to their client at a fraction of the cost of hiring one in-house, creating a powerful and scalable offering.

Pricing Your AI Visibility Packages: From Project Fees to Value-Based Retainers

Structuring your services is half the battle; pricing them correctly is the other. As a new service category, many agencies are unsure how to price Generative Engine Optimization. The key is to anchor your pricing in the value you deliver, not just the hours you spend. While you should avoid publishing a fixed price list, you can develop a consistent pricing model for each service tier.

• Tier 1: The AI Visibility Audit (Fixed Project Fee) For a one-time, deep-dive audit, a project-based fee is most appropriate. This provides clarity for the client and protects your agency from scope creep. The price should be substantial enough to reflect the deep analysis involved and to qualify the client as serious. According to industry playbooks, a price range of €5,000–€10,000 for a complete AI visibility audit is a common starting point for enterprise clients or those with complex needs. For smaller businesses, a lower entry point may be necessary, but it should never be positioned as a low-cost item. It's a strategic diagnostic.
• Tier 2: AI Visibility Monitoring & Optimization (Recurring Monthly Retainer) This ongoing service fits perfectly into a standard monthly retainer model. The price should be based on the scope of work, such as the number of core prompts being tracked, the number of pages being optimized per month, and the depth of reporting required. This model provides your agency with predictable recurring revenue and allows the client to budget effectively for continuous improvement in a channel that changes rapidly.
• Tier 3: Full-Service AI Visibility Management (Value-Based Retainer) For your premium, hands-off management service, you can move towards value-based pricing. This model ties your fee directly to the business outcomes you generate. Instead of just charging for activities, you charge for results. For example, your fee could be linked to achieving a target Share of Voice in AI answers for high-intent commercial queries, or demonstrably shifting sentiment in AI-generated descriptions of the brand. This requires a mature client relationship and clear attribution, but it positions your agency as a true strategic partner and allows you to command premium pricing that reflects the significant business impact of winning in AI search.

When presenting pricing, always frame it around the return on investment. The cost of being invisible or misrepresented in AI-driven conversations is substantial. Your services are the solution to a multi-million dollar problem, and your pricing should reflect that value.

Delivering Results at Scale: Using Searchify to Power Your Agency's Offering

Packaging and selling AI visibility services is only possible if you can deliver the work efficiently and effectively. Without the right tools, managing this new discipline across multiple clients becomes a manual, time-consuming, and unscalable task. This is where a dedicated AI Search Optimization platform becomes the engine for your agency's new service offering.

Searchify is designed with an action-oriented approach at its core. The goal isn't just to report on metrics, but to provide clear, data-driven recommendations that improve a brand's visibility. For agencies offering a Tier 2 monitoring and optimization service, the platform's Action Center is a game-changer. It analyzes a client's visibility, identifies specific weaknesses, and generates a prioritized list of tasks. This turns a complex analysis process into a straightforward workflow, allowing your team to efficiently execute high-impact changes for clients month after month.

Furthermore, an effective agency offering requires robust multi-client management. A platform like Searchify allows you to:

• Seamlessly switch between client accounts.
• Track competitors and their citation sources for each client.
• Simulate realistic user questions relevant to each client's industry.
• Generate professional reports to demonstrate progress and prove ROI.

This ability to manage multiple clients from a single, unified platform is crucial for scaling your AI visibility services profitably. It standardizes your delivery process, reduces administrative overhead, and ensures consistent quality across your entire client portfolio.

For agencies aiming to provide a top-tier, full-service solution, Searchify's optional service add-on provides a powerful competitive advantage. It enables you to offer a comprehensive, hands-off Tier 3 Full-Service AI Visibility Management package without the immense cost and effort of building a large, specialized team in-house. You can offload the technical implementation and content creation to experts, managed through the platform, while your agency focuses on strategy and the client relationship. This empowers you to capture more revenue, deliver exceptional value, and position your agency as a leader in the next wave of digital marketing.

Conclusion: Be the Agency That Offers a Concrete Solution for AI Search

The rise of generative AI as a primary discovery channel represents one of the most significant opportunities for marketing agencies in a decade. While many are still watching from the sidelines, unsure of what to offer, your agency has the chance to step forward with a structured, repeatable, and provable service. The market is new, and clients are actively searching for credible partners who can bring clarity and data-backed strategy to the table, not just hype.

By packaging your services into clear tiers, starting with a low-risk audit, and leveraging a powerful platform to deliver results at scale, you can build a highly profitable new revenue stream. You can become the go-to expert that turns a client's anxiety about AI into a measurable competitive advantage.

The time to act is now. While your competitors are still trying to understand the problem, you can be the one offering the solution. The first step is to see for yourself where the opportunities lie.

Take the first step in building your agency's AI visibility offering. Get your free AI visibility one-pager from Searchify today and see what AI is saying about your own brand.