AEO Audit for Agencies: How to Sell and Run One in 2026
How to run an AEO audit in six steps
Use the same method for every client, so results can be compared over time and across accounts.
Step 1: Define business-critical topics
Start from revenue, not keywords. List the products and services the client most wants to win, and the use cases behind them. Agree on them with the client.
Step 2: Build the prompt set
Write prompts the way buyers ask, using sales call notes, support tickets and Search Console queries. Include non-branded prompts, where new buyers find vendors.
Step 3: Run the prompts on each AI platform
Run every prompt on each platform in the same market and language. Store the full answer, the brands named and every cited URL.
Step 4: Check technical access
Review robots.txt for AI crawlers. OpenAI’s crawler documentation says OAI-SearchBot is used to surface websites in ChatGPT search.
Google’s crawler documentation describes Google-Extended, a token that controls use of content for training Gemini models.
Our guide on checking whether AI crawlers can access your website walks through the checks.
Step 5: Measure and benchmark
For the client and each competitor, calculate prompt coverage and share of voice, and count mentions and citations. Then add the accuracy findings.
Step 6: Build the action plan
Turn every gap into a task with an owner. Typical tasks are new comparison pages, clearer product facts, crawler fixes and outreach to cited third-party sites.
Google’s guidance on AI features says pages must be indexed and snippet-eligible, with no special schema required. Start the plan there.
AEO audit report template
Use this outline for every client report. Keep it short enough that a marketing lead reads it in one sitting.
| Report section | What to include |
|---|---|
| 1. Cover and scope | Brand, competitors, markets, platforms, prompt count and audit dates. |
| 2. Executive summary | The headline share of voice number, five findings and three priorities. |
| 3. Visibility by platform | Prompt coverage for each AI assistant, with mention and citation counts. |
| 4. Competitor benchmark | Share of voice and prompt coverage per competitor, by topic. |
| 5. Prompt examples | Three to five real answers with screenshots, showing wins and losses. |
| 6. Cited sources | Top client URLs, top competitor URLs by page type and top third-party domains. |
| 7. Accuracy issues | Each wrong claim, where it appears and the likely source. |
| 8. Technical findings | Crawler access and indexability problems, plus page structure issues. |
| 9. Action plan | Prioritized tasks for 30, 60 and 90 days, with expected metric changes to watch. |
| 10. Next steps | The monitoring cadence and the date of the first recheck. |
Benchmarks vary by category. In our AI visibility research on 103,427 answers, Google AI Overviews cited about 13.7 links per answer and Copilot about 4.5.
How to price an AEO audit
There’s no standard market price yet, so build the price from the work. Four drivers set most of the effort.
Every extra prompt means more answers to review and classify.
Platforms multiply that, since each AI assistant adds a full set of answers.
A new market or language is effectively a separate audit.
Competitors add benchmarking and source analysis, one by one.
Estimate the hours for collection, analysis, the accuracy review and the report, then apply your normal rate. Tooling cost belongs in the estimate too.
Many agencies offer two or three fixed tiers, for example by prompt count and platform count. Some credit the audit fee toward a retainer to make the next step easier.
If you resell under your own brand, our review of white-label AI SEO software for agencies compares options.
How to sell AI visibility audits to prospects
Lead with the prospect’s own data. A short preview on their buyer questions does more than any slide about AI search.
Run 10 to 20 prompts from the prospect’s category before the first call.
Show one competitor comparison: who is named, who is cited and who is missing.
If you find an accuracy issue, such as an outdated price or feature, show that too.
Explain what the full audit adds: more prompts and every platform, plus source analysis and a plan.
Offer the retainer path, with monthly tracking against the audit baseline.
Don’t promise rankings or a fixed share of voice. AI answers change often, so sell measurement, prioritized fixes and regular reporting.
How Ansvisor helps agencies run AEO audits
Ansvisor, an open-source AI search intelligence platform, runs client prompt sets on a schedule. It stores every answer with its mentions and cited URLs.
Site Audit checks any URL against 47 AEO and GEO signals. Competitor benchmarking compares each client with its rivals.
See the Ansvisor setup for agencies, or self-host the open-source project on GitHub.
FAQ
What is an AEO audit?
An AEO audit reviews how a brand appears in AI answers. It covers ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Claude, plus Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. It measures mentions and citations, checks accuracy and benchmarks competitor share of voice, then sets priorities.
How long does an AEO audit take?
It depends on scope: the prompt count, the platforms and markets covered, and the number of competitors. Plan for at least two prompt runs a week apart, because AI answers change between checks.
How should an agency price an AEO audit?
Build the price from scope drivers: the prompt count, the platforms and markets, and the competitor set. Estimate hours for collecting answers, analyzing them and writing the report. Add tooling cost, then offer fixed tiers that lead to a retainer.
Can Search Console replace an AEO audit?
No. Search Console’s generative AI reports show AI Overviews and AI Mode impressions by page. They don’t show queries or answer text, and they say nothing about brand mentions or competitors.
How do agencies turn AEO audits into retainers?
Use the audit as the baseline. Agree on the metrics to recheck, deliver the 30, 60 and 90 day plan, then sell monthly tracking and fixes that show progress against that baseline.
