Most agencies are already doing AEO/GEO. Almost none are getting paid for it.

This September, Mavlers Agency surveyed more than 80 agency owners to find out how they're pricing, staffing, and proving AI search visibility work. Nineteen owners gave us full answers, and the picture they painted is clear. AEO/GEO is well underway, but the business model around it hasn't caught up.

The headline numbers

• 84% have started piloting or delivering AEO/GEO, and 42% are already delivering it to clients.
• 63% bundle it into retainers they already sell. Only 6% charge for it as a standalone service.
• 0% say it carries a better margin than core SEO. Most say it's simply too early to tell.
• 68% say you can't honestly sell it without a way to measure it, yet only 58% track AI visibility themselves.

What stood out

Look at the agencies that made it from "testing" to "delivering," and it isn't bigger teams or bigger budgets that set them apart. It's measurement. They figured out how to prove the work before they tried to sell more of it.

The demand story surprised us too. Only 13% said a client asked for AEO/GEO first. Most agencies are pitching it themselves, which explains why so much of it is being absorbed by existing SEO teams and handed out inside retainers.

What agencies are figuring out next

The survey points to an active market but far from settled.

Agencies are testing different delivery models. They are still deciding which tools to trust. They are working out how to price the service and, importantly, how to prove its value to clients.

And that may be the most useful takeaway.

AEO/GEO is no longer just a question of whether agencies should pay attention to AI search. The more practical question is becoming: How do you turn AI visibility into a service you can measure, deliver, price, and defend?

The full findings, including the myths we tested and the five moves we think the data supports, are coming in our upcoming AEO/GEO Agency Pulse findings. We’ll go live with the report once we’ve compiled all the data. Check back here for the live report.