Businesses aren’t just asking how to rank on Google anymore. They’re asking how to get quoted inside ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) has moved from a buzzword to a hiring priority, but most business owners still don’t know what to look for in a consultant. We sat down with Anshul Rana, an AI SEO, AEO, and GEO specialist working with clients across India and abroad, to break it down in five straightforward questions.
- What’s the biggest mistake businesses make when hiring an AEO consultant?
They assume AEO is just rebranded SEO, so they hire someone who’s only ever handled keyword research and link building. AEO needs an understanding of how large language models actually retrieve and cite information, and that’s a different skill entirely. A simple test: ask the consultant to explain, in plain words, how content needs to be structured to get picked up inside an AI answer versus a regular Google snippet. Anyone can put “AEO” on a profile. Not everyone can explain what’s happening underneath it.
- What proof should a business actually ask for before signing on?
Case studies with real citation data, not just ranking screenshots. Ask whether a client started showing up in ChatGPT or Perplexity answers for their category and whether the consultant tracks that over time. I keep a record of the projects I’ve worked on and how they were approached, and I’d rather a prospective client look through that on my website than take a sales pitch at face value.
- Is it better to hire a freelance AEO specialist or a full agency?
Depends on the size of the business and how fast things need to move. A freelancer, especially one working directly on your account instead of handing it off to juniors, usually means faster turnaround and a more consistent strategy. Agencies make sense once you need a large team across content, technical SEO, and design at the same time. For small and mid-sized businesses, I’d say start lean, prove the results, then scale the team around what’s working.
- How much should a business expect to budget for AEO/GEO work in 2026?
It varies a lot depending on industry and how competitive the category is, so I’d be cautious of anyone quoting a fixed number without an audit first. What I tell people is to think of it less as a one-time cost and more as an ongoing investment, similar to traditional SEO. The businesses that treat it as a quick fix usually don’t stick around long enough to see the compounding results.
- What’s one question every business should ask before hiring an AEO consultant?
Ask them how they’ll measure success beyond Google rankings. If the answer only covers traditional SEO metrics, that’s a sign they haven’t fully made the shift themselves. I walk every new client through how I track AI citations and visibility, and I keep that process documented on my site so there’s no confusion about what they’re paying for.
The takeaway from this conversation is simple: AEO hiring decisions in 2026 come down to proof, not promises. Ask for citation data, ask how success is measured, and be wary of anyone who hasn’t updated their process since the days of keyword density and backlink counts.