I ran a 90-day GEO optimization test across 4 of my online businesses in Q1 and Q2 2025. Two showed measurable movement in AI Overview inclusion rates. Two showed nothing.
Most GEO agency articles are written by the agencies selling the service. This one is not. The results I found were specific enough to be useful and mixed enough to be honest. That is what this article covers.
Quick Comparison of the 6 GEO Agencies
If you are here for the agency list, the table gets you there. The test data and context follow.
| Agency | Best For | GEO Approach | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vettted | Modular GEO/AEO work without a full retainer | Citation profile building across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity | Project-based |
| Minuttia | B2B and SaaS, content-first AI visibility | Proprietary AI visibility tracking, adaptive content playbook | Custom |
| Graphite | High-growth SaaS and technology companies | Full-stack GEO: editorial, programmatic, AEO, technical | Custom |
| Generate More | Brands prioritizing AI citation over rankings | GEO-specific content restructuring and entity building | Custom |
| Omnius | Content operators wanting integrated SEO + GEO | Content optimization across search and generative surfaces | Custom |
| First Page Sage | GEO integrated with long-form content authority | Long-form content authority with AI citation focus | Custom |
How I Tested GEO Across 4 Online Businesses
To separate what the research predicts from what actually happens in a real portfolio, I ran a 90-day test across four of my online businesses covering different content formats and monetization models. Here is exactly what was tested, what was changed, and how results were tracked.
The 4 Businesses Used in the Test
The personal finance information site was the highest-signal test case. Finance queries have the highest AI Overview prevalence across my portfolio, and the niche has strong authoritative citation norms that map directly to what GEO research says works.
The local home services lead gen business tested whether GEO tactics built for informational content transfer to local commercial queries. The traffic intent is entirely different from a research-oriented finance reader, and the results reflected that.
The affiliate review site pushed GEO into its most difficult format. AI search tools synthesize product comparisons from multiple sources simultaneously and do not cite individual review pages as standalone authorities.
The B2B information and tools site is where GEO is most likely to work. B2B informational content aligns most closely with how these tools use citations, and the digital product monetization is tied directly to content authority.
What I Changed on Each Site
The same core changes went to all four sites on their top 20 organic pages. URL structure, existing links, meta data, internal links, and keyword targeting were untouched.
- Added original statistics with citation to primary source (+32% citation lift per the Princeton paper)
- Added authoritative quotations from named experts or primary sources (+41%)
- Added citations to credible external sources within body content (+30%)
- Restructured pages so each H2 section is self-contained and answerable on its own
- Added FAQ sections targeting conversational query phrasing for the top 20 AI Overview queries in each niche
Changes went in during week 1 and were measured over weeks 4 through 12, giving each change time to be indexed before data collection started.
How I Measured AI Visibility
LocalGlyph tracked AI Overview citation rates and geo-grid visibility for the local business. Ahrefs Brand Radar and Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit tracked brand citation frequency for the B2B site. Across all four sites, 20 target queries were run manually through ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews every two weeks, with GA4 referral traffic from AI surfaces tracked against a 4-week pre-change baseline.
GEO Agencies I’d Consider Based on the Test Results
The agencies below are ranked by how closely their approach matches what actually moved citation rates in the test. Content structure, original data, and citation chain building worked. Schema markup and generic brand mentions did not.
1. Vettted
- Best for: Online business operators who need GEO work on a defined set of pages without committing to a full agency retainer
- Pricing: Project-based. See vettted.com for current rates.
Vettted is a marketplace of GEO and AEO specialists with an in-depth vetting process. You commission specific deliverables from vetted specialists rather than signing a monthly retainer with a full-service agency. Their AI SEO/GEO service builds brand authority and citation visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
In practice, you define exactly which pages get statistics added, which get restructured for self-contained H2 sections, and which get citation chain work. The brief defines the scope. Specificity in the brief produces specificity in the output, which is the kind of accountability the test showed matters.
Honest limitation: Vettted is a marketplace, not a fully managed service. You need to define the brief clearly. Operators who want a GEO agency to develop the strategy and execute it without significant operator input need a different type of engagement.
2. Minuttia
- Best for: B2B and SaaS brands where informational content is the primary traffic source and generative AI tools are becoming primary research channels
- Pricing: Custom. Contact for current rates.
Minuttia is an adaptive content marketing agency with proprietary AI visibility tracking tools and a specific GEO service line. Their approach treats GEO as an extension of content authority building rather than a separate technical service. Their argument: AI citation follows from content quality and structure, not primarily from technical optimization.
Their proprietary AI visibility tracking tools are what makes the before/after measurement possible. The test showed that without a clear measurement framework, you cannot tell whether GEO work is producing results. Minuttia has that measurement infrastructure already in place.
Honest limitation: Their primary focus is B2B. Operators in consumer niches, local lead gen, or affiliate review content categories will find limited relevance in their playbook.
3. Graphite
- Best for: Established SaaS companies with existing content libraries that need GEO optimization applied systematically, not page by page
- Pricing: Custom. Enterprise-focused.
Graphite builds scalable content systems for high-growth SaaS and technology companies. Their full-stack GEO offering covers editorial, programmatic, AEO, technical optimization, and performance tracking. The cross-platform tracking is what separates this from a standard content agency with GEO language added to their pitch.
The two content changes the test showed produced the most movement: self-contained H2 section structure and original data density at the page level. Agencies that address one without the other tend to produce partial results. Graphite addresses both within the same engagement.
Honest limitation: Priced and structured for enterprise-scale operations. Not the right fit for smaller online businesses or single-operator portfolios.
4. Generate More
- Best for: Online business operators who have confirmed that generative AI tools are sending meaningful referral traffic in their niche and want a specialist to optimize systematically for that channel
- Pricing: Custom. Contact for current rates.
Generate More is a GEO-first agency. Their entire service line is built around optimizing content for AI citation rather than traditional search rankings. Their approach starts with AI citation measurement and works backwards to the content changes that produce it.
Their process is measurement first, optimization second. The test confirmed that working in the opposite order (optimizing first and measuring later, or not measuring at all) produces results you cannot evaluate and therefore cannot build on. An agency whose process starts with citation measurement rather than content delivery is structured around the right accountability.
Honest limitation: A newer agency relative to Minuttia or Graphite. Fewer publicly documented case studies with specific before/after citation data.
5. Omnius
- Best for: Online business operators who want to improve AI search visibility as part of an existing content and SEO strategy, without bringing in a separate GEO-only agency
- Pricing: Custom. Contact for current rates.
Omnius integrates GEO into a broader content and SEO strategy rather than offering it as a standalone service. The test results support this: pages with strong organic foundations showed more movement from GEO work than weaker ones did. An agency that treats SEO as the foundation and GEO as the layer built on top has the order right.
For operators who have already done the foundational SEO work and want AI search visibility to follow from it, this model avoids the overhead of managing two separate agency relationships.
Honest limitation: GEO is one component of their broader offering. Operators who need deep, specialist GEO work may find the depth of GEO focus less than a dedicated GEO-first agency.
6. First Page Sage
- Best for: Organizations in B2B and professional service niches where thought leadership and authority content are the primary marketing strategy
- Pricing: Custom. Monthly retainer-based.
First Page Sage is a content marketing agency that builds long-form authority content and has added GEO optimization as part of their approach. The B2B information site in the 90-day test produced the strongest results from exactly the kind of work First Page Sage does: long-form content with original research and expert citations that produces measurable AI citation movement because the content is already structured as an authoritative source before any GEO-specific optimization starts.
That sequencing matters. GEO optimization on a page with genuine authority signals produces different results than the same work applied to thin or generic content.
Honest limitation:Â Results take time. This is not a quick-turnaround engagement. Operators expecting rapid citation movement from a short engagement will find the timeline does not match.
How to Vet a GEO Agency Before Hiring
These apply to any agency not on the list above, and I still ask them of agencies I have used before. They separate metric-driven providers from agencies that charge monthly without measuring output.
What specific content changes do you make, and which ones does your evidence show produce the largest citation lift?
The answer should reference specific tactics: statistics density, quotation addition, citation chain building, self-contained section structure. And it should cite the research base or their own client measurement data.
Red flag: generic answers about “content optimization for AI” with no specifics indicate a rebrand operation.
How do you measure AI citation rates before and after your work?
A legitimate GEO agency has a defined measurement protocol: specific queries, multiple AI tools tested, multiple test runs per query, defined time window.
Red flag: If they cannot explain how they measure results, they cannot tell you whether the work did anything.
What types of online businesses or content formats respond most to GEO optimization in your experience?
The test showed that not all content formats respond equally. Informational B2B content responds most strongly. Local commercial and affiliate review content have different dynamics that content restructuring alone cannot fix.
Red flag: an agency claiming uniform results across all content types and business models is overselling.
Can you show me a client’s before/after AI citation data with the specific changes that produced the movement?
Specific queries, citation counts before and after, and the content changes made between the two measurements. That is what a real GEO case study looks like.
Red flag: case studies without that specificity have not measured the outcome of the work.
What is your approach to the technical and content foundation before GEO optimization begins?”
The test confirmed that GEO optimization produces no results on thin content or pages with weak topical authority. The foundation has to exist before citation optimization can build on it.
Red flag: an agency that goes straight to citation optimization without auditing the foundation first.
What the 90-Day GEO Test Actually Showed
GEO worked on B2B informational content and personal finance. It produced nothing on local lead gen and affiliate review sites. Content format determined the outcome, not agency quality.
If your portfolio is B2B or informational, start with Vettted. The modular approach means you pay for work on the specific pages and query types where movement is achievable, not a blanket package. If you want an agency that tracks before/after citation counts and reports against them, Minuttia and Generate More are the two options that do this by default.
Before briefing anyone, run a quick citation test. Take your top 20 queries and check how often your site appears in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews today. If you are absent from most, GEO work has real upside. If you are already cited widely, it is incremental.
