When not to trust a GEO agency
The mark of a bad GEO partner is not bad intent — it is the unmeasurable promise. If the offer guarantees a position, proves itself with a single screenshot, or promises AI visibility by a calendar date, that is not measurement, it is hope retail. Each of the seven red flags below comes with a control question — one that any agency, ourselves included, must be able to answer on the spot.
Updated ·
We did not invent this list
On 11 August 2026 we asked three AI engines, in repeated measurement (k=5): who should you NOT trust with AI visibility work? Across 90 answers the engines never once named a culprit — every answer was a list of criteria. ChatGPT, verbatim: “Anyone guaranteeing immediate results should be approached with caution.” The seven flags below build on these machine-used classes, extended with our own 18-point standard.
The 7 red flags
1. Guarantees a position or an appearance
AI answers reshuffle from run to run — two answers to the same question almost never share an order. Whoever promises a guarantee is selling something they do not control.
Control question: “From how many repetitions, and with what margin of error, do you measure the result?”
2. A single screenshot is the proof
One run is not a measurement: the same question can return a different answer five minutes later.
Control question: “How many times did you ask this exact question, and in what share of the answers did the brand appear?”
3. Promises results by a date
Model refresh cycles are neither public nor controllable — anyone quoting a calendar date is guessing.
Control question: “What can you measure from your own work, and what depends on the model provider?”
4. Keeps the question set secret
If you cannot see the question set, the result cannot be interpreted — a pretty number can be measured onto anything.
Control question: “Do I get a per-question breakdown of what the AI answers to MY buyers' questions?”
5. Sells an “AI position” or average ranking
Rankings change run to run; the only honest number is a mention rate with a margin of error.
Control question: “Why am I getting a ranking instead of a rate with a confidence interval?”
6. Never says “we don't know”
Machine measurement has three states: measured, not measured, inconclusive. Whoever has a number for everything is inventing one somewhere.
Control question: “Show me a report that contains the line: this we could not measure.”
7. Uses your own brand name as proof
A nice answer to “what do you know about company X?” is not a recommendation — your buyers do not ask that way.
Control question: “Do you measure unbranded buyer questions, or do you query my company name?”
This yardstick can be turned on us too
On three points we currently fall short of our own standard: our methodology is self-published, not independently audited; we have few publishable, independent client results; and we measure with k=10 repetitions, not k=100. We write this down because it is the twin of flag seven: whoever exempts themselves from their own yardstick owns a decoration, not a yardstick.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I know an AI visibility report is a real measurement?
- Three signs: a repetition count (k) and a margin of error next to every rate; a per-question breakdown; and at least one “we could not measure this” line. If all three are missing, it is not a measurement.
- Why won't the AI name whom I should avoid?
- We measured it: out of 90 negatively framed questions, 0 answers named a culprit. Engines give criteria and positive counter-examples — which is why this page gives criteria too.
- Can an appearance in an AI answer be guaranteed?
- No. The answer is rebuilt on every run; what can be measured and influenced is the source set the engine works from. If someone claims otherwise, ask them flag one's control question.
- What are k and a confidence interval?
- k is the number of repetitions: we ask the same question k times. The confidence interval tells you how much to trust the resulting rate. At k=1 there is no interval — that is an anecdote.
Related pages
Turn the yardstick on us
Ask us the seven control questions too — we answer them standing. If you first want to see what the AI answers to your buyers' questions today, write or call: