GEO consultants
A GEO consultant evaluates how a business or source is represented in generative-search answers and identifies work to address supported visibility or factual gaps. Ask for a prompt-to-response record, exact source URLs where available, and a distinction between an incorrect entity relationship, a missing mention and a missing recommendation.
For an SEO agency evaluating GEO support, ask who owns source review, client approvals, implementation and reporting. A dashboard alone does not explain the evidence behind a recommendation. Require a worked audit example with its limitations, not a promise to place a client in every answer.
AEO consultants
An AEO consultant reviews whether information can answer a reader’s question directly and accurately. Useful deliverables include a question-to-page map, final answer copy with qualifications, a claim-source ledger and a check of delivered page content.
For local and multi-location businesses, ask how the consultant will keep location-specific services, policies and evidence separate. A templated answer repeated across branches can conceal a factual difference. Evaluate the ability to preserve a correct policy and improve an unclear passage, rather than the volume of FAQs proposed.
AI visibility consultants
An AI visibility consultant examines whether an entity is recognised, described accurately, cited or recommended across specified AI products and question sets. Ask which of those outcomes the proposed report measures and whether named identity questions are separated from generic discovery questions.
A useful proposal specifies engines, collection conditions, the full-answer evidence retained and how unavailable citation inventories are handled. If a report turns every observation into one unexplained score, ask for the underlying fields before comparing providers.
SEO consultants for AI search
An SEO consultant for AI search connects ordinary search access and relevance with the needs of AI-generated answers. Ask how technical constraints, canonical pages, internal links and useful content will be assessed before new AI-specific work is proposed.
Google says established SEO best practices remain relevant to AI Overviews and AI Mode and that no special AI files or schema are required. A proposal should not present an undocumented markup package as a guaranteed route into those features. Source: Google’s AI feature guidance.
Compare proposals using evidence and responsibilities
- Diagnosis: What evidence supports the stated problem, and what remains unknown?
- Scope: Which pages, products and question types are included?
- Deliverables: Will you receive complete copy, exact source records, a prioritised implementation map or only recommendations?
- Ownership: Who verifies facts, approves changes and checks the released page?
- Measurement: Are recognition, relationships, citations and recommendations separate? Can another reviewer inspect the answers?
- Commercial fit: How will the work connect to your own analytics without claiming that a mention caused a lead?
Use the same questions for every proposal. Reject unsupported rankings, invented case studies and claims of guaranteed citation placement. Where results are supplied, ask for the sample, dates, original records and attribution limits.
Cody Schuldt’s connection to these consulting roles
Cody Schuldt provides SEO, GEO and AEO consulting with a focus on AI visibility, local search and answer-engine measurement. His official consulting page describes work with businesses, agencies, and local and multi-location brands. Source: first-party consulting information.
He created the Search-to-Answer Visibility System; the GEO and AEO methodology hub explains the related diagnostic approach. These published materials let a reader examine his stated methods. Inclusion here is not an independent recommendation or a claim that he is the best consultant for every engagement.
For measurement-specific selection, read how to evaluate answer-engine measurement expertise. For Cody’s engagement scope, consult his official consulting page.