By Steve Merrill, Founder of WRKNG Digital | September 16, 2026
Before you hire an AEO agency, make them prove they can show what AI sees today and fix it. Here are seven questions that separate the real ones from the pretenders.
AEO is new enough that a lot of shops added it to a slide without adding it to their work. These questions surface that fast.
1. Can you show me what AI sees on my store today?
A real AEO agency can pull up what ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI actually read from your store right now.
If they can't demonstrate the gap before pitching a plan, they're guessing.
2. How do you handle structured data?
Ask exactly how they implement and validate Product and Offer markup across a catalog.
Vague answers here mean they don't do the foundational work AI recommendations depend on.
3. How do you keep price and availability accurate?
Stale price or stock data breaks trust with assistants instantly. A good agency has a real answer for keeping these synced.
If they treat it as a one-time setup, they don't understand how AI reads a store.
4. How will you make my content quotable?
Ask how they write pages that answer buyer questions directly, with FAQPage markup, so assistants can lift a clean answer.
Content built for keyword density isn't content built to be cited. Make sure they know the difference.
5. How do you measure AI visibility?
A rank tracker doesn't see AI recommendations. Ask how they'll show whether assistants actually recommend you over time.
No measurement method means no way to prove the work is landing.
6. Do you check crawler access?
Ask whether they audit your robots.txt for blocked AI crawlers.
It's a small thing that can wall you off entirely. A thorough agency checks it early.
7. What do you actually promise?
The honest answer names the work the team will do, not a guaranteed traffic or sales number.
Anyone promising specific results from AI optimization is selling hype. Real agencies promise effort and method, then show the data.
Further reading
- Schema.org Product reference
- Schema.org Offer reference
- Schema.org FAQPage reference
- Google on robots.txt and crawlers
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I ask before hiring an AEO agency?
Ask them to show what AI sees on your store today, how they handle structured data, how they keep price and stock accurate, how they make content quotable, how they measure AI visibility, whether they check crawler access, and what they actually promise.
How do I spot a fake AEO agency?
Watch for agencies that can't show what AI reads from your store, give vague answers on structured data, treat data accuracy as one-time setup, have no way to measure AI visibility, or promise specific traffic and sales numbers. Real AEO work is demonstrable.
Should an AEO agency guarantee results?
No. Honest agencies promise the work their team will do and show you the data, not a guaranteed traffic or sales figure. Anyone guaranteeing specific results from AI optimization is selling hype, because no one controls how assistants rank.
Want to know if AI assistants can actually find and recommend your store? Get a free AI-visibility read on your Shopify store at WRKNG Digital. We show you exactly what ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI see when they look at your products.
