An AI SEO agency that works on what AI tools actually read: your reviews, your Google profile and your pages
Even if you've never typed a question into ChatGPT. We find out what AI assistants say about your business today, with the same questions every month, and work on the things the evidence links to being named, without selling you a new channel you don't need.
A first AI mention check is part of the free Leak Check. The monthly AI check is included in Local Visibility from A$599 a month.
A one-page report from public data, including whether AI assistants mention your business, your Google profile, your reviews compared with the businesses around you, and where you show up on Maps. Those are the same signals AI assistants lean on for local answers. Free.
"AI SEO" is being sold as something new. Google says it isn't
If you've been offered "GEO", "AEO" or "LLM optimisation" lately, you're not alone. Australian agencies publish AI search packages for small businesses at about AUD 390 to 1,250 a month, UK specialists at about £400 to £595, US providers from about USD 299 to 2,500. Some of that work is useful. Some of it isn't supported by any evidence we could find.
Here is what Google itself writes, in its guidance for site owners:
"There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary."
"There's also no special schema.org structured data that you need to add."
Google Search Central, source
That covers Google only. ChatGPT and Perplexity don't publish guidance like this, so for them we rely on studies. Owners have been burned by SEO promises before:
"I tried this SEO company for six months, spending over £5,000, and got nothing in return except poor rankings."
UK business owner, Trustpilot, January 2025
We'd rather you don't repeat that with a new label on it.
What 5 studies of local businesses found, and what they can't prove
None of these is a controlled experiment, and most were published by companies that sell AI or SEO tools. They show what tends to go together, not what causes what.
| Study | What they looked at | What they found |
|---|---|---|
| Insites, July 2026 | 10,000 local businesses in ChatGPT and Perplexity | Businesses named by both averaged 133.4 Google reviews; those named by neither averaged 10.7. "What barely correlates at all: technical SEO, site performance, and most AI-specific 'optimisation' tactics like structured data and llms.txt" |
| BrightLocal, September 2026 | 200,085 searches, 1,300 locations | Running the same question again gave the same results only 20 to 33% of the time (ChatGPT 23%, AI Mode 21%, AI Overviews 33%) |
| Search Atlas, January 2026 | 104,855 "near me" citations | Small positive links with Google profile quality (about +0.16), review count (about +0.10) and replied reviews (about +0.11); all within a narrow range |
| Joel House, May 2026 | 2,729 businesses in 14 industries, LA, New York, Chicago, Sydney | 66% weren't named by any AI tool; Google review count and domain authority both linked to being named (r about 0.33) |
| Cloute, October 2026 | 64,441 AI answers | Businesses were named 83.7% of the time when the AI had opened their own website, against 16.2% when it hadn't |
What this adds up to for a local business: reviews, an accurate Google profile, consistent details across the web, and a website with clear facts that AI tools can open. That's the same work as good local SEO. So we don't sell it twice.
What we don't sell, and why
- Guaranteed AI citations. Nobody controls what an AI assistant says. Answers change from one run to the next (BrightLocal, above).
- llms.txt as a fix. Google has said its search ignores llms.txt files. We can add one if you like; we won't charge for it as a ranking tool.
- "Rewriting your site for AI." There's no evidence that a special AI writing style is needed. Clear pages that answer real questions work for people and for AI.
- Bought mentions. Google says seeking inauthentic mentions "isn't as helpful as it might seem". In Australia, the UK and the US, fake reviews and fake endorsements carry real penalties.
3 steps: measure, fix what the evidence points to, check monthly
Measure
We ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI a fixed set of questions your customers would ask, twice each, and record who gets named. You stop guessing what AI says about you.
Fix
We work on the things linked to being named: your Google profile, a steady review habit, consistent directory details, clear service pages, and making sure AI crawlers can read your site. You don't pay for tactics without evidence.
Check monthly
The same questions, the same way, every month, so you see a trend instead of one lucky or unlucky answer. You don't have to run the checks yourself.
No "GEO premium", no long contract, no promise nobody can keep.
A check of what AI says about you, in plain English, not a dashboard
- A fixed question set. 20 questions, built from what your customers actually ask: "best [service] near [suburb]", "[service] open Sunday", "[your business name] reviews".
- 4 assistants, 2 runs each. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews / AI Mode. One run proves nothing; two show how stable the answer is.
- Named, cited, or missing. Whether you're named, whether your website is linked, which competitors appear, and the exact sentence the AI uses to describe you.
- Wrong details flagged. Hours, prices or addresses an AI gets wrong, traced back to where it probably read them.
Fixes tied to the evidence, not a list of 80 tweaks
- Your Google profile completed and corrected. See Google Business Profile management.
- A review habit. A simple, legal way to ask every customer.
- Consistent details across the main directories.
- Service pages with facts AI can quote. Prices or price ranges, areas served, hours, what's included.
- Crawler access checked. Your robots.txt and firewall allow the AI search crawlers you want to be read by.
AI traffic measured in your own Google Analytics
- An "AI assistants" channel in GA4. Visits from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and similar, separated from normal search, in your account.
- What those visitors do. Book clicks, calls and enquiries from AI visits, reported next to the monthly check.
3 ways to start with AI search
Free Leak Check
- AI mention check: does AI name your business when someone asks for a recommendation nearby
- One page of findings and a fix list, emailed within 3 business days
- Directory consistency: check only
- Free, no call
Local Visibility
- AI check: 20 questions monthly, 4 assistants
- Findings and fix list, updated monthly
- GA4 AI assistants channel set up and reported
- Google profile managed, 4 posts a month
- Review system and replies
- 10 directories fixed in month 1
- 1 service page improved per month
- Month to month, 30 days' notice
Local Visibility Plus
- Everything in Local Visibility
- 2 new service pages per month
- Month to month, 30 days' notice
Prices in: US$ · A$ · £. Prices exclude GST/VAT. ATAVORA invoices from Vietnam. Business customers in Australia and the UK are not charged GST/VAT by us; your accountant can tell you if you need to account for it. US clients: we provide a W-8BEN-E. No setup fee. If you're not happy after the first month of Local Visibility, email us before your second month starts and we stop straight away. See all our prices in one place.
Is there a catch?
Yes. AI search work needs:
- ownership of your Google Business Profile, or help from you to claim it,
- customers being asked for reviews, which your team does with our kit,
- patience with the numbers: AI answers move around, so we judge by trends over months.
What we can't do: make an AI assistant name you. We work on the things linked to being named and show you honestly whether it's moving.
Nothing is changed on your site or profile without your approval.
What you own: the question set, the data and every account
- The question set and every monthly result, delivered to you as a spreadsheet, so you can keep checking without us.
- Your Google profile. You stay the Primary Owner; we're a Manager.
- GA4 and Search Console. In your Google account.
- Pages we write. On your website, yours if you leave.
How we report: AI mentions, plus calls, bookings and enquiries
- AI check. For each question: named or not, linked or not, competitors named, compared with last month.
- AI visits. Sessions from AI assistants in GA4, and what those visitors did.
- Calls, bookings and enquiries. Phone taps (GA4) and Google profile calls; Book button clicks, which GA4 counts as clicks through to your booking platform, not completed bookings; form enquiries.
- What we did. Fixes made, pages written, reviews replied to.
We report AI results as a range over time, because a single answer is noise.
Who does the work
Hai Pham, founder, runs the checks with the team and is accountable for the findings. ATAVORA is a small team in Vietnam led by Hai Pham. We work during Australian business hours; for UK and US clients most work happens while you sleep, and calls are booked in your morning. More: about ATAVORA.
Questions about AI SEO
What does an AI SEO agency actually do?
It works on how your business shows up in AI answers: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. For a local business, the evidence points to the same foundations as local SEO, so that's most of what we do, plus measuring what the AI tools say.
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my business?
No. Nobody can. Answers change from run to run, and the AI companies don't publish how they choose. Anyone promising guaranteed citations is promising something they don't control.
Is AI search replacing Google?
Not replacing, but changing what the results page looks like. When we checked 42 searches for marketing services across Australia, the UK and the US on 18 October 2026, an AI Overview appeared on 34 of them. Your Google profile and website still feed both.
Do I need llms.txt or special schema?
Google says its search ignores llms.txt and that no special structured data is needed for AI Overviews. Standard structured data for your business type and services is still worth having for normal search.
How long until I see a difference?
We can't give you a date. Fixing wrong details on your Google profile can change what AI says once it re-reads them; building reviews takes months. The monthly check shows the trend.
Why is this cheaper than other AI SEO packages?
Because we don't sell it as a separate channel. The first AI mention check is part of the free Leak Check, and the monthly AI check is part of Local Visibility. Some pricing reports quote USD 1,800 to 4,200 a month for local AI search; those figures come from agencies' proposals, not published prices.
Can I check this myself?
Yes. Write 10 questions your customers would ask, ask them in two or three AI tools, twice, and note who gets named. Our guide shows how: generative engine optimization, explained for small businesses.
If you're in the UK or the US, what do I pay?
The AI tools are the same in all three countries, but the answers are local, so we write the question set for your town and your market. UK prices are in pounds, US in dollars. In the UK, AI search is widely sold at £400 to £595 a month and several UK agencies already include it inside SEO; we include it inside Local Visibility at £299 a month. In the US, FTC endorsement rules apply to content posted from abroad when it's likely to reach US consumers, so we never create mentions or reviews on your behalf.