AEO is also called GEO (generative engine optimization), AI search optimization or AI visibility. It is the work of getting a business named and described accurately by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Claude. If the term is new to you, start with what AEO is.
A caution before the numbers. Nobody independent has audited what AEO costs. Almost every published figure comes from an agency or a software company that sells it. That includes us, and our own price is in the table too. We list each source with its date so you can check it yourself.
How much does AEO cost per month?
Published prices fall into five bands. The band you land in depends on who does the work, not only on how much work there is.
| Approach | Monthly cost | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking tool, run it yourself | $30–$500 | Software that asks the engines a set of questions and records who is named and cited. No fixes. |
| Small business retainer | $1,500–$5,000 | Tracking plus technical fixes, a few pages a month and profile cleanup for one location or service line. |
| Mid-market retainer | $3,000–$10,000 | A full program: content, directories, reviews and third-party mentions, with monthly reporting. |
| Enterprise program | $10,000–$25,000+ | Custom scoped. Many markets or locations, a dedicated team, digital PR and executive reporting. |
| International enterprise | $15,000 to six figures | Custom scoped. Several countries or regions, with the price set by industry and scope. |
Enterprise plans are custom scoped. International enterprise companies frequently run from $15,000 a month into six figures, depending on industry, scope and the number of markets covered. 310 Creative puts custom enterprise programs for global brands in regulated industries at $20,000 to $100,000 or more a month. No range can tell an enterprise what it will pay, so the best way to get an exact number is a custom plan from ElytraCo. More on how those programs run on our enterprise page.
The tool band comes from HubSpot's breakdown, which starts at about $30 a month. The small business and enterprise bands match Stackmatix's tiers of $1,500 to $5,000 and $10,000 to $20,000 or more. The mid-market band is the one most sources agree on: Lean Labs reports managed programs at $3,000 to $10,000, and The Digital Elevator puts most credible mid-market retainers at $2,000 to $10,000.
How much does an AEO agency charge?
Most AEO agencies charge a flat monthly retainer. A few bill by project or by the hour. The published starting prices we found:
- Monthly retainer. SEO.com lists GEO plans from $3,000 a month. Lean Labs lists its program from $5,000 a month. Fuel Online puts a monthly AEO retainer at $3,500 to $8,000.
- Hourly. 310 Creative reports hourly AEO work at $100 to $250 an hour.
- One-time audit. Stackmatix describes AEO audits as 10 to 20 hour projects costing $1,000 to $4,000.
- Top of the market. WebFX and 310 Creative both put the upper end at $50,000 or more a month for large programs.
The spread is wide because the label is new and the scope is not standard. 310 Creative warns that quotes under $1,500 a month claiming full AEO scope are usually traditional SEO with a new name.
What 15 published sources say AEO costs
We opened each of these pages on 14 November 2026 and read the figure from the page. The table lists what each source says in its own terms, with our own range in the last row. All prices are in US dollars per month.
| Source | What it prices | Published figure | Page dated |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | AEO, by approach | About $30 a month for a self-run tool to over $15,000 a month for a full-service agency; mid-range $1,500–$5,000 | Sep 2026 |
| WebFX | GEO agency services | $1,500–$50,000+ a month; tools $10–$1,000+ | Oct 2026 |
| SEO.com | Its own GEO plans | Start at $3,000 a month; says the average agency charges $1,500–$15,000 | Nov 2026 |
| 310 Creative | AEO agency retainers | $1,000–$50,000+ a month; mid-tier $4,000–$12,000; hourly $100–$250 | Nov 2026 |
| MarketerHire | AEO services | $2,500–$25,000 a month | Oct 2026 |
| The Digital Elevator | AEO/GEO retainers | Mid-market $2,000–$10,000 a month; tiers of $1,000–$2,500, $3,000–$8,000 and $10,000–$25,000+ | Oct 2026 |
| Fuel Online | AEO and GEO retainers | Monthly AEO retainer $3,500–$8,000; specialist agencies $5,500–$35,000 | Oct 2026 |
| Stackmatix | AEO retainers by company size | Small business $1,500–$5,000; mid-market $5,000–$10,000; enterprise $10,000–$20,000+ | Mar 2026 |
| Discovered Labs | AEO agency tiers | $4,000–$20,000+ a month; tiers of $4,000–$6,000, $8,000–$15,000 and $20,000+ | Jan 2026 |
| AEO Engine | AEO programs | $3,000–$25,000+ a month | Undated |
| NoGood | AEO retainers | $3,000–$25,000+ a month | Aug 2026 |
| Lean Labs | Managed AEO programs | Managed programs $3,000–$10,000 a month; its own system from $5,000 | Jul 2026 |
| Everything-PR | AEO, tools to agencies | $50 a month for a tracking tool to $15,000 or more for an agency program | Nov 2026 |
| GTM 80/20 | AEO for law firms | $2,500–$12,000 a month; most flat retainers $5,000–$9,000 | Nov 2026 |
| Conductor | Standalone AEO software | $500–$5,000+ a month | Jun 2026 |
| ElytraCo | Our own AEO plans | $2,500–$10,000+ a month, scoped after a free audit | Nov 2026 |
Three patterns stand out. The low end of an agency retainer sits between $1,500 and $4,000 in most sources. The band named most often for a serious mid-market program is $3,000 to $10,000. Enterprise figures start near $10,000, and the published ceilings range from $20,000 to more than $50,000.
What this table is not: a survey of what clients paid. It is a list of what sellers say the work costs. Treat it as a guide to asking prices.
How much does AEO cost by industry?
Published prices are rarely broken out by industry. The table below is ElytraCo's own planning estimate for a single business in each category, based on the scope these businesses usually need.
| Industry | Estimated monthly investment |
|---|---|
| Small businesses, one location | $1,500–$3,000 |
| HVAC and home services | $2,000–$4,000 |
| Medical spas | $2,500–$5,000 |
| Dental practices | $3,000–$5,000 |
| Law firms | $3,000–$7,500 |
| Plastic surgery practices | $4,000–$8,000 |
| Enterprise and multi-location | $10,000–$25,000+ |
The one industry with a published range of its own is law. GTM 80/20 puts credible law firm AEO retainers at $2,500 to $12,000 a month, which brackets our estimate.
What moves the price of AEO?
Six things explain most of the difference between a $2,000 quote and a $10,000 quote.
- Competition. A personal injury firm in a large metro is up against firms that already have years of reviews, directory profiles and press. A plumber in a small town is not. More competitors named in the answers means more sources to work.
- Number of locations. AI answers are local. Each location has its own profiles, reviews and competitors, so each one adds tracking and cleanup.
- Content requirements. Some sites need a few answer pages. Others need every service, practice area or procedure rewritten so a model can quote it.
- Citation development. The engines cite directories, review sites, roundups and local press. Getting a business added or corrected on those sources is slower and costs more than editing its own site.
- Reporting. A monthly score costs little. Raw answers for every tracked question, by engine and by market, with a strategist to explain them, costs more.
- Number of AI platforms monitored. Tracking ChatGPT alone is cheaper than tracking ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Claude. Some tools charge per engine.
What do AEO agencies actually deliver?
The same monthly price can buy very different work, so compare deliverables before you compare prices. Published tier descriptions agree on roughly this split.
| Lower retainer, about $2,500–$4,000 | Higher retainer, about $6,000–$9,000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking | A fixed question set, tested monthly | A larger question set across more engines and markets |
| On-site work | Crawler access, schema and a directory audit | The same, plus new answer pages every month |
| Off-site work | Corrections to existing profiles | Active work on citations: directories, reviews, roundups and press |
| Reporting | A monthly report | A report, a strategist call and competitor tracking |
This split follows GTM 80/20, which says entry retainers of $2,500 to $4,000 typically cover monitoring and a directory audit, while retainers above $5,000 add content production and citation work. Discovered Labs describes a $4,000 starter package as four articles a month, one content refresh and basic schema.
Ask every agency for the same five numbers: questions tracked, engines tested, pages written per month, off-site sources worked per month, and how often you see raw answers.
How much does ChatGPT optimization cost?
ChatGPT optimization costs the same as AEO, because it is the same work. No published price list we found sells ChatGPT on its own as an agency service. You cannot pay OpenAI to be named in an answer, so the cost is the work of becoming the business ChatGPT finds and trusts.
Where the engine does change the price is tracking. Some tools charge per engine. HubSpot's guide lists Ahrefs Brand Radar at $199 a month per answer engine, so tracking ChatGPT alone costs less than tracking five engines. On the agency side, the work that helps with ChatGPT, such as letting OAI-SearchBot crawl the site and fixing the directories and reviews it cites, also helps with the other engines. Paying for one engine at a time rarely makes sense.
What is the difference between SEO and AEO pricing?
SEO has years of pricing data. AEO does not. That is the main difference, and it is why AEO quotes vary more.
| SEO | AEO / GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical monthly retainer | $2,917 on average across 439 providers | $3,000–$10,000 for a mid-market program |
| Where most buyers land | 63% spend $500–$5,000 | $1,500–$5,000 for a small business |
| Quality of the data | An independent poll of providers | Sellers' own published ranges |
| What the money goes to | Your pages, links and technical health | Your pages plus directories, reviews, mentions and multi-engine tracking |
The SEO figures come from Ahrefs' poll of 439 SEO providers. AEO tends to be quoted higher than SEO for two reasons: more of the work happens off your own website, and the tracking has to be repeated across several engines. Many agencies now sell the two together, so check whether a quote is for AEO on top of SEO or instead of it. AEO vs SEO cost compares the two line by line, and our guide to AEO vs SEO covers what carries over between them.
How much does AEO cost for law firms?
Law is the one industry with a published AEO range. GTM 80/20 puts credible law firm retainers at $2,500 to $12,000 a month:
- Solo and small civil practices: $2,500 to $5,000.
- Mid-size personal injury and mass-tort firms: $6,000 to $9,000.
- Multi-state firms: $10,000 to $12,000 or more.
Legal costs more than most local categories for three reasons. Each practice area needs its own question set. The sources AI cites for legal questions, such as Avvo, Justia, Super Lawyers and state bar listings, each have to be worked one attorney at a time. And everything published has to be reviewed against your state bar's advertising rules. The full breakdown, including cost per signed case, is in law firm AEO pricing. For comparison, see what law firm SEO costs, and how the work differs on our page for law firms.
How much does AEO cost for medical practices?
Published healthcare figures are thin. GTM 80/20 cites $2,000 to $5,000 a month for a full-service program at a single practice, and $7,500 to $25,000 for specialist agencies serving mid-market groups. Our planning estimates are $2,500 to $5,000 a month for a medical spa, $3,000 to $5,000 for a dental practice and $4,000 to $8,000 for a plastic surgery practice.
What drives the number in medicine is different from law. AI often recommends a named provider and it recommends by procedure, so the cost scales with how many providers and procedures you want tracked. Provider profiles on Healthgrades, RealSelf and Zocdoc each need to agree with your site. Clinical content needs provider sign-off, and reviews have to be handled without confirming that anyone is a patient. None of this requires patient data. The full breakdown, including compliance costs and how it compares with search ads, is in medical AEO pricing. More on the work itself on our page for medical practices.
Is AEO worth the investment for small businesses?
It depends on what one customer is worth to you and whether people in your category ask AI who to hire. Run the numbers before you sign anything.
Take a retainer of $2,000 a month. If an average customer is worth $1,500, you need two extra customers a month to cover it. If an average customer is worth $150, you need fourteen, and AEO probably is not where your next dollar should go.
Three checks make the decision easier:
- Ask the engines yourself. Type the question your customers would ask into ChatGPT and Google. If the answer names two or three businesses, there is a shortlist to get onto. If it gives general advice and no names, the channel is not active for you yet.
- Start with a baseline. A tracking tool at $30 to $50 a month, or a free audit, tells you where you stand before you spend on fixing anything.
- Fix the free things first. Letting AI crawlers in, correcting your Google Business Profile and asking for specific reviews cost time, not a retainer.
The AEO ROI calculator runs this math on your own numbers.
A small business with low customer value and a simple market is often better served by a tool and a few hours a month than by an agency.
How long does AEO take to show results?
Plan for about 90 days before the picture is stable, and budget for at least three to six months. In our programs a baseline takes about two weeks, first movement usually shows in the second month, and core questions settle around day 90. Competitive categories in large metros can take six months or more.
Published estimates are in the same range. Stackmatix reports measurable citation appearances within 60 to 90 days at $3,000 to $5,000 a month. The Digital Elevator advises a 6 to 12 month horizon for meaningful results.
The timeline matters for cost. At $3,000 a month, three months is $9,000 before you can judge the result. An agency that reports raw answers every month lets you see movement early instead of waiting for a contract to end.
How does ElytraCo price AEO?
ElytraCo is an AI visibility company and AEO/GEO agency for law firms, medical practices, home service companies and multi-location brands. Our AEO plans run from $2,500 to $10,000 or more a month. Where a plan lands in that range depends on scope.
- It starts with a free audit. In 20 minutes we ask the engines your customers' questions live and show you who is named and which sources are cited. You keep the baseline either way.
- You get your exact price on that call. It is sized to your markets, locations, service lines and the number of questions we track.
- Most plans are month to month. Cancel with 14 days' notice. Enterprise programs run on an agreed term.
- One business per category per market. We do not work for two competitors on the same questions.
AEO pricing FAQ
What does ElytraCo charge for AEO?
Is there a setup fee for AEO?
Can I do AEO myself with a tool?
Why do AEO quotes vary so much?
Do AEO agencies require long contracts?
More on AEO pricing
- Law firm AEO pricing: costs by firm type and the math per signed case.
- Medical AEO pricing: costs for practices, compliance review and budget reality.
- AEO vs SEO cost: the two services priced side by side.
- AEO ROI calculator: break-even and return on your own numbers.
Sources
Every figure above was read from these pages on 14 November 2026. Prices change, so check the source before you rely on a number.
- HubSpot: AEO, by approach. Page dated Sep 2026.
- WebFX: GEO agency services. Page dated Oct 2026.
- SEO.com: Its own GEO plans. Page dated Nov 2026.
- 310 Creative: AEO agency retainers. Page dated Nov 2026.
- MarketerHire: AEO services. Page dated Oct 2026.
- The Digital Elevator: AEO/GEO retainers. Page dated Oct 2026.
- Fuel Online: AEO and GEO retainers. Page dated Oct 2026.
- Stackmatix: AEO retainers by company size. Page dated Mar 2026.
- Discovered Labs: AEO agency tiers. Page dated Jan 2026.
- AEO Engine: AEO programs. Page dated Undated.
- NoGood: AEO retainers. Page dated Aug 2026.
- Lean Labs: Managed AEO programs. Page dated Jul 2026.
- Everything-PR: AEO, tools to agencies. Page dated Nov 2026.
- GTM 80/20: AEO for law firms. Page dated Nov 2026.
- Conductor: Standalone AEO software. Page dated Jun 2026.
- Ahrefs: SEO pricing poll of 439 providers.
- GTM 80/20: AEO for healthcare organizations. Page dated Nov 2026.