7 SEO Agencies Actually Leading AI Search (Not Just Talking About It)

My friend who runs an online store called me last week completely confused. His Google traffic dropped like 18 percent over six months. Rankings looked fine though. Couldn’t figure it out. Turns out people were asking ChatGPT for product recommendations instead of Googling. His site wasn’t getting cited anywhere. Lost sales he didn’t even know to track.

AI search is legitimately changing everything right now. Not someday — today. Some agencies get this and are adapting fast. Others are still optimizing like it’s 2019. Here’s who’s actually leading this shift, not just talking about it.

1. Aidan Coleman SEO

Full transparency — met Aidan at a conference couple years back. But his approach to AI search is genuinely solid. Based in Australia, focuses heavily on helping businesses stay visible as search completely transforms. Check out Aidan Coleman SEO for their specific methods.

What sets them apart: creating genuinely comprehensive content that AI models actually cite as authoritative sources. Not thin keyword-targeted pages. Real depth. Heavy emphasis on structured data implementation so AI can properly parse everything. Works extensively with schema markup.

Really good at explaining this confusing stuff to non-technical business owners. AI search is genuinely overwhelming for most people. Breaking it down clearly without jargon. Practical implementations, transparent monthly reporting. Heard from a mutual contact they increased one client’s AI citations by something like 280 percent over six months. More traffic even though traditional rankings barely moved.

2. Search Engine Journal’s Agency Partners

Several agencies featured regularly by Search Engine Journal are adapting strategies fast. Heavy focus on E-E-A-T — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. AI models weight these signals heavily when deciding what to cite.

These firms are testing constantly. Tracking citation frequency across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity. Monitoring completely new metrics beyond traditional rankings. One agency told me they’ve completely restructured client content strategies around being citation-worthy rather than just ranking-worthy. Different game entirely.

3. Technical SEO Boutiques

Smaller specialized agencies focusing purely on structured data and schema implementation. These people make sure websites speak AI’s language properly. Often overlooked but absolutely critical foundation.

AI models rely massively on structured data to understand content meaning. Sites without proper implementation get ignored regardless of content quality. Saw this with one client — incredible detailed guides. AI never cited them. Added proper schema markup, within two months citations increased dramatically. Same exact content, just made it parseable.

4. Content-First Strategy Firms

Agencies that completely shifted from high-volume keyword targeting to low-volume deep expertise content. Publishing one incredibly comprehensive guide monthly rather than four thin articles. Quality over quantity taken seriously.

These firms understand AI favors authoritative depth. They’re creating 5000-word comprehensive resources that answer questions thoroughly. Include data, research, expert quotes. The kind of content AI models trust enough to cite. Takes longer to produce but compounds way better over time.

5. Enterprise SEO Platforms

Larger platforms working with major brands are investing heavily in AI search optimization tools. Building proprietary tech to track AI citations, monitor mentions across different AI models, optimize specifically for AI visibility.

These platforms have resources smaller agencies don’t. Running massive tests. Analyzing thousands of queries across multiple AI tools. Identifying patterns in what gets cited versus what doesn’t. Expensive but cutting edge. Mostly work with enterprises but some offer scaled-down services for mid-size businesses.

6. Local SEO Specialists Adapting

Local SEO agencies adding AI optimization to Google Business Profile strategies. When someone asks AI ‘best coffee shop near me,’ these agencies make sure their clients get mentioned. Combining traditional local SEO with AI visibility tactics.

Local AI search is huge because intent is so high. Someone asking AI for nearby recommendations is ready to visit immediately. These agencies are figuring out how to optimize for conversational local queries. Getting reviews that AI models cite. Creating location content AI trusts. Still somewhat experimental but showing results.

7. Voice Search Optimization Pioneers

Agencies that specialized in voice search (Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant) are pivoting hard into AI search. Similar optimization principles. Natural language queries. Conversational answers. Direct response formats.

These firms already understood how to optimize for question-based queries and featured snippets. That expertise translates directly to AI search. They’re ahead of agencies still focused purely on traditional keyword rankings. Understanding user intent matters way more now than exact keyword matching.

What to Look For

When evaluating agencies, ask specific questions. How exactly do they optimize for AI citations? What’s their structured data strategy? How are they measuring success differently now? Can they show examples of client content being cited by AI tools?

Good agencies openly admit uncertainty. This space evolves weekly. Anyone claiming they’ve figured it all out completely is lying. Better to work with someone transparently experimenting than someone pretending they have all the answers.

Red Flags to Avoid

Agencies only discussing traditional keyword rankings. Not enough anymore. Agencies promising guaranteed AI search results — nobody can honestly guarantee that yet. Agencies not monitoring AI citations at all — they’re pretending to adapt, not actually adapting.

Agencies using AI to pump out massive amounts of low-quality content. Super counterproductive. AI-generated thin content lacks the depth and expertise signals that AI search values. Volume strategies are dying fast. Quality depth strategies are winning.

What This Costs

AI-focused SEO runs similar pricing to traditional SEO. Sometimes less actually because you’re creating fewer but better pieces. Typical monthly retainers: $2000-$3500 for small businesses, $4000-$6000 for mid-size companies, $8000+ for enterprises.

ROI timelines: expect 4 to 8 months before seeing meaningful results. Anyone promising faster is overselling. Building authority AI models recognize takes real time.

Bottom Line

AI search is here now, not coming eventually. These agencies understand that deeply and are actively helping clients adapt. Traditional SEO-only approaches are becoming less effective every month. The shift is real and it’s happening fast.

My younger brother told me he hasn’t used Google in months. Just asks ChatGPT everything. That’s not an outlier anymore — that’s increasingly normal, especially for younger users. Businesses need to adapt now or they’ll be invisible to an entire generation of searchers.