Visibility in AI answers

How to choose a GEO agency in the Baltics: 10 questions to ask

A good GEO (generative engine optimization) agency measures what ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI tell your buyers, repeats the same measurement after the work, and promises that measurement, not a place in the answer. Google says indexing and serving "isn't guaranteed". We are a GEO agency too, so we answer the same ten questions at the end.

Why can't any GEO agency promise that ChatGPT will name you?

ChatGPT's answers are not for sale, and they change from one run to the next. OpenAI says advertising "does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides". Google says its AI features need no special optimization or markup, and that indexing and serving are not guaranteed. So an agency can honestly promise a measurement and a list of work, not a result inside ChatGPT.

Google's page on hiring an SEO is about classic search, not AI answers, but the rule is the same: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." OpenAI recommends allowing its crawler, OAI-SearchBot, so that a site can appear in ChatGPT search. That is a condition, not a promise.

Answers also vary. In a study by SparkToro and Gumshoe.ai, 12 prompts, one of them about digital marketing consultants, produced 2,961 answers from ChatGPT, Claude and Google's AI search in November and December 2025. ChatGPT and Google returned the same list of brands twice in less than 1 case in 100. The study is not peer-reviewed, and Gumshoe.ai is an AI tracking startup. More in Why doesn't ChatGPT recommend my business?

The assistants say it themselves. On 12 October 2026 we asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, in Latvian, who in Latvia helps companies appear in ChatGPT and Gemini answers. In 4 of the 5 answers we received, the assistant warned that nobody can guarantee it.

What are the ten questions to ask a GEO agency before you sign?

Ask how the agency measures, what it promises, what it will change, how it proves results and how you can leave. The table sums up the ten questions with a good answer and a red flag for each. The sections below explain them one by one.

Ten questions for a GEO agency: a good answer and a red flag
Question	A good answer	A red flag
1. Which buyer questions will you test?	A written list of buyer questions in each of your languages, shared with you so you can rerun it	A "proprietary prompt library" you cannot see; only questions with your company name
2. How often is each question asked?	Each question repeated; counts such as "named in 13 of 16 answers"; the same set before and after	One screenshot as proof; "your position in ChatGPT" as a single number
3. What counts as "visibility"?	Named, cited and first source counted separately for each assistant, defined in writing	One percentage with no formula; all assistants averaged together
4. What do you promise?	A before-and-after measurement and a list of work; no promise of a place	A promised first place or guaranteed citations; the outcome in the headline and the disclaimer in the FAQ
5. What will you change, and who does it?	Crawler access first, then text in the page, a page per buyer question, outside sources; a named author and approver	"High-quality content" and a secret method; llms.txt or schema sold as the main product
6. Does it work in my language?	Results for each language separately; says where it has not measured	One report for the whole Baltics; an English audit for a business that sells in Latvian
7. Can you show a past client?	Dates, the same questions before and after, other changes disclosed	An ROI percentage with no baseline; the agency's own visibility as its main proof
8. When will I see something?	Fast checks within days, slow ones over months; a date for the first report; a rule for what happens if nothing moves	"Results in 30 days"; no date for the first report
9. What does it cost, and how do I leave?	The scope agreed in writing, what costs extra, the notice period, who owns the website and accounts	A long commitment with no result criteria; a setup fee before any measurement
10. How is it different from SEO and from ads?	Admits the overlap with SEO and names the extra work; ads are a separate line	Renamed SEO reports; ads sold as "being recommended by ChatGPT"

Question 1: Which buyer questions will you test, and can I rerun them myself?

A good answer is a written list of the questions your buyers ask, in each language of your market, shared with you so that you can put them to ChatGPT yourself. It includes questions where you are not named today: those are the questions the work is for.

Red flag: a number of tracked prompts with no list attached, or one language for a market that buys in three.

Why it matters: an AI answer depends on the wording of the question, and a buyer asks about a need or a product, not about your company. A test built on your company name shows what an assistant knows about you, not whether it recommends you.

Question 2: How many times do you ask each question, and what do you do when the answers change?

A good answer: each question is asked more than once, and the report gives counts such as "named in 13 of 16 answers". The before and after measurements use the same questions, the same number of repeats, and a named assistant and model.

Red flag: a report with no date, no assistant name and no model.

Why it matters: answers change from run to run, so one screenshot shows one answer, not a pattern. Counts need care too. Two runs per question is a minimum, not a statistical test, and it is too few to judge a difference of one or two answers.

Question 3: What exactly do you count as "visibility"?

A good answer counts three things separately for each assistant. Is your company named in the text of the answer? Is your website among the sources? Is it the first source? The definitions are written down, and the report shows which companies were named and which pages were cited.

Red flag: "share of voice" calculated from a single question.

Why it matters: the assistants behave differently. On 12 October 2026 we measured our own directory NordSourced with 8 buyer questions, each asked twice. ChatGPT named it in 12 of 16 answers. Gemini named it in none, yet used nordsourced.com as a source in 6 of 16. One averaged figure would hide both facts.

Question 4: What do you promise, and what do you refuse to promise?

A good answer promises a before-and-after measurement on the same questions and a written list of work, and refuses to promise a place in ChatGPT's answer. The refusal is on the sales page itself, not only in the small print.

Red flag: a claim of approval by Google. Google warns against SEO tools that claim its approval.

Why it matters: OpenAI says advertising does not influence ChatGPT's answers, and Google says its AI features need no special optimization. An agency that promises the place is promising something it does not control. Google's advice on hiring an SEO is direct: if someone guarantees first place in search results, "find someone else".

Question 5: What will you change on my website and outside it, and who does the work?

A good answer names the steps in order and who does each one. First, access: ChatGPT's search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, must not be blocked. Then the answers go into the page text, not into scripts or images. Then a page for each buyer question, and then the outside websites that assistants already cite in your industry.

Red flag: work that happens only inside a tool, with no change to your website.

Ask who writes the pages, who approves them and in which language. Google's advice on hiring an SEO applies here: "Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do."

Question 6: Does it work in my language, and have you measured it there?

A good answer lists the languages the agency has actually measured, shows the results for each language separately, and says plainly where it has no data. In the Baltics, one company may sell in three or four languages.

Red flag: case studies only in English, with no note about other languages.

Why it matters: the language of the question changes what an assistant finds. When we asked Gemini two Russian questions about agencies in Latvia on 13 October 2026, all of its search queries were in Latvian and English. Google's own questions for hiring an SEO include experience in your country.

Our own results are weak in every language we have measured. On 12 October 2026 ChatGPT named learnxMI in 0 of 14 answers to 7 Latvian questions. On 14 October we asked 8 English and 8 Russian questions, each twice: ChatGPT and Gemini each named us in 0 of 16 answers in English and 0 of 16 in Russian. We have not measured Estonian.

Question 7: Can you show a past client, with dates, numbers and what else changed?

A good answer shows a named or clearly described client, dates, the same questions before and after, and counts of answers. It also says what else changed at the same time, such as a new website or ads.

Red flag: an ROI percentage with no baseline, sample or method.
Red flag: the agency's own visibility as its main case.

Why it matters: Google's questions for hiring an SEO start with examples of previous work, and a number without its method cannot be checked.

Example: Gemini named our client PharmaEurope in 0 of 8 answers on 27 September 2026 and in 8 of 16 on 12 October, to the same eight buyer questions. A new website had gone live on 21 September, so this is not a controlled experiment. More cases: our method page.

Question 8: How soon will I see something, and what happens if nothing changes?

A good answer separates fast checks from slow ones and gives the date of the first report. It also agrees in advance what happens if the same questions show no change after an agreed period. Any timeline is called an estimate, not a guarantee.

Red flag: a timeline with no explanation of what it depends on.

Why it matters: some steps are fast. OpenAI says its systems adjust to a robots.txt change in about 24 hours. Being named takes longer, and Google's own questions for hiring an SEO ask what results to expect and in what timeframe.

Our two cases are not a promise. ChatGPT first named PharmaEurope 8 days after its new website went live. It named our own directory NordSourced in 12 of 16 answers twelve days after it opened.

Question 9: What does the price include, what costs extra, and how do I leave?

A good answer is written down. It says what scope the monthly fee covers, such as the number of tracked questions, pages and languages, and what is charged separately (tools, ad budget, translation). It also gives the notice period and says who owns the website, the texts and the accounts if you leave.

Red flag: texts and data that stay in the agency's system after you leave.
Red flag: "price on request" with no factors named.

Why it matters: prices for GEO work vary widely, and a number on a proposal means little until you know what it covers. What drives the price is explained in How much does GEO (AI search optimization) cost? The exit terms are the one part you can check fully before signing, because they are written in the contract.

Question 10: How is this different from the SEO I already pay for, and are you selling ads as visibility?

A good answer admits the overlap with SEO and names the extra work: pages for buyer questions, numbers in the text, outside sources, and measurement in ChatGPT and Gemini.

Red flag: "special AI optimization" presented as a secret technology.
Red flag: Google ranking reports under a new name, or ads described as "being recommended by ChatGPT".

Why it matters: the same work is sold as GEO, AEO, AI SEO or ChatGPT SEO, and Google says its AI features need nothing beyond an indexed page that can show a snippet. ChatGPT runs its own web search and sometimes uses other search providers, so only its answers show whether you are named. Terms: AEO vs GEO vs SEO vs AI SEO.

Ads are a separate line with their own budget and report. Since 31 August 2026 businesses in Latvia can buy ChatGPT ads, which are labeled, shown apart from the answer and seen only by Free and Go users. More: ChatGPT ads in Latvia.

How do we answer these ten questions?

We are a GEO agency ourselves, so here are our answers to the same ten questions, weak spots included. The method and the dated results are on our method page.

1. Questions. 8–12 buyer questions about a need or a product, not about the company name. We share the measurement with you: the questions, which companies each assistant names and which pages it cites.

2. Repeats and models. Each question twice. ChatGPT through the OpenAI API (gpt-5.5 with web search, no account and no history), Gemini 3.8 Flash with Google Search, and Perplexity Sonar on part of the questions. On 14 October 2026 ChatGPT ran with a cheaper low-context search setting. Two runs is a minimum, not a statistical test.

3. Definitions. Named: the company name is in the text of the answer. Cited: its website is among the sources. First source is counted separately, for each assistant.

4. Promise. A before-and-after measurement with the same questions. No place in any answer.

5. Work. Seven steps, from crawler access and pages that answer buyer questions to directories outside your website. Each step has its own check, listed on the method page.

6. Languages. Weak in every language we have measured; the numbers are under question 6. Estonian is not measured yet.

7. Proof. PharmaEurope in Gemini: under question 7. PharmaEurope in ChatGPT: 0 of 15 answers on 27 September 2026 (OtterlyAI tracking, different questions), 13 of 16 on 12 October. NordSourced, our own project and not a client case: 12 of 16 in ChatGPT, 0 of 16 in Gemini. hybridenergy.lt: 25% of Google impressions in AI features. Perplexity named none of PharmaEurope, NordSourced and learnxMI on 12 October. Our own starting point that day: ChatGPT named us in 2 of 24 answers, Gemini in 4 of 24.

8. Timelines. Two cases, under question 8. Not a promise.

9. Price and exit. From €200 per month. The scope and price are fixed after a free 90-minute consultation and depend on the number of pages, the languages and whether you also need ChatGPT ads. There is no annual contract: you can stop with 30 days' notice, with no penalties and no setup fee. The domain, the website, the ad accounts, the mailboxes and the collected data are registered in your company's name from the start.

10. Ads. Separate work with a separate budget: ChatGPT ads in Latvia.

If you need a guaranteed place in an AI answer, we are not the right agency. If you want to see what ChatGPT answers to your buyers today, book a free 90-minute consultation.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I find a GEO agency in Latvia?

Do not rely on one AI-generated list. In our measurement of 14 October 2026, ChatGPT and Gemini cited mostly different websites for "generative engine optimization agency Latvia", with only two domains in common. Ask two or three agencies for their question list and a baseline measurement before you sign, then compare their answers to the ten questions above.

What is the difference between a GEO agency and an SEO agency?

Part of the work overlaps, but a GEO agency should also measure what ChatGPT, Gemini and other assistants answer to your buyers, and show what it does beyond SEO. The terms are compared in AEO vs GEO vs SEO vs AI SEO.

Is it a red flag if an agency guarantees a place in ChatGPT?

Yes: no agency controls the place, so an honest one guarantees the measurement and the work, not the outcome. See question 4 above.

How soon should a GEO agency show results?

Nobody can guarantee a date. OpenAI adjusts to a robots.txt change in about 24 hours, but being named takes longer. Question 8 above lists what to agree in advance.

Why do GEO agency prices differ so much?

Because the scope differs: how many buyer questions are tracked, how many pages are written, in how many languages, and whether ads are included. Compare what each proposal covers before you compare the totals; the price factors are in How much does GEO (AI search optimization) cost? Our own work starts from €200 per month.

Do I need a GEO agency, or can I do it myself?

Many small businesses can start on their own. Google's advice on SEO says that if you run a small local business, "you can probably do much of the work yourself". The checks in Why doesn't ChatGPT recommend my business? take minutes. An agency makes sense when you have no time to write pages in several languages and repeat the measurements.

What should a GEO audit include?

The question list, the assistants tested, the number of repeats and written definitions (questions 1–3 above). Add the domains that appear under "Sources", a check of crawler access, and a check that each buyer question has a page that answers it.

How can I check a GEO agency's claims myself?

Ask for its question list and put 5–8 of the questions to ChatGPT yourself, the way it is described in Why doesn't ChatGPT recommend my business?. Then compare every percentage in the agency's report with its written definition.

Should the same agency run my ChatGPT ads?

It can, as a separate line with its own budget and report. See question 10 above.

Is a GEO agency the same as a geodesy company?

No. Here GEO means generative engine optimization: work to get AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini to name your company. The term is ambiguous: when we asked Gemini about a "GEO agency in Latvia" on 13 October 2026, it answered first about the state geospatial information agency.

Ask us the same ten questions

In a free 90-minute consultation we look together at what ChatGPT answers to your buyers' questions today, and you can put all ten questions to us.

Book a consultation See the method and results