Three proposals for AI search work sit on your desk. All three mention ChatGPT, and none says what you'd have in hand after month two.
One thing first: we sell this kind of work, so read this with that in mind, and ask us every question on it.
What does an AI search agency actually do for a home service company?
Mostly local SEO work: your Google Business Profile, service pages, reviews, listings and mentions on other sites. Your own site and profile carry real weight in local AI answers:
Business websites supply 42% of the ~1.97M citations in local AI answers (ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews); Google Business Profile ~29%.
Source: BrightLocal local AI visibility study · (opens in a new tab)
What it adds is asking the assistants your buyers' questions every month and keeping each answer with its date. How AI search works for home service companies explains where those answers come from. Ask each agency for a sample month: tasks and answers side by side.
What should an agency put in writing before you sign?
Five things: the questions, the people, the first month, the report and the way out.
- The questions. The fixed list and the assistants it goes to. Then the part that matters when you leave: do you keep the list and every dated answer, so the next firm can ask the same questions and compare?
- The people. Who writes your pages and who works in your Google profile. Google's rules say an agency must tell you about every change to your profile.[1] Replying to reviews on your behalf needs your explicit approval; a verbal okay isn't enough.[1]
- The first 30 days. A dated list that starts with a record of today's answers, or month three has nothing to compare against.
- The monthly report. What shipped, with links, plus the dated answers and your Business Profile numbers. Google says you have the right to know your profile's performance.[2] Our sample report shows one layout, for a fictional company.
- The way out. The term, and who keeps the pages and photos. Google's policy says an agency must give you a quick and easy way to end its service.[1] Within 7 business days of your notice, it must let you regain exclusive control of your profile.[1]
Send all five in one email and file the replies.
Who should own your Google profile, website and logins?
You should, with the agency added as a user. Google's policy for agencies says a business that hires one must keep ownership or co-ownership of its Business Profile at all times.[1]
It tells agencies to make the business the owner and themselves the manager, and bars them from keeping a profile hostage for money.[1] A manager can do nearly everything an owner can, except add or remove users or remove the profile.[3]
| Account | Owner | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | You, as primary owner[3] | Manager |
| Domain name | Your company, in its own account where the domain was bought | None, unless an agreed task needs it |
| Website and hosting | You | Its own login |
| Search Console | You, as verified owner | Full user once hired;[4] read access only while it audits[5] |
| Analytics | You | Its own login |
Tonight, open Business Profile settings, then People and access, and check who's listed as owner.[3] Then put this table in the contract. Google suggests getting an official copy of the agreement that spells out each service and what it costs.[2]
Which promises and shortcuts should you walk away from?
Any promise of a spot, and anything that breaks Google's or the FTC's rules:
- A promised spot. Google's agency rules list guaranteeing top placement among false or misleading claims,[1] and its hiring page says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking.[5] Its page on AI features says that, for AI Overviews and AI Mode, meeting every requirement doesn't mean Google will crawl, index or serve a page.[6] OpenAI said on January 16, 2026, that ads don't influence ChatGPT's answers.[7] No fee buys a place in the AI answer itself; ChatGPT ads sit apart from it.
- An inside line to Google. Google warns about SEOs who claim a “special relationship” with it.[5] If a rep says they work for Google, Google suggests asking them to email you from their @google.com address.[2]
- Links for sale. Google lists buying links for ranking as link spam,[8] and says you should never have to link to an SEO.[5] Earn links without buying them instead.
- Reviews written, bought or filtered. Under the FTC's reviews rule, in effect since October 21, 2024, advertising agencies and reputation management companies can be liable.[9] That covers writing or selling fake reviews, pay that depends on a review being positive or negative, and review suppression.[9] Google's Maps policy bars businesses from selectively asking customers for positive reviews.[10]
- Pages by the hundred. Google's spam policies list using generative AI to make many pages without adding value as scaled content abuse.[8] City pages that funnel visitors to one page are on its doorway abuse list.[8] Read when city pages help.
- Big claims about AI tools. Announcing its Operation AI Comply cases on September 25, 2024, the FTC's chair at the time said there is “no AI exemption from the laws on the books.”[11] Ask an agency for the evidence behind any claim about its AI tools.
Google also says you're responsible for the actions of any company you hire.[5] If a proposal has one of these, move on.
How do you compare three proposals side by side?
Put all three in one grid with the five columns below, filled from each proposal, not the sales call. A blank cell is an answer.
Three proposals for a roofing company in Waco, Texas
- Columns: questions asked · who owns the Google profile · term · what the report shows · any guarantee.
- Proposal A: “AI optimization,” no question list · the agency owns the profile · 12-month contract · a visibility score · “page one in 90 days.”
- Proposal B: 20 written questions, such as “Who replaces metal roofs in Waco?” · you own it, the agency manages it · month to month · tasks with links and every dated answer · none.
- Proposal C: 25 questions, shown only after signing · you own it · 6-month term · tasks with links and a count of mentions · none.
- How I'd read it: A is out on ownership and the guarantee alone. Ask C for its questions and one month's answers before you sign. B shows its work today.
Illustrative example
What should AI search work cost?
I don't know a market rate I'd trust, so price each proposal against its task list. What an AI visibility audit costs covers one-off audits, and what local SEO costs works through a break-even sum for a monthly fee.
Don't pay for the profile itself. Google says Business Profile can be used at no charge, though third parties often charge a fee to manage it.[2]
Ours, for comparison: AI search optimization plans start at $750/mo, month to month with no minimum term. Every month we run the same buyer questions across the AI assistants we test (currently ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity), and how it works shows month one.
The Found Sprint ($1,500 fixed) is up to 10 fixes from your report, done within 30 days once we have access and an agreed scope. The Expert Action Plan ($149) is the Complete Visibility Report plus a 30-minute consultation. See our pricing page.
The Free AI visibility check is a review by hand of your website and Google profile, with your first fixes, usually within two business days. Or book a Free 30-minute strategy call.
When can you skip hiring anyone?
When your own check shows the basics in place, or gaps you can fix yourself. Run an AI search audit on your own company before any sales call.
Google says it doesn't take long to learn how Business Profile works, and that knowing it helps you make more informed decisions with a third party.[2] Hire when the fix list is longer than your evenings.
Where does an agency's work stop?
At the answer itself. No agency writes the answers. Good work makes your evidence clear across your site, profile, reviews and listings, and that's as far as it reaches.
A mention often isn't the buyer's last step, either:
Only 18% of consumers who use AI for local search felt ready to contact the business it recommended; the rest kept researching on Google and other channels.
Source: BrightLocal consumer search behavior study · (opens in a new tab)
So judge an agency on the work it ships and the dated record it keeps. These pages were checked on October 18, 2026.