What should I ask a vendor about improving AI brand visibility?
Ask how they measure, which engines and how many runs, how often they re-check, who publishes changes under your name, what they will never do, and what happens if nothing moves. A vendor who answers specifically and admits what nobody can promise is more trustworthy than one who guarantees results.
How do they measure?
Ask for the method in plain terms. A good answer names a fixed set of questions, asks them repeatedly on each engine, and keeps the history. AI answers are generated each time and vary, so a vendor who reports one answer is not measuring.
Ask: Which engines do you cover, and which don't you? There is no shame in a gap, but they should know it. For example, OpenAI, Perplexity and Anthropic each run separate crawlers and rules (OpenAI, Perplexity, Anthropic), and Google says AI features use the same Search eligibility (Google). A vendor should explain how that affects their coverage.
What will they do, and who publishes?
Ask who edits your site, who posts under your name, and what you approve first. Ask what they will never do. The right answer includes fake reviews, invented authors and misleading dates, which Google treats as deception (Google).
What do they promise?
Ask what happens if nothing moves. Be wary of guaranteed placement, which no engine supports. A refund or a clear exit tied to deliverables is reasonable.
What are the questions to bring?
- How do you pick the questions to measure?
- Which engines are covered, and how often are they re-checked?
- How many times is each question asked?
- What do I see in a report, and can I check the sources?
- Who approves and publishes changes?
- What won't you do?
- What happens if nothing moves, and how do I cancel?
- What do you need from me each month?
- Can I export my data?
- Who can I speak to who has used you?
How do I judge the answers I get?
Good answers are specific and admit limits. If a vendor names the engines they cover and the ones they do not, explains how often they re-check, and tells you what they cannot control, that is a good sign. Vague answers such as "our proprietary AI handles it" are not. Ask them to show a sample report from a real, anonymized account or from their own site. Look for dates, the number of runs and the sources cited. Also notice whether they ask about your business first. A vendor who does not need to know what you sell is probably selling a generic process.
Frequently asked questions
Is it a bad sign if a vendor will not name competitors?
Not necessarily, but they should explain how they judge a good result.
Should I ask to see the dashboard?
Yes, and ask what each number means in plain words.
What if they say their method is secret?
Then you cannot judge it. Ask for the outputs, even if not the internals.
How many questions are too many?
Ask for the few that matter most to your sales.