How to choose a ChatGPT ads or GEO agency: questions to ask
By Hamza Rivera, updated
- Ask for a written scope, a reporting sample and the name of who will do the work. Vague answers are the warning sign.
- Nobody can guarantee a placement in ChatGPT answers. Walk away from anyone who does.
- For ads, you should own the ad account and pay OpenAI directly. For GEO, you should receive raw answer logs, not only a score.
- Check the agency's own site: if they cannot be found or described clearly, that tells you something.
ChatGPT ads and AI visibility are new enough that almost every agency has added them to a service list within a year. Some have done real work and some have only changed the page title. This guide gives you questions to ask and answers to look for. We sell these services, so read the questions as a checklist you can use on us too.
Here is our own ads service for comparison: ChatGPT ads management.
Hiring for a new kind of work is like hiring a guide for a trail nobody has walked much. You do not need someone who claims to know every rock. You need someone who explains what they will check, shows you the map and tells you where they are not sure.
Know which service you are buying
| Service | What you should receive | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT ads management | Account setup in your name, campaigns, tracking, readable reports | You own the account |
| GEO or AEO | Page work, outside evidence, repeated sampling with raw answers | Ask for the logs |
| A "guaranteed mention" | Nothing that can be delivered | Avoid |
Questions for any agency
- Who exactly will do the work, and can I see an example of their output?
- What will you do in the first 30 days, in a list I can check?
- What will the report look like? Ask for a redacted sample.
- What happens to the work if we stop?
- What do you not do?
Extra questions for ads
- Will the ad account be in my name, with my payment method? It should be. OpenAI bills the account holder, and you want to keep the account if you leave.
- How do you set up conversion tracking, and how do you check it?
- How do you handle the product's Beta status and changes to the rules?
- What do you say about results? Be wary of promised returns. The product is new and there is no long track record to quote.
Extra questions for GEO and AEO
- How many times do you run each question, and do I get the raw answers?
- What do you change on my site, and what do you change off it?
- How do you handle a wrong fact in an AI answer?
- Which of your claims can you source? Be wary of "proprietary scores" with no method.
Warning signs
- A promise of a set ranking, mention or return.
- Pricing that hides the ad spend inside the fee, so you cannot see what goes to the platform.
- Fake or purchased reviews, or buying links as a tactic.
- No named person and no sample report.
- A lock-in that keeps the account or the content if you leave.
Green signs
- A written scope that names what is excluded.
- Plain explanations of uncertainty. Good practitioners say "we do not know yet" when it is true.
- Reports that show raw data and the method.
- Fees that separate management from media spend.
Check the agency's own site
Search for the agency in ChatGPT and Google. Do they have a page for the service, with detail and sources? Are they described accurately? An agency that sells visibility should be able to show some of its own. It will not always be a perfect score, but the effort should be visible.
Start small
A short, defined first project, such as an audit or a capped ad test, shows you how the agency works before you commit. For ads, ask for a small test with a stated budget and an end date set as soon as Ads Manager allows it. For GEO, ask for a baseline report of your current mentions.
If every answer starts with "it depends" and ends without a number you can check, you have found a very patient fortune teller.
Ask for the sample report before the proposal. Everything else about an agency tends to show up in it.
Where to go from here
Here are our own services, for comparison: ChatGPT ads management and GEO and AEO services. Passieon is an independent agency and is not affiliated with OpenAI.
Related guides
- How ChatGPT ads are priced and billed
- How to track AI visibility
- Launch your first ChatGPT ads campaign
Sources
- OpenAI developer docs: Overview of OpenAI crawlers, read November 12, 2026.
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website, read November 12, 2026.
- OpenAI Help Center: Quickstart, launch your first campaign, read November 12, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can an agency guarantee a ChatGPT mention?
No. A mention in an answer is not for sale and cannot be guaranteed. Treat any guarantee as a warning sign.
Who should own the ChatGPT ads account?
You should. Set it up in your name with your payment method so you keep it if you change agency.
What should a GEO report contain?
The question list, the number of runs, the raw answers, who was named, which pages were cited and what changed since last time.
Should ad spend sit inside the agency fee?
It is clearer when management fees and media spend are separate, so you can see what goes to the platform.
How do I test an agency cheaply?
Start with a defined first project, such as a baseline report or a small ad test with a stated budget and an end date once Ads Manager allows one.
Want this done for your site? See what our ChatGPT ads management page covers, or read the client results.
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