How to Choose an AI SEO Expert: 9 Things to Check
An AI SEO expert helps businesses combine traditional search engine optimization with AI-assisted research, content improvement, and strategies for increasing discoverability across AI-powered search experiences. Depending on the specialist, the work may include technical SEO, keyword and competitor research, content strategy, AI search visibility analysis, and performance measurement.
However, the term AI SEO expert can mean two different things. Some professionals use artificial intelligence tools to carry out SEO work more efficiently. Others focus on improving how businesses are discovered or cited in AI-powered search experiences such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. Many specialists combine both approaches.
Before hiring, you should understand which services you are actually buying, what evidence supports the consultant’s expertise, and how the work will contribute to your business goals.
This guide explains how to evaluate an AI SEO expert, which capabilities to look for, what deliverables to expect, and how to distinguish a credible strategy from vague AI-related promises.
If your business is looking for support with technical SEO, local search, content strategy, and AI-powered discovery, you can also explore my SEO services in New York to understand the approach I offer.
What is an AI SEO expert?
An AI SEO expert is a search optimisation professional who uses relevant AI technologies, established SEO methods, and data analysis to help businesses improve organic visibility and adapt to AI-powered search experiences.
The exact scope varies by provider. A credible specialist should explain which of the following areas their service covers.
AI-assisted SEO: Using AI tools to support research, keyword clustering, competitor analysis, content briefs, data analysis, and other SEO workflows, with appropriate human review.
AI search optimization: Improving the accessibility, usefulness, relevance, and clarity of website information to support discoverability across traditional search and relevant AI-powered search experiences.
Integrated AI SEO: Combining technical SEO, search-intent research, content strategy, on-page optimisation, visibility analysis, and suitable AI-assisted workflows into a coordinated programme.
These services overlap, but they are not interchangeable. A professional who uses AI to draft articles may not have the technical skills to diagnose indexing problems. Likewise, a consultant who monitors AI citations may not offer content production or implementation.
The right choice depends on the problem you need to solve.
Google’s official guide to optimising for generative AI features in Search explains that established SEO practices remain foundational to visibility in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. It emphasises original, useful content rather than special-purpose AI ranking tricks.
How to choose an AI SEO expert
Use these nine criteria to compare potential consultants or agencies before committing to a project.
1. Identify the actual SEO problem you need to solve
Start with your business goal rather than the technology a provider is selling.
You might want to attract more qualified organic traffic, resolve technical website problems, improve local search visibility, develop stronger service pages, or understand whether your business appears in AI-generated answers.
Those goals require different kinds of work.
For example, an eCommerce business with thousands of product URLs may need technical SEO expertise to address crawling, indexing, and site architecture. A B2B consultancy may need stronger problem-solution content and clearer evidence of its expertise. A local service business may need better service pages and an appropriate local SEO strategy.
Before hiring, ask the consultant to explain which problem they would investigate first and what evidence they need to diagnose it.
A useful proposal should begin with your website, audience, and business objectives—not a generic list of AI tools.
2. Verify experience and inspect real work
An AI SEO expert should be able to explain how their approach has been applied to actual projects.
Ask for relevant examples that show:
- The original problem and business objective.
- The consultant’s role and the work they completed.
- The technical, content, or strategic changes implemented.
- The period covered by the project.
- The measurements used to evaluate progress.
- Any limitations that affected the results.
For example, if a consultant claims to have improved AI-search visibility, ask which platforms and questions were evaluated, whether the website was cited before and after the work, and how the observations were collected.
If the provider claims organic traffic or lead growth, ask for relevant evidence and clarify whether other marketing activities contributed.
A screenshot of one favourable AI answer does not prove consistent visibility. Likewise, a percentage increase in traffic is difficult to evaluate without knowing the baseline, period, and quality of the traffic.
If the consultant is new to AI-search projects, that does not automatically disqualify them. They should simply be transparent about their experience and distinguish practical testing from proven client outcomes.
3. Check their technical SEO knowledge
AI SEO should not be a substitute for sound technical SEO.
Search engines need to discover and process important website pages before those pages can be considered for many search experiences. An AI SEO expert should understand the technical foundations and know when a problem requires help from a developer.
Depending on your website, relevant checks may include:
- Crawling and indexing of important pages.
- Robots.txt rules and noindex directives.
- Canonical tags and duplicate URLs.
- Internal linking and site architecture.
- JavaScript rendering, where applicable.
- XML sitemap accuracy.
- Page performance and mobile experience.
- Structured data that is relevant to supported search features.
Consider a business that has published an extensive resource but accidentally blocked the page from indexing. Generating more content will not resolve that problem. The indexing issue must be investigated first.
A capable consultant should be able to identify the issue, explain the cause, recommend a fix, and verify the implementation.
Google’s technical requirements for Search provide a useful reference for evaluating this part of a proposal.
4. Evaluate how they use AI tools and maintain quality
Using AI tools does not automatically make someone an AI SEO expert. What matters is whether the tools are being used appropriately and whether the resulting work is accurate, useful, and aligned with the business’s objectives.
Ask the provider to walk you through an actual workflow. For example, how do they research a topic, evaluate competing content, develop a brief, check factual claims, review the draft, and measure the published page’s performance?
A responsible workflow should include human oversight where it is needed.
The consultant should be able to explain how they:
- Verify factual claims and source material.
- Preserve the business’s actual expertise and voice.
- Detect unsupported statements and repetitive content.
- Avoid producing large numbers of near-duplicate pages.
- Protect confidential client information.
- Review the quality of AI-assisted output before publication.
Suppose two providers offer to publish 30 SEO articles per month. One focuses on output volume. The other researches customer needs, uses subject-matter input, checks sources, develops original examples, and publishes only when the content meets a defined standard.
The second workflow may be more valuable, even if it produces fewer articles.
Google allows the use of generative AI in content production, but its guidance emphasises quality, originality, and usefulness rather than creating pages at scale primarily to manipulate rankings. Read Google’s guidance on AI-generated content.
5. Determine whether they understand AI-powered search visibility
If your goal includes visibility in AI-generated answers, confirm that the consultant can explain how they will evaluate it.
Relevant platforms might include Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT search, Gemini, and Perplexity, depending on your audience and the way customers research your industry.
A practical evaluation process may include:
- Defining a set of important customer questions.
- Recording which platforms and queries will be tested.
- Checking whether your business appears in responses.
- Recording the sources cited and competitors mentioned.
- Repeating tests consistently to identify patterns.
- Comparing those observations with available organic search, referral, and conversion data.
For example, a business selling accounting software may want to understand whether it appears when users ask about suitable accounting tools for a particular company size. A local service provider might investigate how its information appears in answers about choosing a service provider.
The questions should reflect genuine customer needs, not just prompts that happen to produce favourable responses.
AI-generated answers can vary by query wording, platform, location, and time. Some platforms also expose less data than others. A credible report should explain these limitations rather than present a small sample as a comprehensive ranking of every AI answer.
No consultant can guarantee that your website will be cited or recommended by a particular AI platform.
6. Assess content strategy, semantic coverage, and originality
A capable AI SEO expert should know how to create content that addresses the reader’s intent and demonstrates meaningful expertise.
This includes understanding the main subject, relevant concepts, related questions, and the level of detail needed to solve the reader’s problem.
Ask how the consultant decides which pages to improve, which new topics deserve their own pages, and how the content connects to your commercial services.
A strong content plan may include:
- Search-intent and competitor research.
- Analysis of existing content gaps.
- Relevant related concepts and customer questions.
- Original examples, comparisons, or diagnostic processes.
- Supporting evidence and authoritative references.
- Internal links between related guides and service pages.
- Quality checks and plans for updating outdated information.
For example, an article about technical SEO should do more than list crawling, indexing, and structured data as keywords. It should help readers understand what the problems mean, how they are diagnosed, which fixes matter most, and how results are validated.
Semantic coverage should make the explanation more complete, not turn the article into a long list of forced synonyms.
Google’s generative AI guidance emphasises distinctive content that offers value beyond what can easily be reproduced from common knowledge. The same principle helps differentiate a business in a crowded market.
7. Ask how they measure success
Your AI SEO expert should establish a measurement plan before beginning work.
A useful report combines relevant search and business indicators instead of relying on a single ranking, AI mention count, or dashboard score.
| Measurement area | What to evaluate |
|---|---|
| Organic search | Relevant Search Console impressions, clicks, and landing-page performance |
| AI visibility | Whether your business appears for a defined set of relevant questions |
| Source citations | Whether your website is cited and which pages are referenced |
| Competitive visibility | Which competing businesses and sources appear for the same queries |
| Referral engagement | Visits from identifiable AI-related sources, where available |
| Business outcomes | Qualified leads, calls, bookings, sign-ups, or sales when reliably tracked |
For example, an increase in AI citations might be encouraging, but it does not automatically prove that the campaign generated more customers. The consultant should also examine relevant visits and enquiries where the available data permits.
Similarly, organic traffic growth is not necessarily valuable if the additional visitors are unrelated to your services.
Ask how the reporting will distinguish completed tasks, leading indicators, observed changes, and outcomes that cannot yet be attributed confidently.
Google’s Search Console documentation is important here. Use first-party Search Console data for the Google search performance it reports, and treat third-party AI visibility tools as supplementary sources whose methods and limitations should be understood.
8. Compare deliverables, pricing, and implementation responsibilities
Two providers may use the label “AI SEO expert” while offering very different services.
One may provide keyword research and AI-assisted content production. Another may conduct technical audits, revise important service pages, monitor AI visibility, and work with your team on implementation.
Before agreeing to a project, request a proposal that clearly states what you will receive.
| Engagement type | What to clarify |
|---|---|
| SEO or AI-search audit | What is investigated, how findings are prioritised, and what the report contains |
| Content project | Research, writing, editing, source checking, publication, and update responsibilities |
| Technical SEO project | Recommended fixes, implementation ownership, testing, and validation |
| AI visibility assessment | Selected platforms, tested queries, baseline, methodology, and limitations |
| Ongoing consulting | Monthly work, reporting, meetings, priorities, and responsibilities |
Do not compare proposals by monthly price alone. Establish whether implementation is included, who performs the work, which additional costs may arise, and whether your team has enough capacity to act on the recommendations.
A smaller, clearly scoped project can be a sensible starting point if it produces a useful diagnosis and a realistic roadmap.
9. Watch for misleading promises and unsupported AI SEO tactics
The AI SEO market contains many claims that sound impressive but may not be supported by adequate evidence.
Be cautious when a provider:
- Guarantees citations in ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews.
- Promises a specific ranking or traffic increase without assessing your website.
- Claims to have privileged access to Google’s internal ranking systems.
- Uses a single screenshot as proof of sustained AI visibility.
- Recommends special schema or AI files as a universal requirement for ranking.
- Promises mass-produced content or manufactured brand mentions as a shortcut.
- Cannot explain how work will be measured or who will implement the recommendations.
Ask the consultant to explain the reason for each recommended activity and the evidence behind it.
Google’s current guide to generative AI features in Search specifically cautions against unsupported AEO/GEO shortcuts. It also explains that no special schema markup or llms.txt file is required for inclusion in Google’s generative AI search features.
A responsible expert distinguishes established practices from experiments, hypotheses, and claims that have not been verified.
What should an AI SEO expert deliver in the first 90 days?
A 90-day plan can help establish a practical working relationship. It is a planning framework, not a promise that rankings or AI citations will improve within that period.
Days 1–30: Audit and establish a baseline
The expert should learn about your business goals, important products or services, target audience, website, current search performance, and existing content.
Depending on the scope, the initial work may include a technical review, content assessment, competitor analysis, and baseline measurements for selected AI-search questions.
The outcome should be a prioritised action plan that explains what needs attention first and why.
Days 31–60: Implement priority improvements
Work may include resolving technical issues, updating important landing pages, improving internal links, creating genuinely useful content, and clarifying key business information.
AI-assisted tools may support parts of the process, but the quality and accuracy of the finished work should be checked before publication.
Each activity should have a clear purpose and an identifiable owner.
Days 61–90: Evaluate and refine
The expert should review what has been implemented, whether the technical changes work as intended, and what the available search and AI-visibility data shows.
The next plan should reflect the evidence. If an experiment underperforms, the consultant should investigate rather than repeat the same tactic automatically.
Some indicators may be observable within this period, while meaningful organic growth and business outcomes may take longer. No particular result should be guaranteed simply because a 90-day plan was agreed.
AI SEO expert vs. traditional SEO expert: Which do you need?
You may not need a separate AI SEO specialist if your primary problem is already well understood and falls within conventional SEO.
| Your business need | Capability to prioritise |
|---|---|
| Important pages are not indexed | Technical SEO and indexing diagnosis |
| Service pages attract visitors but few leads | Search-intent analysis, landing-page optimisation, and conversion measurement |
| Content production is slow | AI-assisted research and production with strong quality control |
| Your brand is missing from relevant AI answers | AI visibility analysis combined with content and technical evaluation |
| Your website has many competing or repetitive pages | Content architecture, intent mapping, and technical SEO |
| You need an integrated search strategy | An expert who can coordinate traditional SEO, AI-assisted workflows, and AI-search visibility |
The best choice is determined by the problem, the required work, and the evidence the provider can produce—not by whether the provider uses the newest terminology.
For further context, read my guide to AI SEO vs. traditional SEO for businesses in New York.
How I approach SEO and AI-search optimisation
I’m Asad Ulla Choudhury, an SEO consultant offering services that cover technical SEO, local search, content strategy, and AI-search optimisation.
My approach begins by understanding the business, its audience, and the condition of its existing website. The next step is to identify the most relevant problems and opportunities rather than assume that every business needs more content, more backlinks, or a separate AI-search campaign.
Depending on the project, the work can include technical analysis, search-intent research, on-page optimisation, internal-linking improvements, content planning, and an evaluation of AI-search visibility.
The objective is to connect the recommendations with meaningful business priorities. For example, a service business may need clearer service pages and better lead tracking before investing in a large content programme. Another business may need technical fixes or stronger coverage of the questions potential customers ask.
I offer remote consulting for businesses targeting New York. If you are comparing providers, review my SEO services in New York to understand the services available and assess whether they match your requirements.
My services should be evaluated using the same criteria recommended throughout this guide: the relevance of the approach, the clarity of the deliverables, the evidence supporting the recommendations, and the method used to assess progress.
Frequently asked questions
What does an AI SEO expert do?
An AI SEO expert combines established search optimisation methods with appropriate AI-assisted workflows and, where relevant, strategies for improving visibility in AI-powered search experiences. Services may include audits, keyword research, content improvement, technical SEO, competitor analysis, and performance measurement.
Is an AI SEO expert the same as an AI search optimization consultant?
The terms overlap, but they are not always used in the same way. Some AI SEO experts focus on using AI tools to improve SEO workflows, while AI-search consultants may concentrate more heavily on brand visibility and citations in AI-generated answers. Ask providers to define their actual services.
Can an AI SEO expert guarantee ChatGPT citations or Google AI Overviews visibility?
No. A consultant can improve your website’s technical accessibility, content quality, and the information available about your business, but cannot control which sources an AI system selects. Citations and recommendations can vary by platform and query.
Does AI SEO replace traditional SEO?
No. Technical accessibility, relevant content, search intent, website structure, and appropriate internal linking remain important. AI SEO should build on these foundations rather than replace them.
How do I measure the results of an AI SEO expert?
Establish a baseline and monitor relevant organic search performance, defined AI-visibility tests, available citations and referral data, and qualified business outcomes where reliable measurement is possible. The report should explain the methodology and the limits of attribution.
How long does AI SEO take to work?
There is no universal timeline. Technical fixes and workflow improvements may be completed relatively quickly, while changes in organic visibility, AI citations, and qualified leads may take longer to observe. Evaluate progress against an agreed plan rather than relying on guaranteed deadlines.
Should I hire a freelancer or an AI SEO agency?
A freelancer may offer direct access to a specialist and a focused working arrangement. An agency may provide a larger team for content, technical implementation, analytics, and other disciplines. Compare expertise, deliverables, implementation capacity, communication, and total cost before deciding.
Choose an AI SEO expert based on evidence, not promises
The right AI SEO expert should understand your business goals, explain which problems deserve attention, specify the work to be completed, and establish how progress will be assessed.
Look for a combination of sound SEO fundamentals, appropriate use of AI tools, original and useful content, credible evidence, and transparent measurement. Be cautious of providers who promise guaranteed citations, treat AI as a substitute for expertise, or cannot explain their methods.
If you’re considering professional support for technical SEO, content strategy, local search, or AI-powered discovery, explore my SEO services in New York.
The aim is to build a useful, credible online presence and invest in work that serves your customers and business goals—not simply to buy an AI SEO package.
