The short version: score each agency on evidence, not presentation. The strongest proposals show before-and-after AI answers for a real client, name the Australian sources they will target, commit to a fixed set of questions for reporting, and are happy to start with a short paid pilot rather than a long contract.
What the market looks like right now
Australian searches for "AI SEO agency" run at about 390 a month, more than three times the level of a year earlier (Google Ads data via DataForSEO, August 2026), and the pages ranking for that term average barely two referring domains (DataForSEO, September 2026). In plain terms: interest is rising quickly and the supply side is new. Some agencies in the results have done this work for years under another name; others started this year. A tidy website will not tell you which is which.
A scoring rubric for proposals
Score each proposal from 0 to 3 on every line, multiply by the weight, and compare totals. It forces the comparison onto substance.
| Criterion | What a 3 looks like | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence of changed answers | Screenshots of how an engine described a client before and after, with the question used | ×3 |
| Named Australian sources | Specific registers, associations and review platforms for your category | ×3 |
| Fixed reporting questions | A written list of the questions tracked, agreed before work starts | ×2 |
| State licensing understood | Raises your licence and the states you trade in without being asked | ×2 |
| Structured-data plan | Names the schema types and the facts they will carry (ABN, licence, address) | ×1 |
| Realistic timeline | Separates fast record fixes from slower citation work | ×1 |
| Who does the work | Named people and how much of their week you get | ×1 |
Five things to get in writing before you sign
- How personal information is handled. If the agency works from overseas, ask how it meets the Privacy Act 1988, including APP 8 on disclosing information outside Australia.
- Hours. Whether calls sit inside AEST/AEDT business hours, and who covers Perth if you trade there.
- How the invoice is structured. Currency, and how GST is treated — your accountant will want to know before the first bill, not after.
- What you keep if you leave. The question list, the monthly results and any content produced should belong to you, in a usable format.
- The exit terms. Notice period and what happens to work in progress.
Red flags worth walking away from
A guarantee of placement in ChatGPT or Google's AI Overviews is the clearest one: nobody controls what a model says, so the promise is either uninformed or not meant seriously. A proprietary "AI visibility score" with no stated method is another — if the number cannot be reproduced from a list of questions and engines, it measures nothing.
Be wary, too, of coverage claims that ignore the states. An agency that says it handles "all of Australia" but cannot tell you which body licenses your trade in Victoria has not done this work in your category. And a proposal priced per article is telling you that volume is the product, when volume alone rarely changes what an assistant says about you.
Start with a pilot
A 60-day paid pilot is a reasonable ask and a good test of any agency. By the end of it you should have a documented baseline across the main engines, your records reconciled across the ABR, ASIC, your licence and Google Business Profile, the first structured-data changes live, and a named list of citation targets with progress against each. If a pilot cannot produce that, a year-long contract will not either.
Frequently asked questions
Is a local Australian agency better than an offshore one?
Not automatically. What matters is Australian English, knowledge of Australian sources and state licensing, a clear Privacy Act position and working in your hours. An offshore agency that meets all four is a better choice than a local one that meets two.
What is a reasonable contract length?
After a pilot, three to six months with a monthly rolling term is common and fair. The citation work compounds over several months, so very short terms rarely show results, but you should not be locked in before you have seen any.
Should we own the reports and the question list?
Yes. They are the baseline for whoever does this work next, including your own team. Agree it in the contract rather than at the point of leaving.
Related reading: AI search optimisation in Australia and our AI SEO pricing breakdown. Our own AI SEO agency service in Australia opens with a free audit that produces the baseline described above.