Once you know you have an AI visibility problem, the next question is how to fix it, and whether that means hiring an agency, building in house, or some combination of both. This category covers what real retainers include month by month, what agency pricing actually looks like in 2026, how to evaluate and choose between agencies, what the first 30 days of onboarding involve, and how to build the ROI case your CFO or board will actually accept.
Audits, projects and retainers, with the ranges we see in the market and the three things that actually move the number. Plus a way to work out your own ceiling before anyone quotes you.
The right answer depends on which stage is failing, and four of the five likely answers point away from a full AEO retainer. Written by an interested party, with the cases where we are wrong.
Twelve questions to ask, what the answers tell you, what the work costs, and the cases where building in-house is the better call. Written to be useful if you never hire anyone.
