Agency vs Tool — Which Is Right for Your Business?

If you have time but not budget, start with a tool. If you have budget but not time, hire an agency. If you have neither, start with a free AI visibility audit to understand where you stand before spending anything.

What an AI search agency does

An AI search agency manages your visibility across AI platforms — ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Claude, and Copilot. They handle strategy, implementation, monitoring, and ongoing optimisation. You get expertise without building it in-house.

A good AI search agency covers: audit and gap analysis, schema markup implementation, content restructuring for AI extraction, entity SEO (building your brand as a recognised entity across platforms), ongoing citation monitoring, and monthly reporting. Most work on retainer models of £1,500-£10,000/month.

When to use an agency

• You don't have in-house AI search expertise — and don't want to build it
• You need results across multiple AI platforms — agencies monitor and optimise across all of them
• Your website needs structural changes — schema markup, content architecture, entity signals
• You're in a competitive market — professional services, finance, legal, healthcare
• You want someone accountable — monthly reporting, measurable KPIs

What an AI search tool does

AI search tools track your visibility — how often you're cited, which platforms mention you, what queries trigger your brand. Some also provide optimisation recommendations. You do the implementation yourself.

Popular AI visibility tools include Semrush (AI Visibility module), Ahrefs (Brand Radar), Otterly AI, SE Ranking, and Peec AI. Prices range from £25/month to £200+/month. Free options include GetCito (open-source, self-hosted).

When to use a tool

• You have in-house SEO or marketing capability — someone who can act on the data
• You mainly need monitoring — tracking citations rather than fixing them
• Budget is limited — tools cost £25-200/month vs £1,500-10,000/month for agencies
• You're testing the waters — see if AI search matters for your business before committing
• You're already doing well — just need to maintain and monitor

Side-by-side comparison

	Agency	Tool
Monthly cost	£1,500-£10,000+	£25-£200
Your time investment	1-2 hours/month (reviews)	5-10 hours/month (doing the work)
Expertise required	None — they bring it	Intermediate — you need to understand the data
Implementation	Done for you	DIY — you make the changes
Monitoring	Continuous, multi-platform	You check when you remember
Speed to results	2-3 months	3-6 months (learning curve)
Best for	Businesses without AI search expertise	Businesses with existing marketing capability

Can you use both?

Yes — and many businesses do. A common approach is to hire an agency for the initial audit and strategy (3-6 months), then transition to tools for ongoing monitoring once the foundations are in place. This gives you expert implementation up front and cost-effective maintenance long-term.

Our recommendation

Start with a free AI visibility audit. This tells you where you stand across all AI platforms without committing to an agency or a tool. Once you know your gaps, you can make an informed decision about whether you need professional help or can handle it yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do AI search optimisation completely for free?

Yes, to a degree. You can improve your robots.txt, add basic schema markup, structure your content with clear headings and answer capsules, and submit your sitemap to Bing (which feeds ChatGPT) — all for free. Tools like GetCito offer free open-source citation tracking. But advanced techniques like entity SEO, Speakable schema, and multi-platform monitoring typically require either a paid tool or agency expertise.

How do I know if an agency is worth the money?

Ask for case studies with measurable results — not just "we improved visibility" but specific citation counts, traffic from AI platforms, and revenue impact. Check how many AI platforms they cover (the best cover 4-6). Ask whether they optimise for Bing (ChatGPT's source) — agencies that only optimise for Google are missing the biggest AI search platform.

Which tools do agencies use internally?

Most agencies use a combination of Semrush or Ahrefs for baseline SEO data, plus proprietary tools for AI citation tracking. Some use Otterly AI or Peec AI for monitoring. The better agencies have built their own tracking systems — ask about this during evaluation.