The three price levels
Level 1: DIY, $0 plus your time
The foundations are genuinely free: verify and complete your Google Business Profile, build a weekly review habit, write plain-language answers to your customers' cost and timeframe questions, and keep your details consistent everywhere. For a small trades or services business, this is two to four hours a week for a couple of months, and it is more than most of your competitors are doing. Our AEO checklist is the full sequence.
Level 2: one-off audits, a few hundred dollars to $3,500
An audit answers: which AI engines mention you today, on which questions, and what are the gaps. At the affordable end you get a structured snapshot across the main engines with a prioritised fix list. At the premium end, expect prompt-level measurement across many engines, competitor benchmarking, entity and schema review, and a roadmap. The caution: AI answers refresh continuously, so an audit is a starting line, not a finish.
Level 3: ongoing programmes, a few hundred to several thousand a month
Ongoing AEO spans a wide range because scope varies wildly:
- Foundations retainer (lower hundreds/month): GBP management, review systems, FAQ content and schema, usually as an add-on to existing SEO or marketing work
- Measurement-led programme (roughly $1,000–$3,000/month): continuous multi-engine tracking, monthly content targeting the questions you're absent from, schema and platform work, reporting that names engines and prompts
- Category-ownership programmes ($3,000+/month): for businesses set on being THE name AI engines give in their vertical: high content volume, digital PR to earn citations on trusted platforms, and competitive tracking
What decides whether it's worth it
Same maths as any channel: what is a customer worth, and what share of your customers now ask an AI first? For a builder whose average job is five figures, one AI-referred enquiry a quarter pays for a measurement-led programme. For a $50 service call, DIY foundations plus an annual audit is the rational buy. The trend only moves one direction: every month, more of your customers' questions get answered before a search results page is ever seen.
How to not overpay
One question filters the market: "show me the report." Real AEO reporting names engines and prompts, you are named on 5 of 12 tracked questions in Gemini, up from 2, and ties the month's work to the movement. If the report is rankings and impressions, you are buying SEO reporting with AEO pricing. We publish our approach openly: measurement first with Citable, then the work, for trades and professional services.
