AI-powered answers are becoming a bigger part of how people research products, compare providers and decide which brands they trust.
Instead of clicking through ten blue links, potential customers can now ask ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity and other answer engines a question and receive a recommendation immediately.
That has created a growing market for Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) agencies helping brands improve how they are understood, cited and recommended within those answers.
The challenge is that AEO can mean very different things depending on the agency.
Some providers focus heavily on content structure, schema and technical SEO. Others combine AEO with AI visibility tracking, competitor intelligence, Digital PR, authority building or wider performance marketing.
To make the comparison useful, we’ve looked at eight agencies operating in or serving the UK, focusing on their capabilities, positioning and the type of client they appear best suited to.
Best AEO agencies UK: quick comparison
| Agency | Best for | Standout capability |
| Bubblegum Search | Brands wanting to understand why competitors appear in AI answers and act on that intelligence | Source intelligence, Digital PR and brand mention outreach |
| Brainlabs | Enterprise brands wanting AEO within mature SEO programmes | Enterprise SEO, AI visibility testing and measurement |
| DomiSearch | Businesses wanting AEO alongside paid search | Combined AI search and Google Ads strategy |
| MarGen | B2B and regulated businesses wanting AEO tied to authority and content | Answer-first content and third-party corroboration |
| Aeova Partners | Owner-led service businesses wanting measurement-led AEO | Measure, diagnose, fix and re-measure workflow |
| Primo Interactive | Businesses wanting AEO as a standalone service | Dedicated AEO audits and ongoing retainers |
| BE VISIBLE | SaaS and tech brands wanting specialist AEO support | AEO, SEO, PR and AI-search analytics |
| Keystrike AEO | B2B brands wanting technical and off-site AEO | Technical foundations, citations and competitor tracking |
How we selected the agencies
There is no single accepted definition of an AEO agency, so simply adding “Answer Engine Optimisation” to a services page was not enough to qualify.
We looked for agencies demonstrating a genuine service, methodology or body of work around answer-led and AI-powered search.
The main factors we considered were:
AI visibility: Whether the agency actively works across AI-powered search and answer platforms.
SEO capability: Whether it can address technical, content and authority issues alongside AEO.
Measurement: Whether it has a defined way of tracking visibility, mentions or citations.
Off-site authority: Whether its approach considers sources beyond the client’s own website.
Execution: Whether the agency can implement recommendations rather than only provide a report.
Positioning: What makes the provider meaningfully different from other agencies.
Ideal client: The type of business most likely to benefit from its approach.
There is no one agency that will be the right choice for every business.
The more useful question is which provider is best suited to the visibility problem you actually need to solve.
1. Bubblegum Search
Best for: AI visibility and source intelligence combined with SEO, Digital PR and brand mention outreach
Bubblegum Search is a UK AI search, SEO and Digital PR agency helping brands understand how they appear in AI-generated answers and what they can do to improve that visibility.
Its approach starts by identifying:
Where a brand appears across AI search.
Which competitors are being recommended instead.
Which third-party websites and pages are repeatedly associated with those recommendations.
Bubblegum then turns that intelligence into opportunities across SEO, content, Digital PR and targeted brand mention outreach. This source-first approach sits at the centre of its AI Search Intelligence & Brand Mention Outreach service.
What makes Bubblegum different?
Many AEO tools can show whether a brand is being cited. Bubblegum uses proprietary technology, including SourceSignal.ai, to look at the publishers, comparison pages and other third-party sources repeatedly appearing around competitors and commercially important topics.
The aim is to move beyond “Are we visible?” and towards “Why are competitors appearing instead, and which opportunities are worth acting on?”
That intelligence can then feed into wider AI SEO, content, Digital PR and outreach activity rather than treating AEO as a completely separate discipline.
Strong fit for: Brands that want to understand competitor and source gaps, then connect that intelligence to practical SEO, Digital PR and brand mention activity.
May be less suitable for: Businesses mainly looking for self-service AEO software or a large, full-service digital transformation provider.
2. Brainlabs
Best for: Enterprise brands wanting AEO and AI visibility embedded within a mature SEO programme
Brainlabs is a large international marketing agency with an established SEO practice that now treats AI-search visibility as part of modern organic search.
Its work spans traditional SEO alongside visibility in AI-generated answers, supported by testing around citations, content freshness and the way LLMs retrieve and synthesise information.
Why consider Brainlabs?
Brainlabs is a strong option for larger organisations that want AEO handled within an established enterprise search programme rather than as a standalone experiment.
Its scale and measurement capabilities may also suit businesses that need AI-search activity connected to broader commercial performance.
Strong fit for: Enterprise and international brands wanting AEO, SEO, content and measurement managed within a mature search programme.
3. DomiSearch
Best for: Businesses wanting AEO alongside Google Ads
DomiSearch is a Manchester-based search agency combining Google Ads and AI Engine Optimisation.
Its AEO work covers areas such as entity optimisation, AI-ready content, schema, technical implementation and ongoing visibility reporting across platforms including ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.
Why consider DomiSearch?
DomiSearch has a distinct proposition because it connects paid search with the research and recommendation journey happening inside AI search.
For businesses already investing heavily in Google Ads, managing paid search and AEO through one specialist partner may create a more connected acquisition strategy.
Strong fit for: Ecommerce, B2B SaaS and service businesses wanting AEO alongside paid search.
4. MarGen
Best for: B2B and regulated businesses needing answer-first content and authority
MarGen is a Sheffield-based AEO and GEO agency with a particular focus on B2B and regulated sectors.
Its approach combines answer-first content, structured data, entity signals and third-party authority with ongoing visibility measurement.
Why consider MarGen?
MarGen places particular emphasis on content that is easy for search and AI systems to extract while still being backed by credible sources and specialist expertise.
That can be especially relevant in financial services, legal, healthcare and other categories where stronger sourcing and factual precision matter.
Strong fit for: B2B and regulated organisations wanting AEO tied closely to expert content, structured data and external authority.
5. Aeova Partners
Best for: Owner-led service businesses wanting a measurement-led AEO programme
Aeova Partners is a UK AEO agency built around measuring whether AI assistants recommend a business, diagnosing why they do or do not, implementing changes and then measuring again.
Its model compares a brand with competitors across customer questions and examines the sources and signals behind those answers.
Why consider Aeova Partners?
Aeova’s measure-fix-remeasure model is a useful fit for businesses that want clearer evidence of whether AEO activity is changing visibility over time.
It also combines diagnosis with implementation rather than stopping at a visibility report.
Strong fit for: Owner-led and service businesses wanting a focused, measurement-led AEO engagement.
6. Primo Interactive
Best for: Businesses wanting AEO purchased as a distinct standalone service
Primo Interactive is a UK digital agency offering Answer Engine Optimisation as a defined service rather than only bundling it into a wider SEO retainer.
Its proposition focuses on helping brands become sources that AI platforms can cite or recommend during the buying journey.
Why consider Primo Interactive?
Primo may appeal to businesses that specifically want to commission AEO work while keeping their existing SEO arrangements in place.
Its audit-led entry point also provides a relatively straightforward way to test AEO as its own workstream.
Strong fit for: UK businesses wanting a clearly defined AEO audit and ongoing service without replacing their entire SEO relationship.
7. BE VISIBLE
Best for: SaaS, tech and AI brands wanting specialist AEO and AI-search visibility support
BE VISIBLE is a London-based AEO and AI-search agency with a clear specialism in SaaS, technology and AI companies.
Its approach combines AEO with SEO, PR, content, reputation and AI-search analytics.
Why consider BE VISIBLE?
The sector focus is the main differentiator. Rather than positioning itself for every type of business, BE VISIBLE concentrates on technology-led brands competing for visibility in AI-generated answers.
The combination of SEO, PR and reputation is also relevant where the visibility problem extends beyond the company website itself.
Strong fit for: SaaS, tech and AI companies wanting AEO, SEO, PR and AI-search measurement from a specialist team.
8. Keystrike AEO
Best for: B2B companies wanting technical AEO, content and off-site citation building
Keystrike AEO is a UK Answer Engine Optimisation agency focused on B2B companies, particularly across technology, fintech, finance and SaaS.
Its service combines technical foundations such as schema and entity clarity with answer-ready content, third-party citations, Digital PR and ongoing visibility reporting.
Why consider Keystrike AEO?
Keystrike stands out for treating off-site citations and mentions as a core part of AEO rather than concentrating only on on-site content and technical changes.
That mix may be particularly relevant for B2B businesses with longer buying journeys where third-party trust and category authority matter.
Strong fit for: B2B tech, fintech, finance and SaaS businesses wanting AEO across technical foundations, content, external citations and measurement.
Which AEO agency is right for your business?
The agencies above overlap in some areas, but they are not interchangeable.
If your priority is understanding why competitors are appearing in AI answers, identifying which external sources are helping them and turning that intelligence into SEO, Digital PR and brand mention activity, Bubblegum Search is built around that workflow.
Enterprise and international brands wanting AEO embedded within a mature SEO and measurement programme may prefer Brainlabs.
Businesses running significant paid search activity may find DomiSearch’s combination of Google Ads and AEO particularly relevant.
B2B and regulated businesses that place a premium on authoritative, well-sourced content may find MarGen a better fit.
Owner-led service businesses wanting a focused measure-fix-remeasure approach may find Aeova Partners particularly relevant.
If you want to buy AEO as a distinct service without replacing an existing SEO relationship, Primo Interactive is worth considering.
SaaS and technology brands wanting a specialist combination of AEO, SEO, PR and AI-search analytics may prefer BE VISIBLE.
B2B businesses wanting technical AEO combined with content, third-party citations and competitor tracking may find Keystrike AEO a strong fit.
Ultimately, the best agency is the one that matches the reason your brand is currently being overlooked.
See what is shaping your AI visibility
Before choosing an AEO agency, it helps to establish where the opportunity actually lies.
Bubblegum Search’s AI Visibility Snapshot looks at how your brand appears across AI-powered search, which competitors are being recommended and which third-party sources are influencing those results.
It can help identify whether the biggest opportunity lies in your website, your content, your wider authority or the places across the web where competitors are already being mentioned.
Request your AI Visibility Snapshot and see what is shaping visibility in your category.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AEO agency?
An AEO agency helps businesses improve how their brand and content appear within direct answers generated by platforms such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot.
Services can include content optimisation, technical SEO, structured data, AI visibility measurement, entity optimisation and authority building.
For a deeper explanation, see Bubblegum Search’s guide to Answer Engine Optimisation.
Is AEO the same as SEO?
No, but there is significant overlap.
Traditional SEO focuses mainly on improving visibility within search-engine results, while AEO focuses on increasing the likelihood that a brand or its information is selected within a direct answer.
Strong technical SEO, useful content and authority remain important foundations for both.
Can an AEO agency guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend my brand?
No credible agency should guarantee a specific recommendation from ChatGPT or another AI platform.
Answers can change according to the model, prompt, available sources and other factors.
A sensible AEO strategy instead focuses on the areas a brand can influence, including clarity, relevance, authority, technical accessibility and trusted third-party presence.