Google tells brands to check whether their AEO and GEO consultants follow its rules

Google's official documentation on hiring SEO professionals now tells site owners to check whether advice on optimizing for AI experiences, the services sold as AEO or GEO, lines up with Google Search guidance on generative AI features. The same check applies to the tools the consultant uses.

The guidance appears on the "Do you need an SEO?" page from Google Search Central, dated November 10. The page notes that hiring a company or an individual to handle SEO can improve a site's visibility and save time, but it also carries the risk of damage to the site and to its reputation.

What to check in recommendations and tools

Before making major changes based on an audit from a third-party tool, Google recommends comparing the recommendations against official Search guidance and thinking critically about what is being proposed. One of the questions it suggests asking is whether the professional cites Google's official documentation as evidence for their recommendations.

On audits, the page asks that Search Console access be read-only at that stage, with no write permission. An audit should come with realistic estimates of the improvement and of the work involved. If the pitch is a promise of the top spot in the results, the advice is to find someone else.

Google also states that advertising with the company has no effect on a site's presence in search results, that it never accepts money to include or rank sites, and that appearing in organic results costs nothing.

Red flags

The list of warnings includes being wary of anyone who guarantees rankings, claims a "special relationship" with Google or advertises "priority submission." "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google," the page says. It also covers unsolicited emails from agencies, link popularity schemes and submitting a site to thousands of search engines, which the page describes as typically useless exercises.

If an SEO creates deceptive content on a site's behalf, the site can be removed entirely from Google's index. The page reminds owners that they are responsible for the actions of the companies they hire and that, if the professional has access to the server, they should explain every change they make.

What this means for brand teams

For small local businesses, Google says much of the work can be done in-house, starting with its SEO Starter Guide. For anyone weighing an AEO or GEO proposal, the page points to Google's official guidance on generative AI features as the benchmark, alongside questions about experience in the industry and in the country, the expected timeline and how results will be measured.