Roshanak Kavian
Co-Founder and CEO of Indigo Mars, a Los Angeles marketing agency.
AI visibility is new enough as a discipline that almost anyone can claim expertise in it, and plenty of agencies have simply relabeled their existing SEO service and added "AI" to the name. The useful question isn't who markets themselves most confidently — it's who can actually show evidence of understanding how AI systems choose which businesses to recommend. Here are the criteria that genuinely separate the two.
Ask Whether They've Actually Tested AI Systems Directly
This is the most revealing question available: has this agency actually run real queries against ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews and documented what came back? Real testing surfaces things no amount of theory does — which specific directories get cited in which industries, how a model treats a business located "near" a neighborhood versus "in" it, when a cross-platform rating discrepancy gets flagged as a concern. An agency that can point to documented, specific findings is working from evidence. One that only speaks in general principles may not have looked closely.
Be Skeptical of Anyone Promising Guaranteed AI Rankings
No one controls what ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews recommend, and anyone guaranteeing a specific position is overselling. What can genuinely be influenced is well understood: accurate and consistent business information across platforms, real reviews with specific content, presence in the directories that matter for your particular industry, and content that directly answers the questions customers actually ask. An honest agency will frame the work in those terms rather than promising a ranking it can't deliver.
Check Whether They Know Your Industry's Specific Directories
This is a real differentiator, and it's easy to test in a conversation. Different industries have genuinely different citation sources — legal searches surface Avvo and Justia, healthcare surfaces Healthgrades and Zocdoc, home services surface trade-specific contractor locators and manufacturer dealer listings. An agency that treats "get listed in directories" as one generic task, without knowing which specific sources matter for your field, hasn't done the industry-level work.
Ask How They Handle the Difference Between AI Visibility and Traditional SEO
These overlap substantially but aren't identical, and an agency should be able to explain the difference clearly rather than blurring them together. Traditional SEO aims at ranking a page in a list of results. AI visibility aims at being one of a small handful of businesses a system names directly in a generated answer — often three to six, sometimes fewer. The strategies share a foundation but diverge in real ways, and someone who can't articulate that distinction probably hasn't thought it through.
Expect Realistic Timelines, Not Immediate Results
Building the directory presence, review base, and content depth that AI systems actually draw on takes months, not weeks. An agency promising fast results in this specific discipline is either overpromising or planning to do something shallow. A realistic conversation about timeline is a good sign, not a weak pitch.
Where to Go From Here
This builds on the broader guidance in Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Marketing Agency in Los Angeles, and the methodology behind this specific approach is documented in How Indigo Mars Approaches AI Visibility Across LA.
For the paid side of the same decision, the criteria are different: How to Choose a Paid Advertising Agency in Los Angeles.
Want a straight read on where your business actually stands in AI search right now? Get in touch and we'll tell you honestly.
