Should I hire a specialist AI search agency or add it to my existing SEO contract?

This is one of the most practical decisions UK businesses face when considering AI search optimisation. The answer depends on what your current SEO provider actually understands about how AI models select, interpret and recommend businesses. Choosing the right AI SEO agency requires understanding the fundamental differences between traditional search optimisation and AI search visibility. Traditional SEO focuses on ranking positions within Google's organic results. AI search optimisation focuses on whether your business is included, accurately described and favourably positioned within AI-generated answers. These are related but distinct disciplines, and the skills required to execute them well do not always overlap. ## Why it happens The confusion arises because AI search optimisation is often presented as an extension of SEO. Many existing agencies have added "AI SEO" or "GEO" to their service pages without fundamentally changing their methodology. They may apply the same keyword-driven, content-volume approach that works for traditional rankings but does not address how AI models process and cite information. AI models do not rank pages in a list. They synthesise answers from multiple sources, weigh authority signals differently from Google and evaluate content for clarity, specificity and consistency rather than keyword density or backlink volume. An agency that has genuinely adapted to this shift will talk about citation patterns, prompt behaviour, entity clarity and model confidence signals. An agency that has simply rebranded its SEO services will talk about keywords, traffic and rankings. The distinction matters because ineffective AI search work can produce no measurable results, leaving you paying for a service that does not address the actual mechanisms behind AI visibility. ## When it does not happen In some cases, an existing SEO provider genuinely does have the expertise to handle AI search work. This is more likely if the agency has invested in