How EliteAEO ranks providers

AEO agency scoring factors

Every AEO agency is scored on these seven factors, and the weights add up to 100.

How EliteAEO Score points are awarded

EliteAEO Score points are awarded by the fixed rules below, so anyone can recompute a provider's score from the facts on its profile. The score is the sum of the seven factors, out of 100, and every profile lists the facts behind each factor next to its points.

No score on the site includes a manual adjustment.

How we check proof of AI search results

To check proof of AI search results, we open each eligible provider's case studies and results pages and its AEO or AI SEO service page, and we search its site for client results in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and other AI engines. We record the single strongest item and the page it is on, and the provider's profile links to that page. Only results for clients count; a provider's own AI visibility does not. When a page does not give enough detail to tell two levels apart, the lower level applies. In the check completed on October 27, 2026, 106 of 355 eligible providers published proof of AI search results for a client, and 232 more claimed results without an example or numbers. Providers can send newer evidence through their dashboard or by email, and it counts once we have opened it.

Evidence checks and recheck dates

Evidence checks and recheck dates work the same way for every provider. Every eligible provider goes through a dated review before it is ranked, and every profile shows when its evidence was last checked and when the next check is due, at most 90 days later. Check dates are shown but never scored, so the order in which we check providers can never change a rank. Until version 2.0, freshness of our checks was a scoring factor; it was removed for exactly that reason.

How tied scores are shown

Tied scores are shown as shared ranks: providers with the same EliteAEO Score on a page share a rank, shown as T1, T2 and so on, and are listed alphabetically within the tie. The next provider takes the rank that matches its position, so three providers tied for first are followed by the provider ranked fourth. Alphabetical order inside a tie is a display convention, not a judgment.

Vertical evidence comes first

On every vertical and metro page, a provider with no evidence of work in that vertical ranks below every provider that has some, whatever its score on the other factors. A metro office or a strong general practice cannot outrank a provider that has shown work for dentists on a dental page.

Eligible

A provider is eligible for a ranking when it is a live, legitimate company, it actually offers answer engine or AI search services, it serves the vertical and market in question, and our checks found no problem with its evidence. Eligibility is decided before scoring and never considers payment.

Verified

A provider is marked Verified when we have checked three things ourselves in a dated verification review: the website is live and belongs to a real company, at least one independent third-party profile exists, and at least one piece of evidence ties the provider to the vertical it is ranked in. Verification is free, and no plan changes its outcome. Verified confirms identity and evidence; it is not a rating of service quality or an endorsement, and it is not a scoring factor. Every eligible provider goes through the same review, including new providers before they are ranked, so the order in which we check providers never changes a rank. Verified providers may display the EliteAEO badge on their own site, linking to their EliteAEO profile. The badge is optional, listing never depends on it, and it never affects editorial rank.

When a city page is published

A city page is published only when all four of these criteria are met.

• At least five eligible providers have an office in the metro or list it as a served market on their own site.
• At least three of those providers are verified.
• The metro has local depth: two providers with an office there, one office plus five verified providers, or seven verified providers.
• The metro is a large market, or at least six providers have a local presence there.

Cities that do not meet these criteria are not published.

How we check location claims

To check location claims, we record where a provider is based and which markets it serves as two separate facts. A provider with an office in the metro is marked with an office badge. A provider that lists the metro as a served market on its own site is marked as serving that metro and can be ranked, with less credit for market coverage than a local office. A provider with no presence in the metro is not ranked on that city's page. That is why city pages describe agencies serving a metro.

Paid placement and the rankings

Paid placement never changes the rankings: Featured and Sponsored positions are sold and clearly labeled outside the editorial list. Whether a provider pays is never an input to editorial scoring, so a provider can buy visibility but not a higher editorial position. See the advertising policy.

How we measure AI visibility

Our AI visibility measurement uses a fixed panel of 30 recommendation queries across dental, legal, healthcare, SaaS and home services, in three types: national vertical queries, metro queries and directory-style queries; the Local Business vertical is not yet in the panel. Each query is asked three times on four AI answer engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. The Google search that returns the AI Overview also records the top 20 organic results, so each edition shows where EliteAEO and the providers rank in Google itself; organic results are reported separately and never counted as AI answers. For every answer we record whether EliteAEO is named, cited or recommended, which providers are recommended, which sources and directories are cited and the context of the answer. This panel tracks how EliteAEO and the category appear in AI answers; it is not an input to provider scores. The first run was completed on September 28, 2026, and its results are published in the EliteAEO AI Visibility Index, with the number of answers behind every share. Later runs use the same queries so results can be compared over time.

Editorial independence of the rankings

The editorial independence of the rankings comes from how they are made: they are computed from checked evidence using the published method. Published pages and eligibility decisions are subject to editorial review. The people behind EliteAEO and our conflict-of-interest statement are on the About page, and the separation between rankings and paid placements is set out in the advertising policy.

Methodology revision history

The methodology revision history lists every change to the methodology and to how providers are scored, newest first. Every change applies to all providers at once, and every published score is recalculated the same day under the new version, which each ranking page names.

Corrections to rankings and profiles

Corrections to rankings and profiles are open to everyone: providers can claim a profile to correct any fact. Buyers can report an error to hello@eliteaeo.ai. Every ranked provider's evidence is rechecked at least every 90 days, and published rankings are recalculated as the evidence changes.