GEO vs SEO pricing in Ireland: what you’re actually paying for

The short answer

GEO costs about the same as SEO in Ireland. Of the 10 Irish agencies we checked on 27 October 2026, six publish a monthly GEO price, starting at €500 to €895 a month. The two that publish both a GEO price and an SEO price charge exactly the same for each. Google says there’s nothing extra to do to appear in its AI Overviews or AI Mode. So most of a GEO package is SEO under a new name. The new part is checking what AI tools say about you, and fixing what they get wrong.

• GEO is priced like SEOStarting prices of €500 to €895 a month, in the same band as local SEO.
• Google asks for nothing extraNo special files, schema or “AI optimisation” for AI Overviews or AI Mode.
• Pay for what’s new, not the nameAsk what the package does that good SEO doesn’t already do.

What GEO is, and where the name came from

GEO stands for generative engine optimisation. It means working to get your business named, or your website cited, in answers written by AI. That covers Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity and similar tools. You’ll also see it sold as AI SEO, AEO (answer engine optimisation) or “AI visibility”.

The name came from a research paper, not a marketing team. A team including researchers at Princeton University and IIT Delhi published GEO: Generative Engine Optimization on 16 November 2023. It was accepted at KDD 2024, a computer science conference.

The researchers tested ways of rewriting a web page, then measured how much of it showed up in AI answers. The best changes were adding sources, quotes from credible sources and statistics. Stuffing a page with keywords, an old SEO trick, gave “little to no improvement”.

So the paper rewarded what good content does anyway: facts, figures and sources. That’s worth remembering when a GEO package is sold as something completely new.

What 10 Irish agencies charge for GEO

On 27 October 2026 we read the GEO, AI SEO and AI visibility pages of 10 Irish providers. We’ve left their names out: the point is what the market charges, not who’s cheapest. It’s the same approach as our SEO price check in how to choose an SEO agency in Ireland.

We also searched “geo vs seo pricing ireland” on google.ie. Google’s own AI Overview put done-for-you GEO at €650 to €895 a month, and SEO and GEO together at about €895 and up. That matches what we found, but it missed the cheaper €500 and €550 starting tiers.

GEO vs SEO prices, side by side

The two agencies that publish both a GEO price and an SEO price charge exactly the same to start: €895 and €895 at one, €650 and €650 at the other. So GEO isn’t sold as a cheap add-on. It’s priced like a full SEO retainer.

Across the wider market, GEO starts a little higher than the cheapest local SEO. The middle GEO starting price was about €700 a month, against about €500 in our SEO check. The top of the market is the same for both.

Local SEO prices come from our check of 10 Irish SEO providers on 21 October 2026. SEO audit prices come from our guide on whether an SEO audit includes the fixes. Check whether any quote includes VAT: the standard rate is 23%.

What Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode need

Google has a short guide for site owners, AI features and your website, last updated on 10 December 2025. Its first point is the one that matters for pricing.

It then lists ordinary SEO basics. Let Google crawl your site, and link your pages together. Keep important content in text, and use good images. Make sure your structured data matches the page. Keep your Business Profile up to date. Then it adds this.

So for Google, there’s no separate GEO job. If a package’s main selling points are “AI-ready schema” or an llms.txt file, you’d be paying for things Google says it doesn’t need.

Google doesn’t report AI traffic on its own either. Clicks and impressions from AI Overviews and AI Mode are counted in Search Console’s Performance report, inside the “Web” search type.

That means nobody can pull a separate “AI traffic” number for Google out of Search Console. If a GEO package promises to report it, ask where the figure comes from.

What’s in a GEO package, part by part

Here’s what Irish GEO packages list, what each part is, and what Google says about it.

Four of the seven parts are SEO work with a new label. One, the llms.txt file, isn’t needed for Google at all. The new parts are tracking AI answers and, if you want one, a one-off audit.

Where GEO is different: AI answers for local searches

Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode are built on Google Search, so SEO covers them. ChatGPT and similar tools are separate products. They gather information their own way, so that’s where GEO could add something. We tested it.

On 27 October 2026 we asked Google’s AI Mode and a logged-out ChatGPT what a customer would: “who services oil boilers in Mullingar”.

Look at what both answers were built from. Both described the services each firm offers and mentioned OFTEC registration, the kind of detail a firm puts on its own website. ChatGPT added a Google review rating. AI Mode’s sources included an Irish business directory. Neither answer used anything that a normal local SEO job doesn’t already cover.

So for a local business, the best GEO is a clear website and a complete Google Business Profile. Add steady reviews that mention the job and the town, and matching details on Irish directories. For trades, we go through it step by step in how to get more boiler service customers, including a section on AI answers. Our local SEO guides explain how Google’s AI answers fit into local search.

Check a GEO quote

Tick what’s in the GEO quote you’ve been sent, and add the monthly price. We’ll sort it into what’s new, what’s SEO under another name and what Google says you don’t need. Then we’ll compare the price with what we found.

Questions to ask before you pay for GEO

• What will you do each month that SEO doesn’t already cover?Get a list of tasks, not “AI optimisation”.
• Is SEO included, or is GEO on top?Make sure you aren’t paying twice for the same pages, profile and listings.
• Will you add an llms.txt file or “AI schema”?Fine if it’s free. Google says it doesn’t need either for AI Overviews or AI Mode.
• Which questions will you track in AI tools, and will I see the answers?Ask for the list of questions and the raw answers each month, not only a score.
• How will you show it brought in leads?AI mentions are nice. Calls, forms and messages pay the bills.
• Is the price plus VAT, and what’s the minimum term?The standard rate is 23%, so €750 plus VAT is €922.50 a month.

Red flags in a GEO quote

• A promise that you’ll appear in ChatGPT or AI OverviewsNobody controls what AI tools say about a business.
• Special AI files or schema as the main selling pointGoogle says neither is needed for its AI answers.
• A score with no answers behind itAn “AI visibility score” means little unless you can see what the tools actually said.

If you’re also weighing who to hire, our guide to choosing between a freelancer and an agency will help.

How our plans cover AI answers

We don’t charge a separate GEO fee. Our local SEO covers what AI answers are built from, so every plan helps. From Lead engine up, our generative engine optimisation services are included too. That means monthly AI answer checks, and blog posts written for AI tools to quote.

Prices exclude VAT, with no setup fee. Every line of every plan is on our pricing page, starting with SEO from €250 a month.

Not sure where you stand? Ask for a free AI visibility check. We ask Google’s AI Mode and ChatGPT who they’d recommend for what you do, where you do it. Then we email you what they said, where they got it and what to fix first, within 24 hours.

Questions people ask

Something else on your mind? Email info@leadsireland.com.