# Choosing an AI visibility partner: how to spot a serious one > How to tell a serious partner for AI visibility: research, look, then ask. With Google's own hiring guide and a study on how often AI recommendations change. ![Mint line drawing on black: three rising steps, a lens floating above the first, a frame to look through on the second, a glowing open door at the top.](https://cdn.btlabs.dev/media/partner-ki-sichtbarkeit-drei-stufen-1920x1086-2688x1520-5e290308.webp) [Florian Berger](https://btlabs.dev/en/team/florian-berger) · Nov 13, 2026 Topic: [AI discoverability (GEO) →](https://btlabs.dev/en/ai-discoverability) You can tell a serious partner for AI visibility in three steps: research what they publish, look at how they work, and only then talk to them, on the phone or in person. That is the advice I give every business that has offers for “[GEO](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/geo-generative-engine-optimization) ”, “[AI SEO](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/aeo-answer-engine-optimization) ” or “visibility in ChatGPT” on the table. The terms are new; the checks are not. And the good news: if you check carefully, this young field has partners you can genuinely build something with. ## Why a place in an AI answer can't be a promise AI assistants answer the same question differently almost every time. A study by the audience research company SparkToro, published in January 2026, measured exactly that: around 600 volunteers asked ChatGPT, Claude and Google's AI answers twelve questions in November and December 2025, 2,961 times in total. [The same list of recommended brands came back in fewer than one in a hundred cases](https://sparktoro.com/blog/new-research-ais-are-highly-inconsistent-when-recommending-brands-or-products-marketers-should-take-care-when-tracking-ai-visibility/), and the same order almost never. The questions were about well-known brands and products, not local businesses; for those, the variation is likely to be even greater. The authors conclude that a “ranking in AI” is not a meaningful measure. More robust is how often a business is mentioned across many questions and many repetitions. One of the authors works for a company that sells such measurements; the study says so itself and publishes its method. Google puts it plainly in its guide to hiring an [SEO](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/seo-search-engine-optimisation) (updated June 2026): [no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo). And for [AI Overviews](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/ai-overviews) , Google says there are [no additional requirements](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features). Anyone selling you a fixed position or a secret lever is promising more than anyone can deliver. A good partner instead makes sure the facts about your business are complete, unambiguous and [machine-readable](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/machine-readable-website) , and measures openly what comes of it. ## Step 1: research before you ask for a quote Start by reading what the provider writes about the topic. Three questions help: - **Do they explain how they measure?** Visibility in AI answers can only be observed as a sample. Anyone quoting figures should say which questions, which AI systems, how many repetitions and which period are behind them. - **Where do their figures come from?** Many studies in this field come from providers who sell AI visibility tools themselves. That doesn't make them wrong. It's a good sign when this is said openly and the method can be looked up. - **Do they name limits?** A careful text also says what isn't proven. If every caveat is missing, that's a hint, not yet a verdict. ## Step 2: look at how they work The best evidence is the work itself. Look at two things: - **Their own website.** Are the facts about the provider clear and consistent: name, location, services, contact person? Does a machine read the same as a person? Anyone who has this right at home knows what matters for you. - **Their work for others.** Ask for examples you can look at, and check whether results are described with a period and a method, or only with big words. ## Step 3: talk to them, with the right questions Only when your research and what you've seen add up is a call or a meeting worth it. Google recommends several of these questions in its guide; they apply just as much to AI visibility: - **What results do you expect, in what timeframe, and how do you measure them?** Ask about the starting point too. Without a before there is no after. - **Can you show me previous work?** - **What experience do you have in my industry and my region?** For a business in South Tyrol that also means: in German and Italian. - **Will you show me every change you make to my website?** - **Who owns the content and the data when we stop working together?** Check whether you are tying yourself to a provider that is hard to leave. - **What can't you promise?** Anyone with a clear answer has thought about their offer. In the conversation, also notice whether the other side is interested in your business. Google advises this too: if they aren't, find someone who is. ## The checklist, applied to ourselves A checklist is only as good as its test. So here is what you can check with us, step by step. **Research:** with the [ai-discovery-radar](https://btlabs.dev/en/ai-discovery-radar) we measure every month how widespread machine-readable files are on the web, from [llms.txt](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/llms-txt) and files for [AI agents](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/ai-agent) to the reservation against text and data mining, 37 checks in total. The data is published openly and citably with a DOI, and the method is set out in a [technical report](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22769680) under an open licence. Behind it is our own measurement lab, where we test new files and routes before we write about them. We also publish what does not move: in the November month-on-month comparison, everything apart from the Cloudflare entry stayed within the margin of measurement. **Looking:** our own website btlabs.dev is the shop window. Besides the pages for people, it offers a range of machine-readable files and interfaces that an AI system can fetch directly: from llms.txt and a brand description to a catalogue of programming interfaces and the machine-readable reservation against AI training. We say which file is a recognised standard and which is only a proposal. **Questions:** what we can't promise is set out above. No one guarantees a mention in ChatGPT, including us. ## What comes next Today people ask an AI. Tomorrow they send their AI out: an assistant compares offers, checks availability and books, on someone's behalf. This is often called business-to-agent, or B2A. And agents are starting to talk to each other, over open protocols such as A2A (Agent2Agent), where an agent introduces itself with a small business card. Across the thousand popular websites in our radar's fixed panel, not a single one offered such an agent card from September to November 2026\. The field is open. If your facts are clean and machine-readable now, you are ready when it takes off. We're working on it, and we label it honestly: AI agents that make bookings are an expansion stage for btlabs Core, not a finished feature. Measuring what something brings is part of being a serious partner too. ## What counts in the end A serious partner explains what they do, shows it to you and says openly what no one can promise. If they're also excited about what's coming, all the better. How we measure visibility in AI answers ourselves is set out in [Measuring visibility](https://btlabs.dev/en/measuring-visibility). ![Florian Berger, founder of Berger+Team, looking directly into the camera in front of a modern concrete wall with sharp shadows.](https://cdn.btlabs.dev/media/florian-berger-768x768-d06923c9.webp) About the author [Florian Berger](https://btlabs.dev/en/team/florian-berger) Florian Berger is an experienced digital and communication expert from Bolzano, with over 20 years of practical experience in branding, web development, online marketing, and digitalization. He is the founder of Berger+Team, an agile collective of independent freelancers that positions itself as a modern and efficient alternative to the traditional agency model. In his work, he combines solid brand strategy with innovative technologies and infrastructures such as btlabs Core. His particular focus is on the integration of artificial intelligence, machine-readable search engine optimization (GEO), and business process automation to generate real competitive advantages for companies. Florian stands for honest, transparent, and results-oriented advice on equal terms – without empty promises, unnecessary overhead costs, or rigid contracts. In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, he is involved in various technology and digitalization projects in the region. Florian runs the [ai-discovery-radar](https://btlabs.dev/en/ai-discovery-radar), the open measurement series behind our figures. How we work is described on [About us](https://btlabs.dev/en/about). ### Career - **since 2026** · btlabs Core and ai-discovery-radar: open measurement series with DOI, technical report, ORCID - **since 2019** · Berger+Team, Bolzano · Founder - **2008–2018** · Kreatif GmbH, Bolzano · Founder and shareholder - **2003–2008** · Genetica Multimedia, Laives · Founding employee - [](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bergerflorian/ "LinkedIn") - [](https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5780-1147 "Orcid") - [](https://www.crunchbase.com/person/florian-berger-4962 "Crunchbase") - [](https://github.com/flober81 "GitHub") - [](https://www.xing.com/profile/Florian%5FBerger26 "Xing") - [](https://www.behance.net/florianberger "Behance") - [](https://dribbble.com/florian-berger "Dribbble") - [](https://twitter.com/florianberger81 "X") - [](https://www.youtube.com/@florianberger81 "YouTube") - [](https://www.tiktok.com/@florianberger81 "TikTok") - [](https://www.instagram.com/florian.f.berger/ "Instagram") - [](https://www.facebook.com/florian.f.berger/ "Facebook") - [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/florian-berger/ "Flickr") - [](https://www.berger.team/autor/florian-berger/ "Berger+Team") ## Frequently asked questions. **How do I measure whether my business appears in AI answers?** The most direct way: test it yourself. Ask the popular AI assistants the questions your customers would ask — for example, “which business near me does…?” — and check whether your business is mentioned and whether the details are correct. Repeat this regularly and in several languages, because answers change. In addition, website statistics show whether AI systems access your content: those visits leave traces. So that it does not stop at spot checks, btlabs Core has a visibility cockpit: it brings search data and AI systems' visits to your website together in one place, presented understandably. You see trends instead of snapshots — and notice early when details about your business need correcting. **Do I own the code?** Your content and data, yes: they belong to you, and you can export them in open formats at any time. For the code itself, our terms give you a simple right of use for the agreed purpose — with no ongoing licence fee, built on open, open-source standards. Next step ## Want to look at it together? No pitch, no standard package — an honest take on your project. A reply, usually within 24h. [Start a conversation →](https://btlabs.dev/en/contact#cta) ## You might also like - [· GEO by model: why every AI search answers differently · There is no such thing as "the AI": eight weeks of our own measurement show that the models from OpenAI, Perplexity and Google name the same business at different rates — and that the answer changes from week to week. What follows for work on visibility.](https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/geo-by-model) - [· Frequently asked questions about AI optimization for websites · Ten questions that keep coming up in first conversations — cost, timing, guarantees, data protection. With the answers we would give on the phone.](https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/ai-optimization-faq) - [· 4.5 Weeks: How Quickly an AI Forgets You Again · A large study shows AI systems cite unchanged content less often after just 4.5 weeks on average. Why staying current is the simplest lever for AI visibility.](https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/ai-citation-half-life-forgets-you) --- Source: https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/choosing-ai-visibility-partner Languages: [de](https://btlabs.dev/llms/de/posts/partner-ki-sichtbarkeit-serioes-erkennen) · [it](https://btlabs.dev/llms/it/posts/partner-visibilita-ia-come-riconoscerlo) See also: [llms.txt](https://btlabs.dev/llms.txt) · [ai.txt (Policy)](https://btlabs.dev/ai.txt) · [identity.json](https://btlabs.dev/identity.json)