What should a law firm ask an AEO agency before it signs?

What outcome will the agency report?

Ask to see a sample report before you sign. It should name the questions and markets in scope, the dates checked, and what the firm was shown for each question. A citation is a link to your page or a name given as a source in an AI answer. Ask how the report separates a citation from a mention, a site visit, and an inquiry. Each is a different event.

Look for a baseline you can review, a clear report schedule, and evidence behind each claim. Ask what the agency can measure directly and what it can infer. For reporting limits and other warning signs, see the related guide to red flags.

Example: A personal injury firm has two offices and wants to know whether answers name the right location. Ask for the questions used for each office and a record of the answers seen. A report can show a name in an answer without showing that someone called the firm.

Search reporting has limits, so ask the agency what it can separate and what remains unknown. The AEO and SEO budget guide explains how reporting fits a budget discussion. The agency red flags guide covers warning signs in a report. Ask for a sample that explains each number and the decisions it can support.

Ask which AI answer tools the agency checks and why those tools fit your audience. Request the exact questions, the places they cover, and the dates of each check. Ask how questions are chosen, how often the same set is checked, and when a question may be added or removed.

An answer may change between checks. Ask the agency to show each observation with its date and question, including checks where the firm was not named. Ask how it reports changes across runs and whether a result is a single observation or part of a broader set. A sample should let your team see the limits of the evidence.

Ask what decision each measure supports. A named source can help you discuss visibility. An intake record can help you judge fit. A report should distinguish what the agency saw in an answer from what your firm learned after a person contacted you.

How will the agency handle attorney advertising review?

Ask for a clear review path before any page goes live. California Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1 bars false or misleading communications about a lawyer or legal services. Check draft claims about results, testimonials, and comparisons against records and the rule. Ask your own counsel or ethics lead which rules apply where your firm practices.

A comment to California Rule 7.1 says past results or testimonials may mislead if they create an unjustified expectation of the same result without regard to each client’s facts and legal circumstances. Ask how the agency will flag that risk and correct a claim after release.

Example: A draft describes a past matter in glowing terms. Your firm asks to see the basis for each claim and the context around it. Your reviewer can then decide whether to revise the text, seek more support, or leave the story out. The agency should not treat a draft as approved just because it has been sent.

Ask how the agency will handle facts it cannot confirm. A blank space for your firm to fill is more useful than a claim that sounds right but has no support. Ask for a way to flag sensitive details and keep them out of drafts that do not need them. The people who know the matter should have a chance to review any proposed use.

Plan for changes after launch. Name the person who can pause a page, correct a name, or remove a claim, and make sure that person can reach the site owner. For a closer look, use the related guide on attorney advertising and AI content. Comment [4] to California Rule 7.1 addresses the risk of unjustified expectations from past results and testimonials.

Who will do the work and who can approve it?

Ask for the names or roles of the people who will lead the account, draft the work, review facts, and handle site changes. Find out which tasks the agency will assign outside its own team. You need a clear point of contact and a backup who can act when that person is away. A sales contact alone does not tell you who will handle the work.

Look for a simple map of duties. Your firm may need a partner to approve claims, a marketing lead to set goals, and a site owner to grant access. Ask the agency what it needs from each role and when. If several offices share the work, decide who can settle a conflict over a page or market.

Example: Your marketing lead signs the plan, but each practice group controls its own claims. Ask who sends drafts to those groups and who resolves a disagreement. A named decision maker can keep a draft from moving ahead with an open question or sitting with no owner.

Ask to meet the account lead before you sign. Have that person walk through a sample handoff, from a firm request to an approved change. You are looking for a clear chain of responsibility, not a promise that no issue will arise. Ask what happens if a key person leaves and how the firm will be told about a change in staffing.

For a larger firm, ask whether the same team will serve each office and how local facts reach the right reviewer. A shared report can help the firm compare markets. Ask for a responsibility map that shows the account lead, backup, and local reviewers.

How will practice priorities connect to intake?

Give each agency the same list of practice areas and places you want to serve. Ask it to show how the proposed work addresses those priorities. A firm that handles estate planning and litigation may need different pages, reviewers, and intake questions for each service.

Start with the matters your firm wants to handle. Your intake lead can explain which questions help sort a useful inquiry from a poor fit. Your marketing lead can then compare those needs with the questions and markets in the proposed report.

Example: A family-law firm compares two proposals. One covers the matters its team handles and the other uses broad questions that do not match its services. Ask each agency to explain how its sample questions relate to the firm’s actual work and the people it hopes to reach.

Have the intake lead review the contact details and the description of each service. Map where a call or form goes and how a misplaced inquiry reaches the right team. A page can be easy to find while still sending a person to the wrong contact.

Agree on what details intake will record for its own review, such as matter type and location. Protect sensitive details by deciding who needs access. Ask how a repeated intake question will reach the people who can consider a clearer service description.

Decide how a practice group can request a change when its priorities shift. Compare offers using the same practice areas, service locations, and intake needs. For questions about the length of an engagement, see the related guide on engagement length.

How will your firm review facts across offices?

A firm with several offices needs a way to check local facts before a page goes live. Ask who will confirm the office name, location, services, and contact details. A central marketing lead can coordinate the work while a local reviewer checks the details.

Build a list of claims each office can support. Include lawyer names, practice areas, and descriptions of services. Ask the agency how it will flag a missing fact and send it to the person who can verify it. Your reviewers should be able to see the claim in the context of the full page.

Example: A page describes a service offered in one city, but the firm routes inquiries to another office. Have both offices review the description and contact path. The intake team can check that a person who calls reaches the right group.

Give each office a way to report changes after launch. A new contact, a changed service area, or a correction should reach the person who can update the page. Keep a record of who approved the change so the next reviewer can find the decision.

For local review, ask for an office fact sheet that lists each location, its services and contact details, the reviewer, and the site owner who can make corrections. Google’s “Do you need an SEO?” page suggests asking whether the provider will share all the changes it makes to your site.

What will your firm own when the work ends?

Ask for written terms that identify the drafts, final pages, images, accounts, and other materials covered by the engagement. The agreement should say what your firm may keep, use, and change after the work ends. Have counsel review the terms before you rely on an assumption about ownership.

Payment alone does not settle every copyright question. Under 17 U.S.C. 101, a specially ordered or commissioned work qualifies as work made for hire only under stated conditions, including a signed written agreement and a qualifying category of work. Ask counsel whether those conditions apply to the work in your offer.

Under 17 U.S.C. 204(a), a transfer of copyright ownership is generally not valid unless it is in writing and signed by the owner or an authorized agent. Ask the agency to identify any transfer, license, and limits on use in the agreement. Your lawyer can explain how the terms apply to the specific work.

The U.S. Copyright Office says copyright protection for material made with AI depends on sufficient human authorship. Ask who contributes and records the human work, and have counsel assess what rights may apply. A contract can describe the rights the parties grant, but it cannot answer every question about protection.

Example: A firm changes agencies after a site project. Before signing, ask how it will receive the final files, drafts, records of rights, and access needed to maintain its pages. List who will handle open corrections and how the handoff will work. For ownership and contract warning signs, see the related guide to red flags.

What order should your firm use to compare offers?

Give each agency the same brief and request a written response. Compare what is included, what your team must supply, and which questions remain open. A shared brief makes it easier to see where offers differ.

Ask each agency to walk through one sample observation in its report. Follow it from the question asked to the answer recorded and the claim made about the result. Check whether the report makes clear what was observed and what remains unknown.

Use a sample page to test the proposed review path. Ask your legal reviewer whether the agency supplied enough context and support to assess the claims. Note how the agency would handle a claim your firm cannot verify.

Read the written offer with the people responsible for the budget, the site, and the legal review. Ask for an explanation of any term that leaves access or use of the work unclear. Your counsel can review the rights and the terms for ending the engagement.

Keep a list of unresolved points beside each offer. A family-law team comparing proposals might find that one provides a clear sample while another leaves the reporting method open. Ask for the missing detail before making a choice. A useful comparison gives your team a basis for deciding what to ask next.

What should you have before you sign?

• A sample report with questions, markets, and measures
• An attorney advertising review path with a firm decision maker
• An account lead and a backup
• Practice areas and locations matched to the work
• A local reviewer for each office
• An intake contact and a path for corrections
• Written rights and a handoff plan for the end of the work