By
Austin Coker
Reading time: 15 min
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of making your brand recommended by AI answer engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. For D2C brands, this is no longer optional. Customers are asking ChatGPT for product shortlists, using Perplexity to compare alternatives, and getting purchase recommendations from Claude before they ever click an ad or a search result.
The D2C brands appearing in those AI-generated recommendations are winning the new top of funnel. The D2C brands that are not, are quietly losing customers who never touch a search results page or a paid ad.
GEO matters for D2C brands specifically because:
This guide is built for D2C brands in the $1M to $50M annual revenue range that need search marketing producing revenue, not just rankings or ad impressions.
We evaluated agencies against four criteria specific to D2C and consumer ecommerce.
Most agencies claiming “AI SEO” in 2026 are running the same SEO playbook with a new banner. We prioritized agencies that have published original research on AI search behavior, built tracking infrastructure for AI citations, and can show documented GEO client outcomes. Most candidates wash out at this filter.
GEO methodology that works for one vertical does not transfer cleanly to another. Buyers in D2C brands ask AI different questions, use different vocabulary, and respond to different content patterns. We weighted agencies with documented client outcomes in D2C brands over generalists.
The strongest GEO outcomes happen when AI search optimization is built alongside traditional SEO and paid media, not as a standalone service. Agencies running GEO in a silo miss the compounding effect across channels. We favored agencies with integrated offerings.
The wrong metrics will sink a GEO program. AI citation count, share of voice in AI Overviews, and impression count are useful diagnostic numbers, but they are not revenue. We weighted agencies that report against contribution to revenue, qualified pipeline, or attributable LTV.
95 Projects is a search marketing agency built specifically for brands in the $1M to $50M revenue range that want SEO, PPC, and GEO running as one integrated practice instead of three siloed line items on a media plan. The agency has been doing AI search work since before GEO had a name, and currently runs GEO programs across D2C, fashion, beauty, CPG, supplement, and high-AOV ecommerce brands.
The pattern across these accounts is the same. Build a topical authority cluster the AI engines can cite confidently, then layer paid channels on top once the organic and AI citation flywheel is moving.
95 Projects works with D2C brands in three integrated phases, designed to be revenue-attributable from month one.
Phase 1: GEO foundation and citation surface area. The agency audits where the brand currently appears (or fails to appear) in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini for category-defining queries. From the audit, the team builds a topical authority map of the editorial, product, and resource content needed to become citable on comparison, occasion, ingredient, and competitor-alternative queries. The first 30 to 60 days are heavily weighted toward citation-surface buildout.
Phase 2: SEO and content depth. Once AI engines have something to cite, traditional SEO compounds the gain. The same content earning AI citations earns organic rankings, and the two channels reinforce each other. 95 Projects runs proprietary keyword and topic research for the D2C brands buyer journey, separating informational queries from commercial queries.
Phase 3: Paid acceleration with attribution. Once organic and AI search are producing revenue, paid media runs against the proven topical clusters at known cost per acquisition. Meta, Google, and TikTok ads are layered in to scale the volumes the brand already knows convert. The integration prevents the most common failure mode, which is paying to acquire customers the brand could have earned through organic and AI search at a fraction of the cost.
95 Projects runs all three phases under one team, with one founder accountable to revenue. The agency takes on a small number of engagements per quarter to maintain founder involvement on every account.
Common Thread Collective is one of the better-known DTC agencies, built on a methodology called “Forecasting + Finance + Marketing” that ties paid spend to contribution margin and LTV. The agency primarily runs Meta and Google paid programs, with disciplined attribution and modeling.
Common Thread’s expansion into AEO and GEO services is recent, and the agency’s center of gravity remains paid media. For brands that need a sophisticated paid partner and want a small AI search component bolted on, Common Thread fits the profile. For brands wanting GEO led by an organic-first team, the channel mix at Common Thread is heavier on paid than 95 Projects or NoGood.
Eric Siu’s Single Grain has been a vocal proponent of GEO since the category emerged, publishing methodology breakdowns and podcast episodes on AI search optimization. The agency offers integrated SEO, PPC, content, and GEO services, with a multi-vertical client base.
Single Grain is a strong fit for brands that want a generalist multi-channel partner with a clear public commitment to GEO. The agency is not vertical-specialized in the way 95 Projects or category-pure firms are, but the channel integration and GEO commitment are real.
NoGood is a performance marketing agency with a deep DTC and SaaS portfolio and one of the earlier publicly stated AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) practices in the industry. The agency leans creative-forward, with strong work across fashion, beauty, lifestyle, B2B SaaS, and DTC food categories.
For brands that want a creative-heavy paid partner with a genuine AEO offering, NoGood is one of the cleaner fits in the market. Pricing tends toward the higher end of mid-market.
Pilothouse is a DTC-focused agency known primarily for Meta and TikTok ads work with apparel, beauty, and lifestyle brands. The agency has been talking publicly about AI search and AEO since mid-2025, though the practice is newer than its paid offering.
Pilothouse fits DTC brands scaling primarily through Meta and TikTok that want a paid partner deeply embedded in creative and need a smaller AI search component. The agency is less of a fit for brands wanting GEO and SEO as the primary channels.
Power Digital is a large omnichannel agency with a contribution-margin reporting model and recent AI search practice. The agency works across paid, SEO, retail media, and email, with a client base spanning mid-market to enterprise consumer and B2B brands.
Power Digital is the right answer for brands at the upper end of the $50M annual revenue range or beyond, with budgets that justify a $25K+ per month engagement. For brands in the $1M to $20M revenue band, the engagement size is typically too large.
Inflow has worked in ecommerce since 2007, which makes it one of the longer-tenured specialists in the category. The agency historically led with PPC and Google Shopping, then expanded into SEO and ecommerce optimization. In 2025 Inflow began publicly investing in AI search and answer engine work, though the practice is newer than its paid and SEO offerings.
Inflow is a strong fit for ecommerce brands that already have a working paid program and need to expand into organic and AI search. The agency’s Shopify and BigCommerce depth is genuine, with a long client list of mid-market consumer brands.
Picking a GEO partner is harder than picking a traditional SEO agency because the category is new, the methodology is still maturing, and most agencies claiming GEO experience have been doing it for less than 18 months. Four criteria matter more than the rest.
Ask for specific examples of AI citation outcomes. Not impression share. Not “AI Overview appearances.” Real cases where a brand’s products or content became cited recommendations in ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude responses, and the agency can show how that translated to traffic or revenue. If the answer is a methodology slide deck without case examples, the practice is too new to bet on.
The AI search queries used by D2C brands do not look like queries in other verticals. Customers ask for product comparisons, price-tier filters, and ingredient breakdowns. The agency should be able to describe, in detail, the query patterns specific to D2C brands and the content types that get cited. A generalist agency will give you generic answers.
GEO works best as a layer on top of strong SEO, with paid amplifying the proven topical clusters. If the agency offers GEO as a standalone service that does not connect to its SEO or paid teams, you will leave money on the table. The strongest engagements run all three channels with shared attribution.
Many agencies will report GEO success in vanity metrics that are easy to grow and impossible to monetize. AI citation count is interesting. Share of voice in AI Overviews is interesting. Neither of those is revenue. Insist on agencies that will report against attributable contribution to revenue, qualified pipeline, or repeat purchase rate, even if the attribution model is imperfect. Imperfect revenue attribution is better than perfectly tracked vanity metrics.
For most $1M to $50M D2C brands, hiring an agency is the right answer for the first 12 to 18 months of a GEO program. Three reasons:
After 12 to 18 months of agency-led GEO, the right move is often to bring the practice in-house with the agency in a consulting or audit role. By that point, the brand has documented playbooks, established citation surface area, and tracking infrastructure. The marginal value of agency-led work declines, and the marginal value of an embedded in-house owner increases.
If your D2C brand is doing between $1M and $50M in annual revenue, diversifying away from paid is on the agenda for 2026, or you need a search marketing agency that reports against revenue instead of impressions, book a call with 95 Projects to talk through whether GEO is the right next move for your business.
Beyond GEO, here are the integrated services 95 Projects runs for d2c brands:
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GEO is the practice of making your brand recommended by AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. Where SEO optimizes for blue-link rankings, GEO optimizes for citations and recommendations inside AI-generated responses. For D2C brands, that means showing up when a buyer asks ChatGPT for “best protein powder under $40” or “alternatives to Allbirds for $80 to $120”.
Most D2C brands see their first measurable AI citations within 60 to 90 days of a well-executed GEO program. Material revenue impact typically lands in months 4 through 9, depending on the existing content footprint, market competitiveness, and the brand’s category. Established brands with strong existing content can move faster.
SEO targets the Google search results page. GEO targets the AI answer itself. The two channels overlap heavily because AI engines use search results as inputs, but they reward different content patterns. GEO favors structured comparison content, citable factual claims, clear sub-categorization, and authoritative explainers. Strong GEO programs are built alongside strong SEO programs, not as a replacement.
No. Any agency that guarantees specific citations from AI engines does not understand how these systems work. What we guarantee is the methodology, the citation surface area, the reporting infrastructure, and consistent improvement in your brand’s representation in AI responses over the course of an engagement.
D2C is one of the most AI-mediated buying categories. Customers ask LLMs for comparison shopping, ingredient breakdowns, sustainability claims, occasion-driven recommendations, and competitor alternatives. The brands appearing as cited recommendations are winning the new top of funnel.
Engagements typically run between $5,000 and $20,000 per month depending on the scope, channel mix, and whether the engagement includes integrated SEO, PPC, and GEO or just one channel. We work with D2C brands in the $1M to $50M annual revenue range and scope engagements to fit the size of the business.
