Top Click Sells AEO Bundled With SEO or as Its Own AI Audit

Rather than scrolling through search results, more and more buyers simply ask an AI tool a question, take the answer it offers and make their decision on that basis. In response, South African search agency Top Click this October outlined two entry points into its answer engine optimisation service. Brands already running SEO with the agency can add it on, while brands approaching the agency for the first time can begin with a standalone AI Visibility Audit.

Behind the two options is a principle the agency stands by. AEO, which some call AI search optimisation or GEO, does not let a brand skip SEO; it depends on it. If a brand's search foundation is weak, no amount of AI-focused effort will reliably get it recommended by AI tools. The right starting point therefore depends on what a brand already has in place.

Why timing matters for South African brands

The final quarter of the year is a period when many South African buyers research bigger purchases, and spring lifts activity across a wide range of categories. Increasingly, that research takes place inside ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode. Someone asks which supplier is best in a category, receives a brief answer naming a few brands, and carries on from there. Any business left out of that answer has effectively lost that buyer.

As Top Click's AEO page frames it, buyers ask, receive a recommendation and act. AEO exists to make a brand more difficult for those tools to ignore.

Option one: adding AEO to an SEO retainer

Existing Top Click SEO retainer clients can take AEO as an add-on. The agency has already worked on the technical health, content and authority of these sites, so AEO builds directly on that groundwork. Scope is set following an audit, and the cost is handled as an uplift to the current retainer instead of a separate programme.

The agency's case material backs up this approach. On its AEO page, it outlines work for SunNinja, an international beach tent brand. Thorough on-site SEO across pages, collections, products and blog content, paired with genuine backlinks and digital PR, earned the brand the number one organic spot on Google for "beach tents", along with top placement for that category in Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Grok. Top Click attributes the outcome to traditional SEO carried out properly, not to any special trick.

Option two: a standalone AI Visibility Audit

New Top Click clients begin with a standalone AI Visibility Audit. It reveals where the brand shows up, or does not, across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overviews, and compares that visibility with competitors. Should the audit confirm a sound search foundation, it can move into a full retainer. Should the foundation need attention first, the brand learns this before signing up for anything bigger.

Businesses considering AI SEO services for the first time get a starting point grounded in evidence, not a sales pitch.

The scope of the service

According to Top Click, AEO addresses three areas. One is what others say about a brand, from Reddit threads and forums to review sites and industry press, all of which AI tools take into account even without a link to the brand's site. Another is how well AI grasps the brand's identity: its name, what it does and why it can be trusted, described consistently everywhere. The last is whether the brand's content offers a direct answer that an AI tool can pull straight from the page.

The service itself has eight components. An AI visibility audit sets the baseline. Prompt and share-of-voice tracking monitors the specific questions buyers put to AI tools and how often the brand appears compared with competitors. Entity optimisation handles schema, knowledge panel signals and consistent brand data. Answer-first content reworks priority pages so the answer is no longer hidden in the fourth paragraph. FAQ sections and structured data make it easier for AI tools to read and extract information. Technical AI access ensures AI crawlers can reach the site, an llms.txt file included. Citation and digital PR work secures mentions on the platforms AI tools rely on most. Monthly reporting tracks the outcomes.

Tracking results

Four measures form the basis of the agency's reporting. Citation frequency shows how often AI tools mention the brand in response to relevant questions. Share of voice compares the brand's presence in AI answers with that of competitors. AI referral traffic is tracked in GA4, kept separate from organic search. Sentiment looks at how AI tools describe the brand and whether that description is correct. Top Click points out that these measurement tools are newer and still developing, unlike the mature tools used for traditional rankings and traffic, and says it is upfront with clients about anything it cannot yet measure.

No guarantees on AI citations

Top Click states clearly that no one controls what an AI engine chooses to cite, and it makes no guarantee that a brand will show up in ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Its commitment is to carry out the proven work that improves a brand's chances, backed by monthly reporting on what was done. Early signals typically appear within 60 to 120 days, though competitive categories take longer. Because AI search moves fast, the agency treats AEO as an ongoing effort, not a once-off project.

Eighteen years in search

Top Click's claim to be the AEO agency South African brands can trust with this work comes down to its track record. For 18 years it has focused solely on SEO and Google Ads, and it is an established Google Premier Partner. Senior specialists manage every account, with no juniors involved, and clients work with the agency month to month without a long-term contract. The agency's view is that brands need SEO and AEO together, and that claims to the contrary deserve caution.

Brands unsure which route fits them can find full service details at https://topclick.co.za/aeo/.

About Top Click

Top Click is a South African digital marketing agency that specialises exclusively in search, offering SEO, Google Ads and answer engine optimisation. Operating for 18 years, it is an established Google Premier Partner. Its AEO service helps brands earn recommendations on ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode. A small team of senior specialists handles all work, and clients are engaged on month-to-month terms with no lock-in.