In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, agencies are facing unprecedented challenges. Clients are asking questions that agencies couldn’t answer a year ago: Are we showing up in ChatGPT? Did AI Overviews kill our traffic? How do you keep delivering results and prove your impact when the landscape changes weekly? As an agency, it’s a big challenge. How do you keep delivering results and prove your impact when the landscape changes weekly? Below, four agencies share how they’re using Semrush to track AI visibility, prove ROI to clients, and turn AI search into a real growth channel.
The agencies doing this well aren’t building a separate AI practice. They’re extending what they already know about SEO into a new layer of search.
Earned Media Australia: Building the “AI Funnel” from Visibility to Leads
Clients: Global SaaS, universities, health supplements, ecommerce sellers
Focus: Evolution of reporting and revealing the AI funnel
Tools used: Position Tracking, Organic Rankings, My Reports
The absolute best thing that really helps my clients out of Semrush right now, is our ability to use the Position Tracking tool to get an understanding of AI overview percentage across queries, and then percentage of times that the client actually appears in those AI overviews.​​​​ David Schneider, SEO & GEO Lead at Earned Media Australia
Earned Media Australia reports on the full AI funnel, from high-level visibility metrics to AI referral traffic and conversions, using Semrush’s Position Tracking and My Reports. David maintains client communication with a monthly AI digest covering recent industry news and changes. This keeps his clients informed and builds trust in the agency.
To track the AI funnel with Semrush, the team breaks it down into three levels:
Top of the Funnel
Showing high-level metrics like AI Visibility, Mentions and Citations prove the brand is in the general “consideration set” and has the ability to get cited and recommended by AI.
Visual Proof to Paint the Picture
Tracking a targeted set of prompts for each client, and showing screenshots of LLM responses where the brand is recommended right in the response. This connects the dots for the client. Instead of seeing AI visibility as an abstract metric, they see their brand recommended in a real AI response.
Bottom of the Funnel
To tie it all together they use AI Referral Traffic data to show actual clicks and conversions from platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity. With Semrush’s My Reports tool , it’s as easy as connecting Google Analytics and dragging the right widget into the PDF builder. Call it the “AI Funnel.” You’re visible in AI, and now you’re getting the clicks.
David Schneider, SEO & GEO Lead at Earned Media Australia
Further reading: Create an SEO + AI Search Marketing Report
Sure Oak: Gaining Agency Leads Through AI Visibility
Clients: SaaS, financial services, B2B technology, education
Focus: Building agency authority to sell AI services.
Tools used: Organic Rankings, AI Visibility Toolkit, Looker Studio (for custom reporting)
Sure Oak became their own proof of concept by boosting their appearance in AI Overviews (+286%) and ChatGPT referral visits (41%). After this, 40% of all new leads for the agency come from their AI visibility. Throughout 2025, as they appeared in more AI-powered searches, the leads started to come in. Ultimately, her team sees optimizing for AI search as an integrated addition to SEO, and not a separate service.
AI search optimization is a part of every SEO engagement we deliver. We perform auditing, reporting, consulting, content optimization, and citation building for our monthly retainer clients, but also offer one-off projects, such as an AISO (AI search optimization) audit if needed. We feel [SEO and AI Visibility] need to be integrated to be successful. Andrea Schultz, Director of SEO at Sure Oak
Note: AI search optimization goes by several names in the industry—AEO, GEO, AISO—and there’s no consensus yet on which sticks. We’re using them interchangeably here to reflect how practitioners actually talk about this work.
Starting with Growing the Agency’s Visibility in AI Overviews
Before selling AEO (answer engine optimization) or GEO to clients, Andrea Schultz from Sure Oak optimized her own agency’s presence in AI results. For key search terms like “winning saas seo,” Sure Oak appeared as a top source. Once they had their proof of concept, it was easy to replicate the success for clients.
Andrea’s strategy was grounded in SEO fundamentals, but with an emphasis on making content easily parseable by AI systems.
– Creating high-quality, topic-cluster content that solves entire user questions
– Adding TOCs (table of contents) and key takeaways for AI-friendly readability
– Implementing schema wherever possible
– Ensuring proper HTML tagging and heading architecture
To showcase results to their clients, Andrea likes to use the AI Share of Voice line graph from the Respond tool in Semrush. This visual representation helps clients understand their position in AI search results over time.
Conclusion
The agencies highlighted in this article are not just adapting to the AI-driven SEO landscape; they are leading the charge. By integrating AI visibility into their existing SEO strategies, they are not only helping their clients stay relevant but also positioning themselves as authorities in this new frontier.
The key takeaway is that AI search optimization is not a separate service but an integrated part of SEO. Agencies that recognize this and leverage tools like Semrush can turn AI visibility into a real growth channel, proving ROI to clients and staying ahead of the curve.
FAQ
Q: How can agencies start integrating AI visibility into their SEO strategies?
A: Agencies can start by conducting an AI search optimization audit, focusing on content quality, readability, and schema implementation. Tools like Semrush can help track AI visibility and provide data-driven insights.
Q: What are the biggest challenges agencies face when optimizing for AI search?
A: The biggest challenges include staying updated with the rapidly changing AI landscape, proving ROI to clients, and integrating AI visibility into existing SEO strategies without adding unnecessary complexity.
Q: How can agencies use Semrush to track AI visibility?
A: Agencies can use Semrush’s Position Tracking tool to understand AI overview percentages across queries and the percentage of times the client appears in those AI overviews. The My Reports tool can be used to create custom reports that include AI visibility metrics and referral traffic data.
Q: What are the benefits of integrating AI visibility into SEO strategies?
A: Integrating AI visibility into SEO strategies helps agencies stay relevant in the evolving digital landscape, prove ROI to clients, and turn AI visibility into a real growth channel. It also positions agencies as authorities in this new frontier.
Q: How can agencies showcase AI visibility results to clients?
A: Agencies can use visual representations like the AI Share of Voice line graph from the Respond tool in Semrush to showcase AI visibility results to clients. They can also provide screenshots of LLM responses where the brand is recommended, connecting the dots for the client.
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