AI has fundamentally changed SEO, but not every agency claiming to use AI actually understands it. With over 65% of businesses reporting superior results from AI-powered SEO, the pressure to work with SEO agencies leveraging AI is real. The problem? Many agencies are using AI as a marketing buzzword without the strategic depth to back it up.
How do you identify which SEO agencies leveraging AI truly use it for competitive advantage versus those just riding the hype? The answer lies in asking the right questions. As a leading cannabis PR and SEO agency that has successfully integrated AI across our operations, we’ve identified the five most critical questions that will reveal an agency’s true AI maturity.
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1. How Do You Integrate AI Across Your Entire SEO Workflow?
This opening question serves as your most important diagnostic tool. It separates agencies that view AI as isolated tools from SEO agencies leveraging AI as an integrated system connecting every aspect of their operation.
A truly AI-mature agency should describe how data flows seamlessly between research, content creation, technical optimization, and performance analysis. They might explain how findings from a technical audit influence their content strategy, or how content performance data informs their next round of keyword research, creating a continuous optimization loop.
Advanced agencies use automation tools or AI for comprehensive keyword clustering and topic analysis, automate technical SEO audits that can identify issues like broken links and duplicate content at scale, and use AI to simulate your audience to evaluate content or identify high-intent phrases.
The most sophisticated agencies now leverage cutting-edge AI infrastructure including GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) tracking systems that monitor AI Overview rankings and citations, custom AI tools built specifically for their workflow and client needs, and SEO-specific MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers or AI tool-use systems that enable advanced analytics and automated decision-making at scale.
What to listen for: Use of proprietary or custom AI tools for lead capture, keyword tracking, or content analysis. Automation that supports—not replaces—strategic thinking (such as AI for clustering keywords or identifying backlink gaps). A clear balance between automation and expert human decision-making across the SEO pipeline, where AI handles data processing while humans make strategic choices. Look for mentions of GEO/AI Overview rank tracking, custom-built tools for their specific processes, and advanced AI analytics systems that go beyond standard third-party offerings.
Red flags: Responses focused heavily on one area, especially just “AI content writing.” If an agency says “We use AI to write blog posts faster,” they’re treating AI as a simple tool rather than a strategic advantage.
2. How Do SEO Agencies Leveraging AI Ensure Content Quality and Avoid Google Penalties?
This question addresses the biggest risk in AI-powered SEO: producing low-quality content that can harm your rankings and brand reputation. Google’s stance is clear—content quality matters more than how it’s created, but AI-generated content requires rigorous human oversight to meet E-E-A-T standards (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
Without proper quality control, AI content poses serious risks including factual inaccuracies and “hallucinations”, lack of originality and authentic human experience, and generic content that fails to demonstrate expertise.
Smart agencies recognize that while AI excels at processing data and generating initial content structures, it cannot replicate genuine human expertise or authentic brand experiences. The most effective approach treats AI as a powerful research and drafting assistant, while relying on human experts to transform that foundation into content that truly demonstrates knowledge, builds trust, and connects with readers on a meaningful level.
Leading agencies now use advanced E-E-A-T analysis tools to systematically evaluate content quality. At NisonCo, we’ve developed our own free E-E-A-T content analyzer to help identify areas where content needs human expertise and authentic experience to meet Google’s standards.
What to listen for: A human-in-the-loop approach where AI drafts are substantially rewritten for tone, accuracy, and originality. Use of expert input to reinforce E-E-A-T, including rigorous fact-checking and brand voice alignment. Clear quality control stages before content is published, with multiple human touchpoints throughout the process. Ask if they use specialized E-E-A-T analysis tools or systematic approaches to evaluate content quality.
Red flags: Generic responses like “We have editors who review the AI content.” This lacks specificity about their actual process for adding value and ensuring compliance with Google’s quality guidelines.
3. How Do You Measure AI ROI Beyond Just Time Savings?
While “time saved” matters to agencies, you care about business results: leads, revenue, and market share. An agency that can connect their AI services directly to your bottom line demonstrates strategic maturity and client focus.
Measuring AI’s contribution requires showing how it improves the traditional SEO ROI formula: (Revenue from SEO – Cost of SEO) / Cost of SEO. AI should reduce costs through efficiency while increasing revenue through better performance and scale.
Studies show that AI can reduce content creation time by 50-90% and cut data analysis time by up to 50%, directly impacting the cost side of the equation. More importantly, AI enables agencies to produce higher volumes of optimized content and manage larger campaigns, potentially increasing the revenue side significantly.
What to listen for: Specific outcomes like increased keyword rankings, domain authority, or lead generation—not just vague time savings. A clear tracking framework tied to business goals including SEO traffic growth, conversion rate improvements, and media pickups. Concrete examples of how AI enables scalable content or technical work that translates to measurable results for clients.
Red flags: Vague claims like “AI saves us time, which saves you money.” This fails to connect efficiency to measurable business impact or demonstrate proper conversion tracking.
4. What’s Your Human-in-the-Loop Process for AI Tasks?
This question reveals how an agency actually operates day-to-day. The most effective SEO agencies leveraging AI don’t replace humans with machines—they create strategic partnerships where AI handles data-heavy tasks while humans provide creative direction, strategic thinking, and quality validation.
Human-in-the-loop (HITL) processes are designed to combine AI’s speed and data processing power with human judgment, contextual understanding, and creativity. A sophisticated HITL process assigns tasks based on what each does best.
Research shows that the most successful AI-driven SEO campaigns blend AI with human expertise, with AI handling the “80%” of foundational work while humans provide the “20%” of high-value strategic and creative input.
What to listen for: Clear task delegation between AI and humans—AI handles repetitive or data-heavy components while humans shape the final strategy and creative output. Descriptions of multi-step workflows such as AI-assisted research → human-written drafts → expert review → senior quality control. Strong emphasis on maintaining quality and strategic alignment through human oversight at every critical decision point.
Red flags: Vague descriptions like “Our AI creates content and our team edits it.” This doesn’t demonstrate intentional collaboration or reveal their actual quality control process.
5. How Are SEO Agencies Leveraging AI to Adapt to Google’s AI Overviews?
This forward-looking question tests whether an agency understands the fundamental shift in search behavior. Google’s AI Overviews now appear in up to 47% of search results, changing how users find information and requiring new optimization strategies beyond traditional “ranking blue links.”
The rise of generative search means the goal is no longer just ranking—it’s being cited as an authoritative source within AI-generated answers. This shift has led to documented changes in user behavior, including increased “zero-click searches”, but clicks from AI Overviews are often considered higher quality and more valuable.
Success in this environment requires understanding that 75% of websites cited in AI Overviews also rank in the top 12 organic results, making strong foundational SEO more important than ever. Additionally, content must be structured for direct answers, with clear headings and FAQ or How-to schema markup.
What to listen for: Familiarity with Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and specific strategies that position content to be cited in AI-generated results. Use of structured content, schema markup, and direct-answer formatting to increase citation probability. Proactive content strategies designed for the new search landscape, not just reactive monitoring.
Red flags: Reactive responses like “We’re monitoring the situation” or “We’re still focused on traditional SEO.” This shows they’re behind the curve on the biggest industry change in years.
How NisonCo Stands Out Among SEO Agencies Leveraging AI
At NisonCo, we don’t just talk about AI integration—we live it. Our workflow connects AI-powered research tools with human cannabis industry expertise, creating strategies that scale without losing authenticity. We use AI to identify opportunities faster and broader than competitors, while our decade of industry experience ensures every piece of content demonstrates real expertise.
Our quality process involves AI generating research-backed first drafts, followed by extensive human rewriting that adds industry insights, authentic case studies, and the authoritative voice our cannabis and psychedelics clients need. We measure success through actual business metrics—increased organic traffic, higher conversion rates, and improved lead generation—not just operational efficiency.
Most importantly, we’re actively optimizing for the new search landscape. Our content strategy focuses on becoming the cited authority in AI Overviews for cannabis topics, while building diversified traffic channels that protect our clients from algorithm changes.
Ready to Experience AI-Powered SEO Done Right?
The future of SEO belongs to SEO agencies leveraging AI that seamlessly blend efficiency with human expertise and industry knowledge. NisonCo has helped hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics, and emerging industry companies leverage AI while maintaining the authentic, expert voice their audiences trust.
Contact us today for a free consultation to see exactly how we answer these five critical questions—and discover the measurable results that follow. We’re ready to show you what AI-powered SEO looks like when it’s done strategically, ethically, and effectively.
