The verdict in three sentences
For a boutique strategy consultancy in Miami, SEO still captures the executives who search with clear intent ("operational due diligence consultant Miami"), while AEO/GEO shapes how AI assistants like ChatGPT describe your firm when a CEO or a PE operating partner asks for a shortlist. If your firm has under three years of published thinking, put most of the first-year budget into pages that prove partner experience and sector depth, because both channels feed on the same evidence. Measure SEO with Search Console and qualified inquiries, measure AEO with a dated record of AI answers to the same questions, and buy neither on a promise of placement.
What each channel actually targets for a Miami consultancy
Buyers of a Miami strategy boutique have recognizable profiles: owners of family-held groups in Miami-Dade, Latin American companies with US holding structures in Brickell, operating partners of private equity funds that moved down from New York, boards working through succession. They ask peers before they ask Google. When they do search, queries are narrow: "post-acquisition integration consulting Florida", "US expansion strategy for Mexican family business". More and more, a board member puts the question straight to an AI assistant: "which independent strategy firms in Miami advise Latin American family groups on succession?", then reads a synthesized answer naming three or four firms.
| Criterion | SEO (Google) | AEO/GEO (AI assistants like ChatGPT) |
|---|---|---|
| What it targets | Queries like "strategy consulting firm Miami", "post-merger integration consultant Florida" | Questions like "who advises Latin American family groups on US expansion from Miami?" |
| Time to first effect | 4 to 9 months on niche queries | 3 to 6 months before mentions appear, often uneven |
| Market budget (2026 ballpark) | $2,500 to $7,000 per month, typical agency quotes | $4,000 to $12,000 for an audit, then $2,000 to $6,000 per month |
| Main metrics | Impressions, clicks, ranking pages, qualified inquiries | Share of answers naming the firm, accuracy of the description, cited sources |
| Main risk | Traffic from students and job seekers rather than buyers | Outdated or wrong description of services or partners |
| What it needs from you | Indexable insight pages, case pages, partner bios | Consistent facts across site, profiles, press and directories |
| Discretion constraint | Anonymized case studies only | Same, plus control over what third-party pages say |
Which situation are you in?
| Your situation | Where most of the budget goes | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New firm founded by former big-firm partners, under 2 years old | Site foundations and SEO on 10 to 15 tightly focused pages | AI assistants rarely mention a firm with a thin public footprint |
| Established brand, 10+ years, strong referral flow | AEO/GEO audit first | The brand is known; the question is whether answers describe it correctly |
| Work under strict confidentiality agreements | Method and insight pages, not client stories | Both channels need evidence you can actually publish |
| Bilingual English/Spanish practice focused on Latin America | SEO in both languages on core services | Queries split by language; AI answers follow the sources available |
| Limited budget, under $3,000 per month | One channel for 6 months, with a fixed review date | Splitting a thin budget produces nothing measurable |
| Sector repositioning (new target industry) | AEO/GEO correction plus refreshed SEO pages | Old descriptions linger in answers for months |
The most common row in Miami is the fourth. A firm working with Bogotá, Mexico City or São Paulo that only has an English site misses part of the Spanish queries, and AI assistants asked in Spanish then lean on other firms' sources.
How to measure without fooling yourself
On the SEO side, three numbers are enough for a firm this size: Search Console impressions and clicks on a target query list fixed in advance, qualified inquiries per quarter (a strategy boutique often needs only 6 to 12 serious new conversations a year), and the source of each inquiry logged in the CRM.
On the AEO/GEO side, measurement relies on a dated record: the same list of 20 to 40 buyer questions, put to AI assistants like ChatGPT at fixed intervals, noting for each answer whether the firm appears, how it is described and which sources are cited. Answers vary between sessions, so only a trend over at least three months means anything. No serious provider promises an AI recommendation, and no serious provider promises a ranking on Google.
A word on the framework: the US has no single federal privacy law and state rules vary, so keep your forms to the data you need. Website accessibility claims under ADA Title III are frequent; WCAG 2.1 AA is the usual target. An insights newsletter falls under CAN-SPAM. This is not legal advice.
What a diagnostic covers
A useful diagnostic, before you choose, covers in broad terms: current visibility on 30 to 50 buyer queries, a first dated record of AI answers to your target questions, consistency of the firm's facts (partners, sectors, offices, languages) between your site and third-party profiles, missing evidence pages, accessibility and technical basics, then a costed recommendation on the priority channel. At Kolonell this work is on quote, sized to the number of questions and languages tracked.
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Illustrative example: Coral Gables Strategy Partners, three partners, average engagement of $150,000, annual marketing budget of $48,000.
- Option A, all SEO: $4,000 × 12 months = $48,000.
- Option B, mixed: AEO/GEO audit at $8,000, SEO at $2,500 × 12 months = $30,000, four insight papers at $2,500 = $10,000. Total: $8,000 + $30,000 + $10,000 = $48,000.
At a 30% margin on a $150,000 engagement, a single new engagement brings $45,000 of contribution, almost the whole annual budget. The firm picks option B because its audit shows AI assistants still describe it with its old retail positioning, dropped two years ago.
FAQ
Do we have to choose between SEO and AEO/GEO?
Not necessarily, but under $3,000 a month one channel for 6 months is the safer call. Both rely on the same evidence pages, so work done for one partly serves the other.
How much does an AEO/GEO audit cost in Miami?
As a 2026 ballpark, typical agency quotes run from $4,000 to $12,000 depending on the number of questions and languages tracked. Monthly monitoring then sits between $2,000 and $6,000.
How long before AI answers change?
Allow 3 to 6 months before changes show up consistently, and that delay varies. Only a dated record of the same questions, month after month, can show it.
How do we publish without breaching client confidentiality?
Publish anonymized cases approved by the client, method notes and sector analysis. Around ten solid pages is often enough to give both channels something to cite.
Can a provider guarantee that ChatGPT will name our firm?
No. No serious provider promises an AI recommendation or a Google ranking; what you can track is a trend over at least 3 months.
Find out how AI assistants describe your firm. A diagnostic on 30 to 50 buyer questions will show where your firm appears and which channel to fund first. Request a diagnostic quote: reply within 48 hours.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
