How much does AEO cost for a med spa?

The range is wide because 'AEO' means two very different things. Sold as its own discipline (building and maintaining the pages AI engines cite, plus monthly visibility tracking), it's a standalone program that runs in the low thousands per month. Sold as a line item bolted onto an SEO retainer, it's often a few hundred dollars and amounts to a one-time schema/checklist pass. Same acronym, very different work, which is why quoted prices vary so much.

What you're paying for monthly is the work and the measurement, not a one-time setup. AI answers re-rank within weeks, so a build that's correct today drifts out of the answer later; an ongoing program continuously monitors your citations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI Overview and re-optimizes as they move. If a price looks low, ask what happens after month one: a static build that isn't maintained tends to fade.

A few honest watch-outs. Be skeptical of sub-$1,500/mo 'AEO' (usually thin), of one-time 'foundation' fees with no ongoing work, and of any provider guaranteeing you'll be cited: no one controls what AI says, so a guarantee is a sales device, not a capability. Reasonable risk-reversal looks like month-to-month terms and one-clinic-per-city exclusivity, not a promised outcome.

A useful way to weigh the price: compare it to what you already spend. A full-service med-spa marketing agency commonly runs $2,500–$7,500/mo, and an in-house marketer $5,000+/mo, both far above a focused AI-visibility program, and both usually with ad spend on top. Renownly is a flat $2,200/mo with no ad spend, aimed at one thing: being the clinic AI names. We report and improve your AI visibility; we don't promise bookings, patients, or revenue.