The State of Agency Positioning and AI Search Readiness
What Our 2026 Survey Found
We surveyed marketing agencies across North America this past June to find out how they see themselves and how ready they are for AI-mediated search heading into 2026.
If you hire or manage agency relationships, this is worth knowing about. The way agencies describe themselves shapes how they pitch you, how they show up in your AI search results, and whether they can actually back up the AI readiness advice they’re selling you.
[Download the full report below]
About RSW/AgencySearch
And if this is your first time here, RSW/AgencySearch a 4A’s-recognized search firm with experience finding agencies across multiple industries. We’re the sister company to RSW/US, and we’ve spent the past 20+ years studying why marketer-agency relationships succeed. Our annual Marketer-Agency outlook surveys inform our perspective, and our work directly with agencies gives us a view from the other side of the table. Our proprietary AI-Brand Compass model adds a more objective read on marketer-agency fit, on top of the subjective read most searches rely on. All of that shapes the report below.
Every Agency Pitches “Different.” Most Aren’t.
More than 75% of agencies we surveyed said the agency industry as a whole is “somewhat” or “very” undifferentiated, but ask the same agencies about their own firm, and over 80% say they stand apart from their closest competitors.
If you’re sitting across the table during a pitch, this is useful info. Most agencies think the industry is a sea of sameness, but they believe their own firm is the exception.
So the “differentiated” pitch you’re hearing probably sounds a lot like the one your last three finalists gave you.
Part of the reason: 85% of agencies built their current positioning entirely in-house, using their own team, with no outside perspective and no testing of that positioning against prospects like you.
Positioning built that way tends to sound convincing internally and generic externally.
85% of agencies built their current positioning entirely in-house, with their own employees, no outside perspective, no testing against prospects.
They’re Telling You to Fix Your AI Search Visibility. Their Own Sites Aren’t Fixed.
This is even more directly relevant to how you pick a partner. 60% of agencies say they’re “very” or “extremely” aware of emerging AI search approaches such as GEO and AEO, but only 10% feel their own website is actually optimized for it.
Meanwhile, 66% are already helping their clients optimize for AI-mediated search.
So, agencies you might hire to make your brand visible in AI search haven’t applied that same standard to their own sites, although they are becoming more aware of the need.
The report also compares Google’s official guidance on generative AI search against what RSW/US VP of Sales Lee McKnight Jr. laid out for agencies back in August 2025, including where the two line up and where they don’t.
66% of agencies are already helping their clients optimize for AI-mediated search, but only 10% feel their own website is actually optimized for it.
What’s Inside the Full Report
- The full data on how agencies see their own positioning, and what an outside perspective should actually look like
- Where AI shows up in agencies’ internal operations versus their client work, and where the two don’t match
- A comparison of Google’s generative AI search guidance against the GEO/AEO advice already circulating
- The 5 pillars of effective positioning
- The 10 rules for AI search success
If you’re evaluating agency partners, or wondering whether your current one is as differentiated as they say, this is worth 10 minutes of your time.
