Julian Goldie names his own Goldie Agency the best AI SEO agency in a promotional video that cites G2 buyer data

This is a service pitch, not a model release, so no specific model or version applies.

• What the agency says it offers: a "free SEO strategy session" (video).
• Self-described scale: a "7-figure" agency with about 70 staff. No other source confirms this.
• AI tools Goldie has said he uses: on Agency Management Institute podcast episode 544, he named Claude, HeyGen with ElevenLabs, and Zapier (AMI).
• Platforms the video targets: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews (video).

• Measurement: The video says one screenshot proves little. It suggests asking 5 customer questions about 3 times each in fresh logged-out sessions and counting how often the brand appears (video). SparkToro's results support counting frequency rather than rank. They also imply that 15 samples is a small number.
• Outcome types: The video separates a mention, a linked citation and a recommendation (video). Researchers can track these as distinct measures.
• Eligibility: Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode can use "query fan-out," meaning they issue several related searches to build one answer. Google also says sites need nothing beyond normal Search Essentials to be eligible (Google).

• Buyer-behavior figures: 51%, 71% and 69% match G2's release (AI Journal). G2 runs a software review site, so it benefits from findings that favor review sites.
• Shortlist sources: 54% for chatbots versus 43% for review sites appears in secondary write-ups (Abmatic), not in the release.
• The 80% figure: the video says 80% "still use Google" (video). G2's release uses 80% for buyers who say chatbots sped up their decisions.
• Inaccuracies: the video says 64% of buyers hit inaccuracies "a few times a month." The release says 64% find them "often or very often."
• "Best agency" claim: no independent ranking or performance data supports it.

• The work goes by several names: GEO, AEO and LLM SEO. All describe getting a brand named inside AI answers (video).
• AMI episode 544 (date not listed) covers Goldie rebuilding his agency around automation. He reports outreach cost falling from $80 to $33 per backlink and stresses keeping a human in the loop (AMI).
• A separate analysis of the G2 report says buyers who used chatbots were more likely to buy from their first shortlist (80% vs 65%) (Kaleigh Moore).

• The source is self-promotion, and the video is narrated by a digital avatar (video).
• The July 2026 multi-tool agency roundup it cites is unnamed. Nothing confirms it independently.
• SparkToro's study is not peer-reviewed. Its authors acknowledge methodological limits and call for larger follow-up studies (SEJ).
• Some figures in the video don't match G2's own wording (see the 80% and 64% points above).
• The video itself warns against any agency that promises a locked-in AI mention (video).

• Use the checklist, not the ranking. The six points are ongoing audits, content an AI can quote cleanly, entity and schema markup, topical depth, digital PR, and tracking a fixed question set over time (video).
• Ask agencies to report frequency. Ask how often your brand appears in each AI tool, not its "rank," and how they will show it if the work isn't working.
• Expect months, not days. Fix how easily tools can crawl and read your site first. Local businesses may get more from local SEO (video).
• Check G2 figures against G2's own release, not against promotional restatements.