7 Best LLMO / AI Search Optimization Agencies in Japan (2026)
“We want to outsource LLMO (AI search optimization), but we can’t tell which agency to hire.” It’s the first wall most companies hit when they set out to raise their AI-search visibility. New vendors are appearing fast, and their capabilities, deliverables and pricing conventions vary wildly — so scanning yet another “best 10 agencies” list of logos rarely helps you decide.
This article compares the leading LLMO agencies you can verify from public information — but it leads with the selection criteria first, then the shelf. For the terminology (how AEO, GEO and LLMO differ), see our AIO glossary; here we focus on picking a partner. For the pricing benchmarks themselves, see How Much Does LLMO Cost in Japan? (2026).
A disclosure up front. This list was compiled by Supasaito. We offer LLMO services ourselves, so we’ve included our own entry as one candidate, judged by the same criteria. Placement here is unpaid — no advertising or PR slots buy position.
The short answer: the one question to ask first
Before the detailed comparison, the single most important lens:
“Who ships the fixes after the report?”
Most LLMO improvement is changes to the site itself — structured data, primary-source content, external signals. However precise a visibility report is, the number won’t move until someone implements it. Measurement is increasingly automated by tools, so what’s actually worth paying for is the judgment to read the data and the implementation to act on it. Compare vendors on that axis.
How to choose an LLMO agency: 5 criteria
Before you trust any “best-of” list, bring your own yardstick. Here are the five criteria we use to evaluate an agency.
- Measurement methodology — which AI engines, how many prompts (buyer questions), and against which competitors? Check whether they cover multiple engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Overviews) and measure continuously, not with one-off screenshots.
- Implementation capability — the question above. Does it stop at recommendations (a report), or do they ship changes to your site? And do they hand the capability back so your team can run it themselves?
- Pricing transparency — do they publish at least a floor, or is it “contact us” only? Private pricing is fine, but you need to be able to quote on aligned assumptions (engines, prompt count, implementation-or-not).
- Enterprise / industry track record — do they have experience at your scale and in your sector? This matters most in accuracy-critical fields (medical, finance).
- Native-language analysis — AI answers behave differently by language. Can they analyze in your market’s search context and competitors? Add multilingual coverage if you’re expanding abroad.
Weight these five by your own priorities and the list of logos narrows fast.
The 7 agencies compared
Using the criteria above, here are six firms we could verify from public information, plus us — organized by type, not rank (fit decides the outcome, so we don’t rank 1→7).
| Agency | Type | Pricing transparency | Implementation | Key strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAN-B | Full-service digital marketing | Private (on request) | Yes | Integrated marketing × data-driven |
| Speee | Full-service SEO / AEO | Private | Yes | AI research org · proprietary score · 3,000+ clients |
| Nyle | Full-service SEO | Private | Yes | 2,000+ clients · CVR focus · listed company |
| WILLGATE | Full-service SEO | Private | Yes | 8,000+ clients · “named-citation” focus |
| ipe (AKARUMI) | Tool × consulting | Partial (free tool trial) | Partial–Yes | GEO/LLMO analytics tool |
| Faber Company (MIERUCA GEO) | Tool × consulting | Private (publishes market-rate guides) | Yes | Measurement tool × data-led fixes |
| Supasaito (us) | Implementation-included · bilingual | Published (¥300K diag / ¥500K+/mo) | Yes (optional) | Bilingual (JP/EN) analysis |
One paragraph on each below.
Full-service SEO / digital marketing (strategy through implementation)
PLAN-B — a large integrated digital-marketing firm spanning SEO, advertising and web production, strong on data-driven operations, with its own LLMO consulting. Pricing is by quote (private). Best fit for mid-to-large companies that want many channels under one roof.
Speee — runs an in-house “AI Research & Innovation Center (AIRI)” and measures ChatGPT/Gemini recommendation status with a proprietary visibility score in its AEO/LLMO consulting. With 3,000+ SEO/AEO clients, it suits companies that want the full strategy → implementation → verification loop.
Nyle — a long-established SEO firm (listed on the TSE Growth market) with 2,000+ clients. Its LLMO consulting covers structured data, FAQ optimization and citation-source authority, and extends to improving conversion after AI-driven visits. Good when you want technology and outcomes under one contract.
WILLGATE — building on 8,000+ SEO engagements, its LLMO consulting is focused specifically on earning “named citations” in AI search, with end-to-end support across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and others (its own survey found ~90% of companies worry about not appearing in AI even when they rank in search). Strong on content production at scale.
Tool × consulting (measurement-first)
ipe (AKARUMI) — centers on AKARUMI, a GEO/LLMO analytics tool that surfaces brand recognition inside generative AI, AI Overviews exposure, and citation-source patterns, with data-led LLMO consulting alongside it (500+ SEO/LLMO clients). The tool offers a full-feature free trial, so it fits teams that want to measure for themselves before engaging.
Faber Company — known for the “MIERUCA” SEO tool, it offers the “MIERUCA GEO” AI-search analytics tool (free trial available) plus GEO consulting. Its own consulting is quote-based, but it stands out for transparency by publishing detailed market-rate guides. A fit for data-first, continuous-improvement engagements.
Implementation-included · bilingual
Supasaito (us) — our stance is consulting-first. We start with the AI Visibility Diagnostic (¥300,000, one-time): current visibility, competitor analysis and an improvement roadmap across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. We hand the improvements over as instructions your team or existing vendor can ship as-is, with our own implementation available as an option (AIO Program: from ¥500,000/month). Our monthly reports run on Suparanku, a visibility-measurement platform we co-developed. We can analyze in either Japanese or English search contexts.
How we think about it
Line the seven up and you’ll notice their strengths don’t overlap — breadth, tooling, implementation, language coverage. That’s exactly why deciding your own priorities (the five criteria) first is the heart of choosing well.
What we care about most is answering the opening question head-on: who ships the fixes after the report? Visibility numbers only move once the site changes; a report with no implementation path dies in a drawer. That’s also why we publish our floor pricing and recommend starting with a diagnostic rather than an immediate retainer.
The best first step is simply to measure where you stand across the four major engines (how to measure AI visibility).
Learn more about the AI Visibility Diagnostic →
FAQ
How do I choose an LLMO agency?
Evaluate on five criteria: (1) measurement methodology — which engines, how many prompts; (2) whether it stops at a report or includes implementation; (3) pricing transparency; (4) track record in a sector and scale like yours; and (5) native-language analysis. The most important is (2): ask “who ships the fixes after the report?” up front, because most improvement is changes to the site itself and nothing moves without an implementer.
How much do LLMO agencies cost?
On 2026 public data, a one-off diagnostic runs ¥100,000–500,000, monthly consulting sits at ¥150,000–800,000 (full consulting can exceed ¥3M/month), and a full program with implementation is ¥500,000–1,000,000+ per month. Many firms are “contact us” only, so get comparable quotes by aligning engines, prompt count and whether implementation is included. See How Much Does LLMO Cost in Japan? (2026) for the full breakdown.
What parts of LLMO can we do in-house?
Plenty — structuring data and FAQs, publishing primary-source content, and keeping your brand facts consistent are all doable internally. What to outsource is the judgment-heavy work: root-cause analysis of why competitors are being recommended, prioritizing the fixes, and technical implementation. We support teams with self-sufficiency in mind, handing the in-house-doable parts back to you. For the specific in-house steps and where to draw the outsourcing line, see The Complete LLMO Playbook.
So which agency is best?
There’s no universal “number one.” If you want everything under one roof, the full-service firms (PLAN-B, Speee, Nyle, WILLGATE); if you’d rather measure first, the tool-led options (AKARUMI, MIERUCA GEO); if you want published pricing, implementation included, and bilingual (JP/EN) analysis, us (Supasaito). Choose by your own priority criteria — and if in doubt, start with a one-off diagnostic to see where you stand.
