Questions to Ask an AI Marketing Agency Before Signing

Before signing with an AI marketing agency, ask who owns the accounts, content and workflows; exactly what is in and out of scope; which usage costs you pay separately; who approves messages before customers see them; what gets logged; what data the agency can access; and how success will be defined and reported. Clear answers here prevent most later disputes.

Use this as a conversation guide

These questions are not a contract template and do not replace legal advice. They are prompts to make sure you and any agency, including Rithm, mean the same thing by the same words. A good agency will welcome them.

Ownership

Who owns the ad accounts, social profiles, domain and analytics property? Ideally the business, with the agency granted access.
Who owns content created during the engagement, such as posts, copy and landing pages?
If workflows or automations are built in a tool, whose account are they in, and can you keep them if you part ways?
What happens to access when the engagement ends? Our website handoff guide covers an access inventory you can reuse.

Scope

Ask the agency to describe a typical month in concrete terms. "Social media management" could mean eight posts or daily community management. "AI automation" could mean a single confirmation email or a custom agent.

Ask	Why it matters
How many deliverables of each type per month?	Prevents mismatched expectations
Which platforms and profiles are included?	Each extra profile or channel is work
What is explicitly excluded?	Exclusions are as important as inclusions
How are extra requests quoted?	Avoids surprise invoices or quiet scope creep

For comparison, Rithm publishes the scope of its own Small Business Launch & Growth offer, including what is not included.

Usage costs

AI and marketing tools often have costs outside an agency fee. Ask which of these you pay directly: ad spend, software subscriptions, AI model usage, messaging credits for SMS or WhatsApp, domain and hosting. Ask who monitors usage and what happens if a limit is reached mid-month.

Approval process

Which messages will be sent without your review, if any?
How are replies to customers approved during the first weeks?
Who can change prices, offers or policies that an assistant repeats?
How quickly will the agency pause a workflow if you ask?

The answers should match your comfort level. Our article on where AI should stop can help you decide what needs human approval.

Logging and data access

What does the system log, and can you see those logs?
Which customer data will the agency access, and why?
Will customer data be used to train models or shared with third parties?
How is access removed for agency staff who leave the project?

In regulated fields such as healthcare, law or finance, also ask how the agency will stay out of sensitive client information and which of your existing approved tools will handle it.

Success definitions

Agree on what will be measured before work starts. Useful definitions are specific, such as qualified inquiries recorded by staff or booked consultations, rather than impressions alone. Be wary of promised top positions in search, promised AI citations or promised revenue figures. Ask how the monthly report will separate observations from recommendations, and what happens if numbers are too small to draw conclusions. For reference, see Google Search Central: Spam policies.

Hypothetical example

A fictional bakery owner asks two agencies the scope questions. One replies with a detailed monthly deliverable list and a clear exclusions section. The other says "we handle everything." The first answer is easier to hold accountable, even if the list looks smaller.

Frequently asked questions

Should I avoid agencies that use AI?

Not necessarily. Ask how AI is used, who reviews its output and how errors are caught. Transparency matters more than whether a tool is involved.

Is it a red flag if an agency owns my ad account?

It is worth discussing. Many businesses prefer to own accounts and grant access so history and billing stay with them.

What should I get in writing?

At minimum, scope, exclusions, pricing, usage costs you pay directly, approval rules and what happens to access and content at the end.

Next step

Bring this list to your next agency call. If you are considering Rithm, ask us these questions directly.

Sources and further reading

Google Search Central: Spam policies, useful context when an agency promises ranking shortcuts.
Google Search Central: AI features and your website, which explains that inclusion in AI features is not guaranteed.

Editorial note: this planning guide was drafted with AI assistance for Rithm Digital and created on September 25, 2026. Examples are hypothetical. It is general marketing-operations guidance, not legal, medical, tax or financial advice. Prices refer only to Rithm's published Small Business Launch & Growth offer.