Trust the second instinct. Nobody controls model output, so a guaranteed position in a generated answer is a promise the seller has no way to keep. The network of sites is the bigger problem: pushing a brand into thin sites to manufacture best-of mentions was catalogued by Microsoft as AI recommendation poisoning in February 2026, which makes it a documented attack pattern rather than a tactic. A LinkedIn rundown of nine Dubai AEO providers https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-aeo-agency-dubai-2026-i-ranked-nine-including-myself-haseeb-ijaz-0trtf/ has a red flags section covering this one and a few others worth memorising. Legitimate placement on real platforms costs more and moves slower, three to six months rather than sixty days.