What the audit checks
- Technical accessibility (20 points): whether OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot and PerplexityBot are allowed in robots.txt, and whether the content is visible without JavaScript. Training bots are listed separately because blocking them doesn't affect AI search.
- Citability (25): an answer in the opening lines, specific numbers, definitions (“X is…”) and question-style headings.
- Structure (20): a clear heading hierarchy, lists and tables, and sections short enough to quote.
- Authority (20): author byline, published or updated date, cited sources and Organization or Person schema.
- Multi-modal (15): images, video and charts.
How to read your score
85+ is excellent, 70–84 good, 55–69 average, 40–54 weak and under 40 poor. Treat it as a checklist score: it tells you what's missing, not how often you're cited. Fix crawler access first. A blocked search bot makes every other signal irrelevant for that engine.
The fixes that matter most
1. Unblock AI search crawlers
Many sites block AI bots wholesale with a CDN or plugin setting and lose AI search traffic by accident. Allow the search bots and, if you prefer, keep blocking training bots. Test rules with the robots.txt tester; the background is in how robots.txt works.
2. Make content visible without JavaScript
If the audit flags JavaScript-only content, render pages on the server or pre-render them. It also helps classic SEO.
3. Lead with the answer
Open each page, and each question heading, with a two- or three-sentence answer that stands on its own. See how to get cited by ChatGPT.
4. Add facts and proof
Numbers with sources, dated prices, a named author and an updated date. AI engines prefer specific, attributable statements.
Readiness vs real visibility
This audit measures whether a page is ready to be cited. To see whether you actually are, check Google AI Overviews with the AI Overview checker, then track mentions over time as described in what is AI visibility.