What this self-check covers
When someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Google’s AI features for a recommendation, the answer is put together from many sources: websites, business profiles, directories, reviews and articles. Whether your business appears depends on whether these systems can find clear, consistent and trustworthy information about it.
The 12 questions cover the signals you can influence:
- Consistent business information: the same name, description, services and locations on your website, your Google profile and elsewhere.
- Clear pages: an About page and service pages that answer customer questions in plain sentences – the core of answer engine optimisation (AEO).
- Structured data: machine-readable information about your organisation that matches what your pages say.
- Mentions and sources: independent websites, lists and directories that confirm what you say about yourself – the core of generative engine optimisation (GEO).
- Reviews: recent reviews on Google and platforms relevant to your industry.
- Technical access: indexed pages, content in the page text and a robots.txt that does not block the AI crawlers you want.
How the score is calculated
Each question has a weight. Items that usually matter most, such as consistent information, independent mentions and indexed pages, count more than smaller items. Every “Yes” adds its weight; “No” and “Not sure” add nothing. The result is a score out of 100.
The score shows how well prepared your business is, not whether AI assistants mention you today. That depends on the question asked, on your competitors and on decisions the platforms make themselves.
How to use the result
Start with the three fixes the tool shows. They are the highest-weighted gaps in your answers.
- Fix your own information first. Consistent business details and clear pages are fully in your control and help normal search as well.
- Then work on independent sources. Mentions in industry media, directories and lists take longer, but they are what makes your information trustworthy to AI systems. Earn them; bought links and fake reviews do more harm than good.
- Check the foundations. If your main pages are not indexed or cannot be read without scripts, fix that before anything else.
- Test the result. Ask a few AI assistants the questions your customers ask and see what they say about you and your competitors. Note the answers and repeat every few months.
Be wary of anyone who promises that ChatGPT will recommend you. The honest version is: you can make your business easier to understand and confirm. Read how AI search optimisation works, or start with a free SEO audit that includes a first look at your AI visibility.