The 25-point AI SEO checklist.
A practical checklist to audit your brand's AI visibility in under 30 minutes — and find the specific gaps to fix first. Print it, work through it, score yourself honestly.
Section 1 — Presence audit (5 points).
Find out where you currently stand in the AI engines. Takes about ten minutes.
- Run your top 5 buyer queries in ChatGPT. Plain English, fresh chat. Note where you appear and which competitors are named first.
- Run the same queries in Claude. Compare results. Note divergences from ChatGPT.
- Run the same queries in Perplexity. Look at the cited source list beneath each answer. Note your domain's appearances.
- Run the same queries in Google with AI Overviews. Note who Google cites in the Overview — not just the blue links beneath.
- Document the gap. Per query, mark whether you appear (1st / 2nd–3rd / not named). The pattern reveals where the bigger gap is.
Section 2 — Foundations audit (6 points).
The technical and structural basics that AI engines need to read your site.
- Server-rendered HTML. Your site must render content in the initial HTML, not only after JavaScript executes. Test by viewing source on a key page — you should see your headings and copy in the raw HTML.
- Sub-2-second load time. Run PageSpeed Insights or WebPageTest. Mobile load below 2 seconds for top pages.
- FAQ schema on FAQ pages. Structured data for every FAQ block. Validate in Google's Rich Results test.
- Article schema on every article. Including author, date published, date modified, publisher. Required for E-E-A-T signal.
- Author bylines on every page. Real names, linking to author bio pages. Author schema present on those pages.
- Organisation schema in sitewide markup. Sets the context for every other schema block. Include
name,url,logo,sameAsfor major social profiles.
Section 3 — Content audit (5 points).
What's actually on your site, and whether AI can quote it.
- One cornerstone hub per topical area. Long, comprehensive, the canonical "what is X" / "how does X work" page. Internally linked from every cluster article.
- 10+ cluster articles per hub. Each targeting a specific buyer question. All interlinked back to the hub and to each other.
- Quotable passage structure on every article. Each major question gets a heading, a 40–60 word direct answer beneath, then supporting context.
- No thin AI-spun content. Every page should have substantive original analysis, examples, or data — not just rephrased generic copy.
- Comparison and decision pages. "X vs Y", "Best X for Y", "Top X under Z". The highest-commercial-intent queries you can win.
Section 4 — Off-site authority audit (5 points).
What other sources say about you — the tiebreaker for AI citations.
- Real PR backlinks from national news. At least 3–5 placements in genuinely high-authority publications (BBC, Daily Mail, FT, Forbes, Guardian or equivalent). Not sponsored content.
- Active Reddit footprint. Mentions of your brand in real Reddit threads in relevant subreddits, posted by aged accounts, spread across multiple subreddits.
- Industry publication coverage. Mentions in niche-specific outlets, podcasts, panels, expert interviews relevant to your category.
- Review platform presence. Real review density on Trustpilot, G2, Capterra, or your industry's main review platform. 50+ recent reviews ideal.
- Branded mentions on high-DA sites. Even unlinked mentions register. Search "[your brand]" in Google news and see how many editorial mentions exist.
Section 5 — Ongoing operations (4 points).
Whether you have a sustained programme or one-off pushes.
- Monthly query tracking. Re-run your buyer query list across all four engines monthly. Track movement.
- Content refresh cadence. A schedule for updating existing pages every 6–12 months. New stats, expanded sections, fresh dates.
- Continued backlink building. 2–4 PR placements per month sustained, not one big push then nothing.
- Continued Reddit activity. Drip-fed across the month, not bursts. Aged-account network maintained and expanded.
How to score yourself.
- 01
Mostly green (20+).
You're in good shape. Focus on the few red items and on continued operations (Section 5). The work now is protecting and compounding.
- 02
Mixed (12–19 green).
You have foundations but gaps. Identify the biggest cluster of reds and tackle that section first — usually content or off-site authority.
- 03
Mostly red (under 12).
You're at the start. Don't try to fix everything — sequence by phase. Audit (already done), foundations, content, off-site authority. See the strategy framework.
What to do next.
Once you've scored yourself, the next step is sequencing the work. Read the AI SEO strategy framework to see how to turn this checklist into a programme — or see how we run it for clients who'd rather hand it over than build it in-house.
Frequently asked questions.
How do I use this checklist?
Work through it in order. For each item, score yourself honestly — green (done well), amber (partially done), red (missing or broken). At the end, count your reds — those are your biggest gaps. Start fixing the highest-leverage red item first.
Which sections matter most?
Sections 1, 2 and 3 (presence audit, foundations, content). If those are weak, the other sections won't compound. Sections 4 and 5 (off-site authority, ongoing operations) are higher-leverage once the foundations are sound.
Can I run this checklist on competitors?
Yes — and it's one of the most useful exercises you can do. Pick the brand AI cites first in your category and run them through the same checklist. Their green items are your benchmark; their red items are where you can outflank them.
How often should I re-run the checklist?
Quarterly for a small brand, monthly for a brand running an active AI SEO programme. The presence audit (Section 1) you can re-run weekly — it's quick and tracks visible movement.
What if I score red on most items?
That's normal for brands new to AI SEO. Don't try to fix everything at once — sequence the work. Audit, then foundations, then content, then off-site. Tackle the dominant gap first; the rest compound from there.