An AI-readiness audit tells you whether AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI can find, understand, and cite your website. This 15-point checklist covers all six scoring dimensions that determine your AI visibility.
Before You Start
You'll need: - Access to your website's hosting or CMS - Ability to edit robots.txt and add files to your root directory - A basic understanding of HTML (helpful but not required)
Tip: The AEO Analyzer runs this entire audit automatically and gives you a prioritized action plan. But understanding each check helps you fix issues faster.
Technical Checks (15% of score)
1. AI Bot Access in robots.txt
Check that your robots.txt doesn't block AI crawlers. Look for these user agents:
User-agent: GPTBot
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
User-agent: PerplexityBot
User-agent: ClaudeBot
User-agent: Google-Extended
If any of these are blocked with Disallow: /, you're invisible to that platform.
2. XML Sitemap
Verify you have a valid XML sitemap at /sitemap.xml. This helps AI crawlers discover all your pages efficiently.
3. HTTPS and Security
Ensure your site loads over HTTPS. AI systems prefer secure sources.
Structural Checks (15% of score)
4. Schema Markup (JSON-LD)
Check your page source for JSON-LD structured data. At minimum, you should have:
- Article or WebPage schema on content pages
- Organization schema on your homepage
- FAQPage schema on FAQ pages
- HowTo schema on tutorial pages
5. Heading Hierarchy
Your pages should use a clean heading structure: one H1, logical H2s and H3s. AI systems use headings to understand content organization.
6. Semantic HTML
Use <article>, <section>, <nav>, <aside>, <main> elements appropriately. These help AI systems identify the primary content vs. navigation and sidebars.
Content Checks (25% of score)
7. Answer-First Structure
Your content should answer the core question in the first 2-3 sentences. AI systems extract early content for quick answers.
8. E-E-A-T Signals
Show Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness: - Author bios with credentials - Cited sources and references - Publication and update dates - Clear organizational identity
9. Fact Blocks and Key Information
Structure important facts in easily extractable formats: - Definition lists - Tables with clear headers - Bulleted key takeaways - Numbered step-by-step instructions
Performance Checks (10% of score)
10. Page Load Speed
AI systems consider load speed when deciding which sources to cite. Aim for: - LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) under 2.5 seconds - CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) under 0.1
11. Mobile Responsiveness
Ensure your site works well on mobile devices. Most AI systems evaluate the mobile version.
Media Checks (15% of score)
12. Image Alt Text
Every meaningful image should have descriptive alt text. AI systems use alt text to understand visual content.
13. Image Optimization
Compress images and use modern formats (WebP, AVIF) where possible.
AI-Specific Checks (20% of score)
14. llms.txt File
Create an /llms.txt file that describes your site for AI systems:
# Your Site Name
> Brief description of what your site is about.
## Key Topics
- Topic 1: Description
- Topic 2: Description
## Contact
- Website: https://yoursite.com
15. AI Citation Signals
Include clear attributable statements, statistics with sources, and expert quotes that AI systems can cite with confidence.
Scoring Your Audit
Count how many of the 15 checks your site passes:
| Score | Rating | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 13-15 | Excellent | Fine-tune and maintain |
| 10-12 | Good | Address gaps in weakest dimension |
| 7-9 | Fair | Prioritize structural and content fixes |
| 4-6 | Poor | Focus on technical foundations first |
| 0-3 | Critical | Start with bot access and schema |
Next Steps
- Run an automated AEO scan for a detailed breakdown
- Fix issues in order of impact (AI-Specific and Content first)
- Re-audit monthly to track progress
Related Guides
- New to AEO? Start with What is AEO and Why It Matters
- For check #4 (Schema Markup), see our deep-dive: Structured Data & Schema Markup for AI Search
- For checks #7-9 (Content), see: How to Write Content That AI Engines Will Cite
- For platform-specific optimization, see our guides for ChatGPT and Perplexity
Last updated: March 2026