GMK Digital

Free tool · AI Search Readiness Scorecard

Is your website AI-friendly?

Take our free 15-question scorecard to find out whether AI crawlers can access your site, how clearly AI understands your brand, and how likely ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews are to recommend you. You'll get a score out of 100 and a prioritised list of fixes.

Start the scorecard Read the guide
  • Free
  • 15 questions
  • About 3 minutes
  • No sign-up

The scorecard

Rate your brand across five areas.

Answer honestly. “Not sure” scores the same as “No”, because if you don't know, you can't act on it.

0 of 15 answered

01 / 05

Content and structure

Question 01Do your key pages answer the main question directly in the first one or two sentences?
Why it matters and how to fix it

AI systems favour short, self-contained answers. Open each key page (services, products, guides) with a one or two sentence answer to the question it targets, then expand below. Avoid long brand-led introductions before the point.

Question 02Do your pages use clear headings, lists and tables that make the structure obvious?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Use descriptive H2 and H3 headings, ideally phrased the way people ask questions, and put key information into lists, steps and comparison tables. Structured content is much easier for AI models to extract and quote accurately.

Question 03Do you have FAQ content that covers the real questions your buyers ask?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Collect questions from sales calls, support tickets and search data, then answer them concisely on the relevant pages, with FAQPage schema where appropriate. Question-and-answer pairs map closely to how people prompt AI assistants.

02 / 05

Brand and entity clarity

Question 04Is your brand described consistently across your website, LinkedIn, directories and other profiles?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Write one clear description of what you do, who it's for and where you operate, and use it everywhere: homepage, About page, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, directories and press bios. Inconsistent descriptions make it harder for AI to understand and recommend you.

Question 05Does your website have Organization or LocalBusiness structured data (schema markup)?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Add Organization or LocalBusiness schema with your legal name, logo, description, contact details and sameAs links to your official profiles. It gives search engines and AI systems a clear, machine-readable definition of your brand.

Question 06Do you have About and author pages that show who is behind the business and why they're credible?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Create a substantial About page and author bios that show real experience, credentials and track record, and link content to its authors. Experience and expertise signals (E-E-A-T) influence which sources Google and AI systems trust.

03 / 05

Authority and citations

Question 07Has your brand been mentioned or cited by industry publications or reputable websites in the last 12 months?
Why it matters and how to fix it

AI models lean heavily on third-party sources when deciding who to recommend. Pursue coverage in the publications, podcasts, newsletters and roundups your buyers read, and offer expert commentary to journalists and industry reports.

Question 08Do you publish original insight, such as data, research, case studies or expert opinion, that others could cite?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Aim to publish at least one piece of original material each quarter: survey data, benchmarks, detailed case studies or a clear point of view. Original information is what earns citations from other websites and from AI answers.

Question 09Do you have reviews on independent platforms such as Google, Trustpilot, G2 or Clutch?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Build a steady flow of reviews on the platforms that matter in your category. AI assistants often draw on review sites when answering “best” and “recommended” questions, and recent, detailed reviews carry the most weight.

04 / 05

Technical access

Question 10Does your robots.txt allow AI search crawlers such as OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and Claude-SearchBot?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Check yourdomain.com/robots.txt for rules that block AI crawlers, including blanket blocks added by plugins, CDNs or security tools. If AI search bots can't crawl your site, they can't cite it. Decide separately whether to allow training crawlers such as GPTBot.

Question 11Is your key content in the page's HTML, rather than only loaded by JavaScript, hidden behind logins or locked in PDFs and images?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Many AI crawlers don't run JavaScript. Make sure your important text is in the HTML the server sends, not added later by scripts, and publish key information as web pages rather than only as PDFs, images or gated downloads.

Question 12Is your site fast, mobile-friendly and free of major indexing issues in Google Search Console?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Review the Pages and Core Web Vitals reports in Google Search Console and fix indexing errors, slow templates and mobile issues. AI Overviews and many AI assistants draw on search indexes, so pages that aren't indexed won't be cited.

05 / 05

Measurement

Question 13Have you checked what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews say about your brand in the last three months?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Run a set of buyer-style prompts (brand questions, “best X for Y”, comparisons) across the major AI platforms and record whether you appear, how you're described and which sources are cited. Repeat every quarter, because answers change.

Question 14Do you track visits from AI platforms, such as referrals from chatgpt.com or perplexity.ai, in your analytics?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Create a segment or custom channel group in GA4 for AI referrers, for example chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com, copilot.microsoft.com and claude.ai. AI referral traffic is often small but high-intent, and it shows which pages AI sends people to.

Question 15Do you know which competitors AI recommends when buyers ask about your category?
Why it matters and how to fix it

Ask AI assistants the shortlist questions your buyers ask, and note which competitors appear and which sources are cited for them. That shows you where you need coverage and which content gaps to close.

Press 1 to 4 to answer

The guide

Is my website AI-friendly?

An AI-friendly website is one that AI systems can reach, read, understand and trust. If most of the points below are true for your site, you're in good shape.

  • AI search crawlers are allowed in your robots.txt and aren't blocked by your CDN or firewall
  • Your important content is in the HTML, not loaded only by JavaScript
  • Key pages open with a direct answer that could be quoted on its own
  • Pages use clear headings, lists and tables
  • Your brand is described the same way on your site and every profile
  • Organization schema tells machines exactly who you are
  • Independent websites mention, review or cite you
  • You check what AI says about you at least once a quarter

The scorecard above turns these signals into a score, so you can see which ones to fix first.

Can AI crawlers access my website?

AI platforms use their own crawlers, or bots, to fetch web pages. If your robots.txt file blocks them, or your hosting, CDN or security plugin blocks them at server level, your content can't appear in their answers.

How to check in three steps

  1. Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt in a browser.
  2. Look for User-agent lines naming the AI crawlers in the table below, followed by Disallow: /. A User-agent: * group with Disallow: / blocks every crawler, AI or not.
  3. Check your CDN or firewall. Services such as Cloudflare offer one-click AI bot blocking that works separately from robots.txt, so a clean robots.txt doesn't guarantee access.

The main AI crawlers

AI crawlers and robots.txt settings to know
NameCompanyWhat it does
OAI-SearchBotOpenAIFinds pages to show and cite in ChatGPT search
ChatGPT-UserOpenAIVisits a page when a ChatGPT user asks it to
GPTBotOpenAICollects content to train OpenAI's models
Claude-SearchBotAnthropicIndexes pages for Claude's search results
Claude-UserAnthropicVisits a page when a Claude user asks it to
ClaudeBotAnthropicCollects content to train Anthropic's models
PerplexityBotPerplexityIndexes pages for Perplexity's answers
Perplexity-UserPerplexityVisits a page to answer a user's question
GooglebotGoogleCrawls for Google Search, including AI Overviews and AI Mode
Google-ExtendedGoogleA robots.txt setting, not a separate crawler, that controls use of your content for Gemini training and grounding
BingbotMicrosoftCrawls for Bing, which also powers Microsoft Copilot
Applebot-ExtendedAppleA robots.txt setting that controls use of your content for Apple's AI training

Crawler names change from time to time, so check each company's documentation before you edit your robots.txt.

Search bots and training bots are different

Search and user bots fetch pages so AI tools can cite and link to you. Block them and you disappear from those answers. Training bots collect content to improve future models. Many businesses allow the first group and make a separate decision about the second. A robots.txt that does that looks like this:

# Let AI tools find, cite and link to you
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
User-agent: Claude-SearchBot
User-agent: Claude-User
User-agent: PerplexityBot
User-agent: Perplexity-User
Allow: /

# Opt out of AI model training
User-agent: GPTBot
User-agent: ClaudeBot
User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /

Never block Googlebot to keep out of AI Overviews. It would remove you from Google Search entirely.

Does JavaScript stop AI from reading my website?

It can. Google renders JavaScript, but many AI crawlers only read the raw HTML your server sends and don't run scripts. If your text, product details or prices only appear after JavaScript runs, those crawlers may see an almost empty page.

A quick test: open your page, right-click and choose View Page Source (not Inspect), then search for a sentence from your main content. If it isn't in the source, AI crawlers that don't render JavaScript probably can't see it either. Sites built with frameworks such as React or Vue usually fix this with server-side rendering or static generation.

How do I check if ChatGPT knows about my business?

Ask it the way a buyer would. Try three kinds of prompt in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude:

  • Brand prompts: “What is [your company] and what do they do?”
  • Category prompts: “What are the best [your category] providers in [your location]?”
  • Problem prompts: “How do I [problem you solve]?”

Note whether you're mentioned, whether the description is accurate, and which sources are cited. Run each prompt a few times, because answers vary. For a structured version across every major platform, our LLM Visibility Audit does this systematically and benchmarks you against competitors.

What the scorecard measures

The fifteen questions are grouped into five areas, each worth a fifth of your score.

Content and structure

Whether your pages give AI systems clear, direct, well-structured answers they can lift and quote.

Brand and entity clarity

Whether AI can tell exactly who you are, what you do and who you serve, without contradictions.

Authority and citations

Whether trusted third parties mention, review and cite you, which is what AI relies on when recommending brands.

Technical access

Whether AI crawlers can reach, read and index your content in the first place.

Measurement

Whether you know what AI currently says about you, and whether AI sends you traffic.

How your score is calculated

Each answer scores 2 points for “Yes”, 1 for “Partly” and 0 for “No” or “Not sure”. Your total is converted to a score out of 100, and each area gets its own percentage so you can see where the gaps are. Your fix list puts complete gaps ahead of partial ones, and technical access first, because nothing else counts if AI can't read your site.

  • 0 to 39

    Low visibility

    AI systems are unlikely to find, understand or recommend your brand reliably yet. Start with the fundamentals: make sure AI crawlers can access your site, describe your brand consistently and lead key pages with direct answers.

  • 40 to 64

    Emerging

    Some foundations are in place, but gaps in structure, authority or measurement mean AI recommendations will be inconsistent. Work through the priority fixes to move from occasional mentions to reliable ones.

  • 65 to 84

    Competitive

    You're well placed for AI search. The remaining gaps are usually authority and measurement: earning more third-party citations and tracking what AI actually says about you.

  • 85 to 100

    AI-ready

    Strong foundations across the board. The focus now is staying ahead: monitoring AI answers regularly, publishing original insight and defending your position as competitors catch up.

Frequently asked questions

What is an AI search readiness score?

It's a measure of how well placed your brand is to be found, understood and recommended by AI systems such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google AI Overviews. The scorecard looks at five areas: content structure, brand and entity clarity, authority, technical access and measurement.

How do I get my business recommended by ChatGPT?

There's no single switch. ChatGPT and similar tools recommend brands they can access, understand and see endorsed elsewhere. That means allowing AI search crawlers, publishing clear and quotable content, describing your brand consistently, and earning mentions and reviews on sites AI trusts. Our AI search optimisation work covers all of these.

Should I block GPTBot and other AI training bots?

It's a business decision. Blocking training bots such as GPTBot and ClaudeBot stops your content being used to train future models, but it doesn't remove you from AI search answers as long as search bots such as OAI-SearchBot and Claude-SearchBot are allowed. Some brands deliberately allow training so future models know more about them.

What is llms.txt and do I need one?

llms.txt is a proposed standard: a plain-text file at the root of your site that summarises your most important pages for AI tools. It's quick to add, but the major AI platforms haven't confirmed they rely on it, so treat it as a nice-to-have rather than a priority over crawler access, content structure and authority.

How accurate is the scorecard?

It's a self-assessment, so it's as accurate as your answers. It's designed to show where your gaps are likely to be, not to measure what AI actually says about you. For a measured view, our LLM Visibility Audit tests real buyer prompts across every major AI platform.

Is my data stored anywhere?

No. Your score is calculated in your browser and your answers are not sent or saved. Nothing leaves this page unless you choose to request a free review, in which case your score and the details you enter are sent to us by email.

How is AI search readiness different from SEO?

SEO focuses on ranking pages in search results. AI search readiness is about being cited and recommended inside AI-generated answers. The two overlap, since AI systems often draw on search indexes, but AI answers also depend heavily on entity clarity, third-party mentions and how easily your content can be quoted.

What are the quickest ways to improve my score?

The fastest wins are usually technical and structural: make sure your robots.txt allows AI search crawlers, add Organization schema, open key pages with direct answers, and use the same brand description everywhere. Authority takes longer to build, so it's worth starting early.

How often should I take the scorecard?

Every quarter is a good rhythm, and after any major website change, rebrand or migration. AI search is moving quickly, so a regular check helps you spot new gaps before they cost you visibility.

Keep going

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AI Content Citability Checker

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AI robots.txt and llms.txt Generator

Decide which AI bots can read your site. Build robots.txt rules for 18 verified AI crawlers, check your current file and create an llms.txt.

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Help search engines and AI understand your site. Generate valid JSON-LD for your organisation, location, articles, breadcrumbs and site name, checked as you type.

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Next step

Want the measured version? We test it for real.

The scorecard shows where your gaps are likely to be. Our LLM Visibility Audit runs real buyer prompts across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overviews and shows exactly what they say about you.

Explore the audit Talk to us