Imagine a potential customer asking an AI tool, “What do I need for my first fly fishing tackle box, and where can I buy it?” and getting a short list of shops. Is yours one of them?
AI tools are now part of how many people search for information. For small businesses, that makes it worth understanding whether these tools mention or cite their websites. It is critical that we optimize our websites so they are visible to AI. We want Claude to mention and cite our small business when responding to prompts. Before getting started on your content optimization plan, you must consider your audience. Like any good marketer, this is usually the best place to start.
Orbit Media Studios and QuestionPro surveyed more than 1,000 people in the US on their use of search and AI chatbots. According to the survey published in March 2026, over half of respondents said they open an AI app first when searching, but that figure held steady year over year and Google usage didn’t drop.
Your audience should be number 1 when it comes to your content. In an AI visibility mini audit, you will want to have that audience-first mindset as well. Often when I’m working on or thinking about SEO, I think about Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and CMO of Orbit Media Studios. Andy’s brilliant when it comes to website design and search. He’s constantly sharing his findings and knowledge with marketers. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak for a Social Media Club Chicago event years ago. I also loved attending the Wine & Web events he hosted. Andy did something fascinating. He audited 100 AI visibility audits! He talks about the importance of the target buyer all the way down to the beginning - with your audit.
In his blog, Andy says a better name for most AI visibility audits would be “AI Readiness Checker” or “Technical SEO/GEO Grader.” One reason is that most are auditing the website itself, not how visible the website is to AI. He says the other reason is that when audits ask AI, they ask their own questions. They are not thinking of their target audience.
So let’s move to our mini AI visibility audit AI readiness checker.
What is AEO?
Now that we’ve determined the importance of AI mentioning or citing your website, we will briefly cover AEO. If you’re new to AI visibility and optimizing your content, stick around. “AEO” stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It is the practice of structuring your website content so AI tools and search engines can easily find and use it to answer people’s questions or prompts. It is similar to SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO is typically the foundation for where you begin with AEO, but you should know they work together.
Perform a mini visibility audit
(aka Technical SEO/GEO Grader.) Prior to optimizing the content on your site, you will want to gather benchmarks. This will allow you to see how well your efforts performed, giving you a starting point and ending point. This recommendation involves several steps. Keep in mind that AI search is still new. Therefore, best practices regarding monitoring, benchmarking, and improving AEO are still being discovered. AI answers vary from run to run, so results are a just a snapshot rather than a score. This will take two to three hours the first time you conduct the audit. This includes set up time and determining the questions your future customers actually ask.
Here are the instructions in five steps:
Step 1: Set up your tools
Open ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Google in separate tabs.
In the AI tools, use a new chat for each prompt. Use a temporary chat if available, and keep your prompts consistent across platforms and audit dates.
Turn on web search in each AI tool. Web search helps the tools retrieve current information and show sources, making it easier to track which websites they reference.
Create a spreadsheet with these columns. Or, you can make a copy of my audit template in Google Sheets.
Date of audit
Topic
Prompt (see examples in Step 2)
Platform
_______ (your company) mentioned (yes or no)
_______ (your company) cited as a source (yes or no)
_______ (your company) links mentioned or cited
Other sources cited
Competitors named
_______ (your company) info inaccurate/outdated? (yes, no, or n/a)
Notes
Step 2: Run the prompts
Ask real questions a potential customer would type, not "tell me about ______ (your company)." Sample questions for a fishing supply store, covering different search intents:
Learning: "What gear do I need to start fly fishing?"
How-to: "How do I choose the right fly for the summer?"
Comparison: "Neoprene vs. breathable waders for cold water?"
Problem-solving: "What should I do if I start with too much slack in the line?"
Run each prompt in all three AI tools and in Google. For Google, look at the top 10 results and any AI Overview at the top. That is 16 searches for these four prompts.
Step 3: Record what you see
For every answer, fill in one row:
Was your company mentioned at all?
Was one of your company pages cited or linked?
Which other sources were cited?
Which competitors were named?
Was anything about your company inaccurate or outdated?
Step 4: Analyze and summarize your findings
Look across your rows and answer:
Where does your company show up, and where is it missing? For example, strong on how-to, absent on comparisons.
Which of your company pages get cited most? Does a pattern show up, such as product pages over blog posts?
Who gets cited instead? What do those pages do that your company's don't, such as clear definitions up front, comparison tables, or step lists?
Were there inaccuracies about your company that could be corrected?
What are the top three opportunities? Phrase each as an action, for example "Create a comparison-style page for fly fishing tools."
Step 5: Re-test REGULARLY
Note these findings and edit your website pages where it makes sense.
Wait one month before conducting your second audit. Ask the same prompts from Step #2 in incognito or a temporary chat. See what has improved and what work still needs to be done.
Remember, to track your results and be able to benchmark, you will need to conduct this mini audit prior to optimizing content. AEO is still evolving, so treat this as a starting point and keep experimenting.
Have you completed a content audit before, or are you preparing for one? I’d love to hear about your work and results in the comments on my LinkedIn post. If you’d like my assistance, feel free to get in touch with me. ✨
