Can AI engines find, read, and cite your site?
AI Search Optimization (AIO) is making sure AI engines can discover your content, understand it, and trust it enough to cite you in their answers. This scanner checks the specific technical signals that determine whether you’re AI-ready, and scores them 0 to 100.
The signals that matter
AI-crawler access (are GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended allowed in robots.txt), structured data (can machines parse your business), FAQ schema (the format AI quotes most), llms.txt (the new standard for guiding AI), and answer-first content (does your page actually answer the question). Miss these and AI can’t cite you even if your content is great.
The #1 mistake we see
Blocking AI crawlers, often by accident. Many sites (and some hosting platforms) ship with robots.txt rules or a “block AI bots” setting that quietly tells GPTBot and others to stay out. If they can’t crawl you, they can never cite you. This scanner catches that immediately.
Pro tips
- Explicitly allow GPTBot, ClaudeBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended in robots.txt.
- Add an llms.txt file mapping your key pages, it’s the emerging standard for AI.
- Use answer-first writing and FAQ schema, that’s what AI engines quote.
- Watch for a hosting “block AI bots” toggle that undoes your good intentions.
Frequently asked questions
What is AIO (AI Search Optimization)?
The practice of structuring your site so AI engines can find, understand, and cite it: crawler access, schema, llms.txt, and answer-first content, plus the off-page trust signals AI relies on. It overlaps with SEO but adds AI-specific choices.
What is an llms.txt file?
A simple file at your site’s root that tells AI engines what your site is about and which pages matter, similar to how robots.txt guides search crawlers. It’s an emerging standard for the AI era.
How do I stop blocking AI crawlers?
Check your robots.txt for Disallow rules targeting GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, or CCBot, and remove them. Also check your host or CDN for a “block AI bots” setting, which can override your file.
Is AIO different from regular SEO?
It shares a foundation with SEO but adds specifics: AI-crawler access, llms.txt, answer-first structure, and schema aimed at being quoted. Many sites that rank fine in Google are still invisible to AI.
