The Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) Checklist: 25 Things to Fix Before AI Can Recommend You

C. Content Signals (Items 13–19)

1. Every key page follows answer-first format: the main claim or answer appears in the first paragraph, not buried below the fold.
2. Your homepage clearly states what your product does, who it is for, and what makes it different — in the first 100 words.
3. You have a dedicated /about page with founder names, company history, and team credentials.
4. Blog posts include specific numbers, data points, or benchmarks — not vague claims.
5. Content is updated within the last 90 days. Stale content loses AI citation priority.
6. Internal links connect related content: blog posts link to product pages, and product pages link to relevant blog posts.
7. You avoid thin pages: every indexed page has at least 300 words of unique, substantive content.

D. Entity Clarity (Items 20–22)

1. Your product name is used consistently across the site — same spelling, same casing, no abbreviations without explanation.
2. You have a clear 'what is [Product]' section or page that AI engines can extract as a definition.
3. Your product is mentioned in at least one third-party source (a directory listing, a review site, a comparison article). AI engines look for multi-source confirmation.

E. AI-Specific Readiness (Items 23–25)

1. You have a /llms.txt file that provides a machine-readable summary of your product, key pages, and structured data locations.
2. Your comparison and alternatives pages use clear feature tables with specific data (not just 'better' or 'faster').
3. You have tested your AI visibility: search for your product in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, and documented what they say (or don't say).

Scoring Yourself

Count your passes out of 25. Score 20+ means you have strong AI visibility foundations. Score 15–19 means you have gaps that are likely reducing citations. Score below 15 means AI engines probably cannot recommend you reliably.

Want an automated score? Run a free AEO audit — we check all 25 items across 6 AI engines and give you a prioritized fix list.