Free AEO checker. See how AI engines read your site.
A free AEO checker tool and instant AI visibility checker: one score out of 100 for what ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity can actually see on your homepage, with the fixes that raise it.
Free · under 60 seconds · no email needed
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Discovery
Page structure
Schema
Citation quality
While you wait
AI assistants don't browse your site. They fetch your raw HTML once, without running JavaScript, and decide in milliseconds whether you're citable.
ChatGPT · a buyer asks
Buyers describe their situation. The AI picks a handful of names to recommend. Is yours one of them?
How AI describes you today
What it could say
Top fixes: biggest score gains
All checks
This measured what your homepage says.
The full audit measures what AI actually says about you: live ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews answers, a competitor snapshot and a schema gap analysis. Free, delivered to your inbox.
Get the full free audit →What the AEO checker measures. Four checks, 100 points.
AI assistants fetch your page's raw HTML, usually without running JavaScript, and decide quickly whether there is anything worth quoting. The checker reads your homepage the same way and scores it in four parts.
1. Discovery (18 points)
Crawler access is worth 10 of the 18 points: whether robots.txt lets in GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, Claude-Web, anthropic-ai, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended, CCBot and Bytespider. A valid sitemap adds 5, plus 1 when robots.txt declares it, and an llms.txt file adds 2. The section on making your site readable to AI crawlers covers each one.
2. Page structure (26 points)
One H1, enough subheadings to follow, a canonical tag, a meta description that makes a concrete claim, Open Graph and Twitter tags, a favicon and the page language. The canonical tag is the largest item here, at 6 points.
3. Schema markup (21 points)
Structured data AI systems read directly: Organization (6), Service or Product (5), FAQPage (4) and BreadcrumbList (3), plus 3 when Organization schema declares your logo. The section on schema markup for AEO explains what each type tells an AI system.
4. Citation quality (35 points)
Whether your page gives an AI something to quote. An AI model reading only your page text scores three checks: differentiation (12), named products and methods (11) and credibility from named clients and outcomes (6). Trust signals (6) is rule based and looks for testimonials, ratings, certifications, review platforms and client logos.
How to read your AEO score
- 75 to 100, Strong: AI crawlers can reach the page and find clear, quotable claims. Next step: keep llms.txt and schema current as the site changes, then check what AI assistants say about you with the free AI visibility tracker.
- 55 to 74, Moderate: the basics work, but gaps in schema or proof hold you back. Fix first: add proof such as named clients and outcomes, and state what sets you apart.
- 35 to 54, Needs work: AI can read the page but has little reason to cite it. Fix first: add the missing schema types and put a concrete claim in the meta description.
- Below 35, Weak: crawlers are blocked or the page says too little to be quoted. Fix first: open robots.txt to AI crawlers and make sure your main text is in the raw HTML.
How it works. How the checker reads your page.
The checker scores what an AI crawler would receive from your homepage on one visit. Four rules shape the result.
It reads raw HTML
The checker requests your homepage without running JavaScript, the way AI crawlers usually read pages. Any domain you enter is normalised to its homepage.
69 points are rule based
Checks such as robots.txt access, the sitemap, the canonical tag and schema types follow fixed rules and carry 69 of the 100 points. An AI model reading only your page text scores the other 31: differentiation, specificity, credibility and whether the meta description makes a concrete claim.
It does not guess
If the page returns under about 600 characters of readable text, usually a JavaScript only shell or bot protection, the checker skips the AI scored checks. It flags the page as unreadable and scores only the checks that ran.
Fixes are ranked by points lost
Every check records the points it missed. The top fixes are the three failures that cost the most points, largest first.
Structured data. Schema markup for AEO.
Schema markup is JSON-LD in your page's code that states facts about your business in a fixed format. AI systems can read those facts directly from the markup. The checker scores five items worth 21 points.
| Schema item | Points | What it tells an AI system |
|---|---|---|
| Organization | 6 | Who you are: your company name and website, declared as one business |
| Service or Product | 5 | What you sell, named in a form an AI can list and compare |
| FAQPage | 4 | Questions and answers in matched pairs, ready to quote when a buyer asks the same thing |
| BreadcrumbList | 3 | Where the page sits in your site, which places it in context |
| Logo in Organization | 3 | The image that represents your brand, tied to the same business record |
Why the logo and the entity gap matter
Declaring your logo inside Organization schema ties your brand image to the same record as your name and website. This helps systems that build a profile of your business treat the logo, name and site as one brand.
An entity gap in schema is when the page describes the business but the structured data does not declare it. The copy names three services, yet there is no Service schema. The page shows a logo, yet Organization schema leaves it out. The page answers questions, yet there is no FAQPage markup. Each gap shows up in the scan as a failed check with its point value.
Crawler access. Making your site readable to AI crawlers.
An AI assistant can only quote what its crawler was allowed to fetch and could read. Four things decide that, and the checker tests each one on your homepage.
robots.txt access (10 points)
Make sure robots.txt allows GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, Claude-Web, anthropic-ai, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended, CCBot and Bytespider. A blocked crawler cannot fetch the page, so it cannot quote it.
A sitemap declared in robots.txt (6 points)
Publish a valid sitemap.xml for 5 points and add a Sitemap line to robots.txt for 1 more. Crawlers then find every page you want read.
An llms.txt file (2 points)
An llms.txt file at the root of your domain gives AI systems a short plain text map of your key pages. Our llms.txt guide covers the format, and the Novastacks llms.txt file is a live example.
Text in the raw HTML
Content that only appears after scripts run may be invisible to AI crawlers, because many of them read the raw HTML and skip JavaScript. The checker reads the raw HTML too, so copy missing from the scan is copy a crawler may miss. Our guide to technical AEO foundations covers rendering for JavaScript heavy sites.
Sample scan. Example result.
Sample result for a fictional B2B software company, examplecloud.com. The site and its numbers are made up to show how a scan reads. This sample scores 58 out of 100, in the Moderate band.
| Category | Score | Where the points went |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | 16 of 18 | No llms.txt file (2 points missed) |
| Page structure | 20 of 26 | No concrete claim in the meta description (2), no Open Graph tags (2), no page language set (2) |
| Schema | 9 of 21 | No Service or Product schema (5), no FAQPage schema (4), no logo in Organization schema (3) |
| Citation quality | 13 of 35 | Vague product names (11), unclear differentiation (6), thin credibility (3), one trust signal short of full points (2) |
| Total | 58 of 100 | Moderate band (55 to 74) |
| Rank | Top fix | Points to gain |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name your products, services, and methodology | +11 |
| 2 | State explicitly what makes you different from alternatives | +6 |
| 3 | Add Service or Product schema | +5 |
| Description | Sample text |
|---|---|
| How AI describes you today | Examplecloud is a software company that helps businesses make better use of their data. |
| What it could say | Examplecloud makes [product name], a [category] platform for [buyer role] at [company size] companies. [Named client] used it to [quantified outcome] in [time period]. |
From score to fixes. A quick AEO gap analysis.
An AEO gap analysis compares where your homepage is today with where it could be. One scan of the checker gives you each part.
- 1. Score: enter your domain, then note the total and the weakest of the four categories
- 2. Top fixes: the three changes that would add the most points, ranked
- 3. Today and could say: how AI describes you today, written only from what your page says, next to what it could say once the gaps are fixed, with placeholders for facts only you can supply
- 4. All checks: every item behind the score, with points earned and what was found
The example result shows all of this for a sample site. The checker covers your own homepage. For gaps against competitors, using live answers from AI assistants, request the free AEO audit in the table below.
AEO checker, AI visibility tracker or free AEO audit
| Tool | What it checks | Speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEO checker (this page) | Homepage readiness: crawler access, page structure, schema and citation quality | Under 60 seconds | An instant score and a ranked fix list for your own homepage |
| Free AI visibility tracker | What ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overview say for 30 to 50 buyer prompts | Report in 48 hours | Seeing whether AI assistants name or cite your brand |
| Free AEO audit | Whether ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews recommend your brand or your competitors | Report in 48 hours | A gap analysis against competitors |
Common findings. What to fix first.
These five findings come up often in scans. Each one links to the guide that covers the fix.
AI crawlers blocked in robots.txt
A blocked crawler cannot fetch the page, so nothing else on it counts. Start with technical AEO foundations.
Main copy only loads with JavaScript
Crawlers that read raw HTML may see an empty page. When almost no text is left, the checker flags the page as unreadable. See making your site readable to AI crawlers.
No llms.txt file
It takes minutes to add and gives AI systems a short map of your key pages. The llms.txt guide shows the format.
Missing Organization, Service or FAQPage schema
The page describes the business but the structured data does not declare it. See schema markup for AEO.
Vague copy with no named clients or outcomes
An AI can only repeat names, claims and results that your page states. Read what drives AI citations.
AEO checker questions.
What is an AEO checker?
An AEO checker scores how ready a web page is to be found, read and quoted by AI answer engines such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews. This one reads your homepage the way an AI crawler does and scores it out of 100 across discovery, page structure, schema markup and citation quality.
Is the AEO checker free?
Yes. The AEO checker is free, takes under 60 seconds and needs no email address. You enter a domain and get the score, the top fixes and the full list of checks on the page. You can choose to email the report to yourself afterwards.
How is the AEO score calculated?
The score adds up four categories: discovery (18 points), page structure (26 points), schema markup (21 points) and citation quality (35 points). Rule based checks, such as whether robots.txt blocks AI crawlers, carry 69 of the 100 points. An AI model reading only your page text scores the other 31: three citation quality checks and whether the meta description makes a concrete claim.
Does the AEO checker check schema markup?
Yes. It looks for the structured data AI systems use most: Organization schema with your logo, Service or Product schema, FAQPage schema and BreadcrumbList schema. Schema is worth 21 of the 100 points, and any missing type shows up in the top fixes when it is among the biggest gains.
Which AI crawlers does the checker look for in robots.txt?
It checks whether robots.txt blocks GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, Claude-Web, anthropic-ai, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended, CCBot and Bytespider. Crawler access is the largest single check, worth 10 of the 100 points, because an AI that cannot fetch your page cannot quote it.
What is the difference between an AI visibility checker and an AI visibility tracker?
An AI visibility checker, like this AEO checker, tests whether your page is ready for AI: crawler access, structure, schema and quotable content. An AI visibility tracker tests the AI assistants themselves, asking them buyer questions and recording whether they name or cite your brand. Novastacks offers both for free.
Can I use the AEO checker for an AEO gap analysis?
For your homepage, yes. Each scan ranks the top fixes and puts how AI would describe you today next to how it could describe you once the gaps are closed. For a gap analysis against competitors, using live answers from AI assistants, request the free AEO audit.
Why does the checker only scan my homepage?
The instant check reads the homepage because it is the page that describes your whole business, and it keeps the scan under a minute. It measures what your homepage says. To see what AI assistants say about you across many questions, use the free AEO audit or the AI visibility tracker.
Does the AEO checker look at llms.txt?
Yes. The checker looks for an llms.txt file at the root of your domain and gives 2 points when it finds one. An llms.txt file is a short plain text map that points AI systems to your most important pages. It is a small part of the score and quick to add, so a missing file often shows up in the list of checks.
Does the AEO checker run JavaScript?
No. The checker fetches the raw HTML of your homepage without running JavaScript, because that is how AI crawlers usually read pages. Text that only appears after scripts run may be invisible to those crawlers, so the scan shows what they are likely to receive. If your main copy is missing from the results, put it in the HTML your server sends.
What happens if the checker cannot read my page?
The checker flags the page as unreadable and scores only the checks that ran. This happens when the page returns under about 600 characters of readable text, usually because of a JavaScript only shell or bot protection that blocks automated readers. In that case it skips the AI scored checks, since describing an empty page would mean guessing.
What schema markup matters most for AEO?
In this checker, Organization schema matters most, worth 6 of the 21 schema points, followed by Service or Product schema at 5. FAQPage schema adds 4, BreadcrumbList adds 3, and declaring your logo inside Organization schema adds 3 more. Together they state who you are, what you sell and which questions you answer, in a format AI systems read directly.
Can I check a single article instead of my homepage?
No. This tool reads the homepage only: any domain you enter is normalised to its homepage before the scan. To see how AI assistants answer buyer questions about your category, request the free AEO audit, which tests live answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.
How do I make my website readable by AI crawlers?
Allow AI crawlers such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot in robots.txt, then publish a valid sitemap.xml and declare it in robots.txt. Add an llms.txt file and make sure your main copy is in the raw HTML, since many AI crawlers do not run JavaScript. Add Organization, Service or Product and FAQPage schema so the facts on the page are also declared in structured form.