GEO and AEO audit: what it checks

WebAISEO: free AI-search check Prices WebAISEO Terms For AI agents

Published 11 November 2026 · by TrueTest

GEO (generative engine optimisation) and AEO (answer engine optimisation) are new names for one aim: making your site easy for AI assistants to find, read, trust and quote. Much of it is good SEO done carefully; some of it is new (AI crawlers, llms.txt, answers written so they can be lifted). Here is what an honest audit should check, and what it should not promise.

Start with the free check See a full example first

Type your address into the box at the top of the WebAISEO page: the Readiness basics check reads one public page and its robots.txt, sitemap and llms.txt, takes a few seconds, needs no sign-up and is free. The paid audits are described on the WebAISEO page.

What should a GEO / AEO audit check?

Area	The question
AI crawler access	Can the AI search crawlers read the pages? (robots.txt, noindex / nosnippet / noai, firewall blocks)
Readable content	Is the text in the HTML, with clear titles, one H1, question-style sections?
Structured data	Does JSON-LD say what each page is and who is behind it?
Discoverability	HTTPS, a sitemap named in robots.txt, fast pages, an llms.txt (optional)
Trust	Dates, named authors or organisation, About and Contact, alt text
Answers	Does each page answer one real question near the top, in plain words?

What is the difference between the free check and a full audit?

The free Readiness basics check reads one page and scores the first five areas. The paid Full AI-search audit uses the same 0-100 scale but checks 20 areas across up to 25 pages and comes with a Fix Kit; its prices are on the WebAISEO page.

What should an audit never promise?

A place in ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google AI answers: no outside party controls that.
A number of AI citations by a date.
Secret tricks: engines reward pages that are easy to read and worth quoting.

Whether engines really cite a site is a measurement, not a promise: ask them the questions your customers ask, over weeks, and count. Our citation pilot does that and judges the change with a luck check, the same idea we use for trading tests.

Where should I start?

Run the free check on your most important page and fix any fail first.
Check robots.txt for blocked search crawlers (how).
Add JSON-LD for your organisation and the page type (how).
Rewrite headings as the questions people ask.

More guides: llms.txt checker: does my site need one? · AI crawler robots.txt checker · Do noindex or nosnippet block AI answers? · AI readiness check as an MCP tool · Headings that AI answers can lift · Author, dates and trust signals · Sitemaps, HTTPS and speed for AI crawlers · AI search optimisation vs classic SEO

Questions people ask

Is GEO different from SEO?

Mostly it is SEO with AI crawlers and quotable answers in mind. A site that is easy for search engines is usually a good start for AI engines.

How long does a GEO audit take?

The free one-page check takes a few seconds. A full audit of up to 25 pages takes minutes once it starts.

Can an agency use these audits for clients?

Yes; the agency option is described on the WebAISEO page.

Can anyone promise AI citations?

No. Anyone who promises a citation is promising something they do not control.