AI search optimization checklist: 9 steps for GEO and AEO

The 9 checks

1. Let the search crawlers read your site

   Open your robots.txt and your CDN or firewall settings. The search crawlers should be allowed: Googlebot, Bingbot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot. OpenAI documents OAI-SearchBot as separate from GPTBot, which is for training, and Perplexity documents PerplexityBot as separate from Perplexity-User, which fetches a page when a person asks. Allowing search and declining training is a legitimate choice. Blocking everything by accident is the common mistake.

   How to check it: Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt and look for a Disallow: / line under User-agent: * or under any crawler named above. Then ask your host whether bot protection challenges crawlers.

2. Make sure your key pages are indexed

   Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet to be included in its AI features, and that no extra requirements apply. A page that is not indexed cannot be quoted by Google, so this comes before any rewriting.

   How to check it: In Google Search Console, inspect your five most important service pages. Each should report that it is on Google. Do the same in Bing Webmaster Tools.

3. Open each service page with a direct answer

   State in the first two or three sentences what you do, who it is for, where you work and roughly what it costs. Buyers and assistants both use the first clear statement they find, so it should be accurate and written in your words.

   How to check it: Read the first paragraph of each service page aloud. Could a stranger repeat it as the answer to "who does this near me and what does it cost"?

4. Give each core service its own page

   One page per service worth winning, each covering scope, process, service area and the questions buyers ask. One page that lists everything gives an assistant nothing specific to quote.

   How to check it: List your services. Each one should have a page you could send to a customer without adding an explanation.

5. Make your business details identical everywhere

   Name, address, phone number, services, categories and hours should match on your website, your Google Business Profile, Bing Places and the directories you appear on. When sources disagree, the safest choice for a reader or a machine is to trust none of them.

   How to check it: Open your contact page and each profile side by side. Every character should match, including suite numbers and phone formatting.

6. Claim and verify Google Business Profile and Bing Places

   A verified profile is yours to keep accurate. Google Business Profile matters most for Google. Bing Places feeds Bing, and it is one of several places an assistant can check your details, not the only one. Verify both and keep them current.

   How to check it: Search your business name on Google Maps and on Bing Maps. You should see a management view, not an invitation to claim the listing.

7. Add structured data that matches the page

   Organization, LocalBusiness and Service markup describes your business in a format machines read directly. Google says no special markup is required for its AI features, so treat this as supporting work. It must match what the page shows: markup for services you do not display is worse than none.

   How to check it: Run a service page through a structured data validator. Read the warnings as well as the errors, and compare the markup with the visible text.

8. Earn mentions on sites that are not your own

   Trade bodies, supplier directories, partner pages, local press and honest reviews describe you in their own words. More than one place that says what you do and where gives an assistant something to check you against. Review counts are one input among many and not a universal AI signal.

   How to check it: Search your business name and count the independent sites that describe what you do correctly. Fix the ones that do not, then look for three more that should.

9. Record the answers each month and count enquiries separately

   Write down ten questions your buyers ask. Ask them on ChatGPT, Google, Gemini and Perplexity each month and save the full answer and the sources shown. Add "how did you hear about us" to your enquiry form. Mentions and enquiries are different numbers, so keep them apart.

   How to check it: Save this month's answers in a spreadsheet with the date and the exact wording. Next month, compare them line by line.

What to keep in proportion

• llms.txt and structured data are supporting infrastructure, not a guaranteed way to be cited. Google says no special schema or AI-specific files are needed to be included in its AI features.
• Standard SEO practice still applies. Helpful content, a crawlable site and clear page structure remain the base.
• Answers vary between people, places and moments, so one lucky or unlucky result means little. Look at the monthly pattern.

How long this takes

Steps 1 to 6 are mostly a few days of work once you have access to your site and profiles. Steps 7 and 8 take longer, because markup has to be accurate and other sites work to their own schedules. Step 9 only becomes useful after two or three monthly recordings. Each platform refreshes on its own schedule, so we do not name a date for a change.

Sources

The statements above about how the platforms work come from their own documentation:

• Google Search Central: AI features and your website. Eligibility for AI features, no special markup or AI-specific files required, and standard SEO practice still applying.
• OpenAI documentation: OpenAI crawlers (OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot, ChatGPT-User). OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search results, separate from GPTBot for training.
• Perplexity documentation: Perplexity crawlers (PerplexityBot, Perplexity-User). PerplexityBot for search results, separate from Perplexity-User for fetches a person asks for.

How the platforms differ for a buyer is set out in the platform comparison.

Next step

To see how far along you are, use the AI readiness checker. If you want 25 to 40 buyer questions tested across your market, order the $450 AI visibility audit.