AI visibility audit: a 7-step checklist

An AI visibility audit answers one question: when buyers ask AI about your kind of product, does it name your brand? Here is how to run one yourself, free.

Step 1 — List the questions buyers actually ask

Write 5–10 questions in the buyer's own words, for example: "What is the best tool for indie hackers to build a SaaS?" Not your brand name — the problem you solve.

Step 2 — Run them in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini

Use a fresh session for each. AI answers vary, so one run is not evidence — but a pattern across runs is.

Step 3 — Record who gets named

For each prompt, write down every brand the AI names, in order. Note whether yours appears at all, and in what position.

Step 4 — Read how it describes you

When your brand does appear, what does the AI say about it? Accurate, vague, or wrong? Wrong descriptions are common — and fixable.

Step 5 — Note who gets named instead

The brands named instead of you are your real AI competitors. They may differ from your Google competitors.

Step 6 — Check your own pages

Can a stranger tell in ten seconds what you sell, for whom, and what it costs? If not, the AI will struggle too.

Step 7 — Repeat monthly

Models update, and answers drift. A single audit is a snapshot; monthly audits are a trend.

Want the full diagnostic instead of the DIY version? The AEO audit covers mentions, quotability, structured data, and consistency — with a prioritized fix list.