AI search readiness checklist

Twenty checks, in order. If you can tick all of them, Google’s answer box and the AI assistants can find you, read you, and recommend you. Most local businesses fail the first five, which is why the assistants name someone else.

Access

robots.txt does not block GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, or Bingbot.
The site has a sitemap and Google Search Console shows it is being read.
Your phone, address, hours, and services are text on the page, not images.
The site loads in under three seconds on a phone.

Facts

The homepage says in one sentence what you do and where.
Every service has its own page with a price range and who it is for.
A service area page names each town.
Hours, including holiday hours, are on the site and match Google.
The owner or professional is named, with credentials or license numbers.
Policies people ask about are written down: insurance, pets, reservations, warranties, fees.

Answers

Each common question has its own heading, worded as the question.
The first sentence under each heading answers it.
FAQ structured data lists those pairs on the pages that have them.
Search Console shows the question pages ranking on page one or two.

Agreement

Google Business Profile has the right primary category, all services, and full hours.
Name, address, phone, and hours match on Google, Apple Maps, Bing, Yelp, and the directories.
LocalBusiness structured data on the site matches the profile.
Reviews from the last ninety days mention specific services.
Your site is mentioned on at least a few local or industry pages you do not own.
Asking ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity your core question names you.

What to do with the misses

The free SEO audit checks the technical items on one page in a few seconds. The rest is a morning with your site, your Google profile, and this list. If you would rather we did it, the audit is the first thing we do for every client.

Questions people ask

How often should I run this?

Once now, and once a quarter. Plugins, hosting changes, and staff edits undo items without anyone noticing.

Which items matter most?

Access and agreement. A site the assistants cannot read, or listings that contradict it, cancel everything else.

Is this the same as an SEO audit?

It overlaps. An SEO audit goes deeper on the site itself; this list adds the answer and assistant checks.

Want this done for you?

This is the work we do for every client: search, answer engines, and AI assistants, on one plan with one monthly report. Tell us about your business and we will tell you what we would do first.

Let’s talk