AI search readiness
AI Search Optimization Audit
Check whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other AI search systems can understand and cite your website.
Free AI SEO audit for robots.txt, sitemap visibility, structured metadata, homepage crawlability and AI citation readiness.
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Scan your site
Technical audit of robots.txt, sitemap, and crawlability.
Homepage + random featured article HTML — 10 checklist items for AI search.
After your audit, download the full report as a standalone HTML file (open offline or share with your team).
Results cached 24h per URL. Article check may take longer (headless browser fallback).
What we check — and why
After a scan you get a score, green/red checklist, crawler table, issue-by-issue recommendations, and a suggested robots.txt for your domain.
robots.txt & crawler rules
What · We fetch /robots.txt and classify training vs retrieval/search bots.
Why · Wrong bot rules hide your site from AI answers or allow unwanted training crawlers.
Sitemap & homepage crawlability
What · We verify the homepage loads and check sitemap availability.
Why · Crawlers need reachable HTML and URL discovery.
AI search checklist
What · We parse homepage HTML + one article linked from the homepage (browser-like fetch, Playwright fallback) and score 10 must-have signals from our AI search audit framework.
Why · Measures whether AI systems can understand, extract, summarize, and cite your journalism — entity clarity, structure, schema, trust, freshness, and more.
Training bots vs retrieval bots
Block crawlers used for model training (e.g. GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended) if you want to limit training use of your content. Allow retrieval and search bots (OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Googlebot) so AI answers can cite your pages. Never use User-agent: * / Disallow: / unless you intend to hide the entire site.
Metadata & structured data for AI
Newsrooms benefit from Organization or NewsMediaOrganization schema, Article/NewsArticle markup, and FAQ blocks where appropriate. Title tags, canonical URLs, and visible trust signals (bylines, dates) improve how LLMs summarize and attribute your reporting.
How the free AI visibility check works
- Enter your site URL — we normalize it and fetch
robots.txt, the homepage, and your sitemap. - We score crawler rules, crawlability, metadata, sitemap health, and whether key content is available without heavy JavaScript.
- We parse one article linked from your homepage and run ten editorial signals for AI search (entities, structure, trust, freshness).
- Download a standalone HTML audit report, plus a suggested robots.txt tailored to your domain.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about AI visibility, robots.txt for LLM crawlers, and how this free newsroom audit works.
- What is an AI visibility check for newsrooms?
- It is a free technical audit of your public website: robots.txt rules for AI crawlers, sitemap and homepage crawlability, metadata and schema, JavaScript rendering, and a checklist that parses your homepage plus one sample article for AI-friendly structure and trust signals.
- What does the AI visibility score mean?
- The primary AI Visibility score (0–100) uses eight weighted sections: robots, crawlability, rendering, sitemap, metadata & schema, homepage AI structure, article AI structure, and entity & trust signals. Technical Foundation is shown separately — it measures infrastructure (can AI access the site?) without implying citation readiness. This is a heuristic snapshot, not a live ranking inside ChatGPT or Perplexity.
- Should I block GPTBot and other AI training crawlers?
- Many publishers block training crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended) to limit model training on their content while still allowing retrieval and search bots (OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Googlebot) so AI answers can cite your reporting. Your policy should drive the choice; the tool shows what your robots.txt currently allows.
- What is the difference between AI training bots and retrieval bots?
- Training bots collect content to build or improve models. Retrieval and search bots fetch pages when a user asks a question so an AI system can quote or summarize your site. Blocking training bots does not have to block citation if retrieval bots remain allowed.
- How often should I run the audit?
- Run it after changing robots.txt, sitemap, templates, or paywall/rendering setup, and periodically on your homepage. Results are cached for 24 hours per URL so repeat scans the same day return the same report.