1. Access
- robots.txt allows OAI-SearchBot (ChatGPT search). Blocking it keeps you out of ChatGPT search answers.
- Your host or CDN doesn't block crawler traffic.
- Key pages are indexed in Google and Bing.
- Pages render their main text without needing scripts to run.
2. Facts
- One page states who the product is for: company sizes, industries, regions.
- Integrations are listed by name.
- Pricing or price ranges are published.
- Time to go live, security and compliance are stated plainly.
3. Comparison
- An honest comparison page for your category names competitors and who each suits.
- "Alternative to [competitor]" pages exist where buyers ask that question.
4. Sources
- You know which pages AI cites for your top 20 buyer questions.
- You're listed in the independent articles among them, or have contacted their authors.
- Your description matches across website, LinkedIn, directories and review profiles.
5. Measurement
- 20–50 buyer questions are tracked across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Copilot.
- AI visits are separated in analytics.
- Companies arriving from AI are identified.
Why sources matter: in two 2026 studies, vendors' own pages and independent articles made up most of what ChatGPT cited for software questions.
How to score the audit
Give each of the five areas a score from 0 to 3:
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Missing |
| 1 | Partly there, out of date |
| 2 | In place |
| 3 | In place and measured |
A total under 8 out of 15 means AI has little reliable material about you. Fix access and facts first: they take days, not months.
Questions
How long does an audit take?
A first pass takes a few hours: run 20 questions, check robots.txt, read your key pages as a buyer would.
Who should do it?
Someone who knows your buyers. The technical checks are quick; deciding which questions matter takes product and sales knowledge.
How often should we repeat it?
Quarterly, with weekly tracking of the questions in between.
Start here: AI visibility for B2B. More articles in AI visibility.
