Which AEO factor matters most?

Content structure and JSON-LD structured data have the highest correlation with AI citations. But no single factor works alone — AI engines evaluate all signals together.

How is the AEO score calculated?

Each of the 12 factors is scored 0-100 based on specific checks. The overall score is the average of all 12 factors.

Can I get a perfect 100 score?

Possible but rare. A score of 80+ (grade A) means your site is well-optimized. Focus on fixing failing factors first.

The 12 AEO Factors That Determine AI Visibility

How we measure AEO readiness

Our scoring system checks 12 specific, measurable factors based on the GEO-16 research framework, University of Toronto citation studies, and analysis of what AI engines actually cite.

Each factor is scored 0-100:

70-100 (Pass) — Well-optimized
40-69 (Warning) — Needs improvement
0-39 (Fail) — Missing or broken

The overall AEO score is the average. 80+ means you're in the top tier of AEO-optimized sites.

Factors 1-6: Content & Structure

1. Answer Capsules

Measures concise, extractable answer paragraphs (40-300 characters) immediately following headings. AI engines extract these as direct answers.

2. FAQ Schema

Checks for FAQPage structured data markup. AI engines directly parse this to find question-answer pairs — one of the strongest AEO signals.

3. JSON-LD Structured Data

Counts JSON-LD blocks (Organization, WebPage, Article). The GEO-16 framework identified structured data as a top-3 citation predictor.

4. llms.txt

Checks for a /llms.txt file at your domain root. This emerging convention tells AI crawlers how to reference your content.

5. AI Crawler Access

Verifies robots.txt allows GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot. Many sites block these without realizing — the easiest AEO fix.

6. H2 Question Headings

Measures how many H2 headings are formatted as questions. Question-format headings directly match how users query AI engines.

Factors 7-12: Technical & Authority

7. Meta Descriptions

Checks for 120-160 character descriptions. AI engines use these as content previews when deciding what to cite.

8. Citations & Sources

Counts external links, <cite> tags, and reference sections. Including citations boosts AI visibility by over 40%.

9. Content Structure

Evaluates heading hierarchy (one H1, multiple H2s/H3s), lists, and semantic HTML. Clear structure helps AI parse your content accurately.

10. Page Speed

Measures load time. AI crawlers have timeout limits — slow pages get skipped. Target: under 2 seconds.

11. Mobile Optimization

Checks viewport meta tag and responsive indicators. Most AI queries originate from mobile devices.

12. Internal Linking

Evaluates navigation elements, breadcrumbs, and contextual links. Internal linking helps AI understand your site's topic architecture.