We put a free AI readiness checker live a few weeks back (have a gander at it here), and since then we’ve had a fair few people asking what it’s actually checking for?
It’s a fair question as ‘AI-ready’ gets thrown about a lot at the minute and it doesn’t mean much on its own. So here’s the breakdown of what our tool looks at, and why each bit matters if you want AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to actually find and recommend your business.
Why this matters more than it used to
68% of searches never reach the organic listings anymore. People are asking AI assistants directly instead of scrolling through ten blue links, and those assistants can only recommend what they can actually understand. If your site’s confusing to a crawler, it’s invisible to the people using it.
Structured data
This is the behind-the-scenes markup (schema) that tells search engines and AI tools exactly what they’re looking at; is this a product page, a service, a local business, an article? Without it, AI tools are left guessing, and guessing means you get left out of the answer.
Content clarity
Good content that’s buried under jargon or padded out for the sake of word count doesn’t help anyone, least of all an AI trying to work out if you’re worth recommending. Clear headings, direct answers, and content that actually says what it means is easier to pick up.
llms.txt and AI crawler files
Think of an llms.txt file as a signpost for AI crawlers, a simple, plain-language summary of what your site’s about and where the important stuff lives. It’s a newer standard, but it’s becoming one of the clearest ways to tell AI tools ‘here’s what we do, here’s why it matters.’
FAQ content
FAQ sections help with AI visibility, giving assistants clear, quotable answers to lift straight into a response.
What the audit actually gives you
Pop your URL in and in 30 seconds you’ll get a simple set of results showing you where you stand across all of the above. There is no email required (unless you want a copy of your results sending over).
It’s only a guide as things like server caching, JavaScript-heavy sites and restricted files can screw the results, so if you want the full deep dive, we’d be happy to have a chat.
