AEO Scoring Rules v0.1
10 rules we use to audit AI visibility. Public and versioned.
Last updated: February 2026
Public Crawlability
Detect
Anonymous HTTP request returns 200, no auth redirect.
Fix
Remove login gates from content pages.
Impact
Pages behind auth are invisible to AI.
Answer-First Structure
Detect
First 2 sentences contain a direct, actionable answer.
Fix
Lead with the answer, not a preamble.
Impact
AI extracts opening sentences. Fluff = skipped.
Schema.org Structured Data
Detect
Valid JSON-LD (FAQPage / HowTo / Organization) present.
Fix
Add relevant schema per page type.
Impact
Schema makes content machine-readable for AI.
Author & Trust Attribution
Detect
Visible author byline + link to profile or About.
Fix
Add author box with name, role, credentials.
Impact
Anonymous content is less likely to be cited.
Freshness Signal
Detect
"Last updated" date visible and < 90 days old.
Fix
Show dateModified above the fold + in Schema.
Impact
Stale pages get deprioritized by AI.
Evidence & Verifiability
Detect
Screenshots, data tables, or source links in content.
Fix
Add at least one evidence block per page.
Impact
AI prefers citable, verifiable claims.
Internal Link Hub
Detect
Page links to/from a hub page; ≥3 internal links.
Fix
Hub-and-spoke: every AEO page links to /aeo hub.
Impact
Helps crawlers discover related content.
FAQ Section
Detect
Q&A pairs with FAQPage JSON-LD.
Fix
Add 3–5 FAQ items with schema markup.
Impact
FAQs give AI multiple citation entry points.
No Crawl-Blocking
Detect
No noindex, robots disallow, or JS-only rendering.
Fix
SSR/SSG content pages. Remove noindex from content.
Impact
Crawl-blocked = zero AI visibility.
Page Load Performance
Detect
TTFB < 500ms, LCP < 2.5s.
Fix
Optimize images, enable CDN, compress assets.
Impact
Slow pages may timeout during AI crawls.