AI Search Self-Check

01Step 1: Run the prompts

Use the questions a customer would actually type. Fill in your service and your town, then run each one in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google (AI Mode, or the AI Overview at the top of the results). Stay logged out where you can, so your own history does not tilt the answers.

• Best [service] in [town]
• Who do you recommend for [service] near [town]?
• [Service] company in [town] with good reviews
• How much does [service] cost in [town]?
• Is [your business name] a good choice for [service]?This one shows what AI tools already say about you, right or wrong.

02Step 2: Record what you see

Mark each box yes or no. In the last column, write the sites each answer linked to or named as sources.

03What the grid tells you

04Step 3: Check the basics

Google's guidance on its AI features says the same fundamentals behind regular search still apply. Check each one.

• Your important pages are indexed in GoogleA page has to be indexed to show up in Google's AI features. Check the Pages report in Search Console.
• Search Console is set up, and you've opened the Generative AI performance reportIt shows how often your pages appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
• Your Google Business Profile is complete and currentGoogle says Business Profile details help your services show up in its AI responses.
• Name, address, and phone match everywhereStart with the sites the answers cited in Step 2, then your site, Google, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yelp, and Facebook.
• Each main service has its own page that answers what customers ask
• Your pages say something only you could sayReal jobs, real photos, your own process. Google's guide calls this non-commodity content.
• Schema, if you use it, matches what the page saysGoogle lists this as a best practice. It also says no special schema is needed for its AI features.
• Reviews come in steadily, and you answer them
• Your pages load quickly and work on a phone

05Seven red flags in an AI SEO pitch

Google published a list of AI search tactics you can ignore. If a pitch leans on any of these, ask for evidence before you pay.

• An llms.txt file sold as the way into Google's AI answersGoogle Search ignores these files. For other AI tools, the verdict is still out.
• Special schema "for AI"Google says no special schema is required.
• Rewriting or chopping every page into small chunksGoogle says there is no requirement to do this.
• Dozens of near-duplicate pages for every way a question can be askedGoogle says that can violate its scaled content abuse policy.
• Bought or fake mentions on forums and list articlesGoogle says inauthentic mentions are not as helpful as they seem.
• Guaranteed citations or rankingsGoogle says indexing and serving are not guaranteed, even for a page that meets every requirement.
• A tool that claims access to Google's internal AI dataGoogle says no third-party tool has that access.

06Next month

• Run the same five prompts on the same day of the month
• Compare the grid with last month's
• Change one thing at a time, so you know what made the difference