AEO Scoring Methodology: How We Calculate Your Score
Transparent breakdown of the AEO scoring methodology. Learn exactly what signals are checked across AI Crawlability, Structured Data, Content Clarity, and Entity Definition.
Why transparency matters for AEO scoring
If you are going to make business decisions based on a score, you should understand exactly how that score is calculated. Our AEO scoring methodology is fully transparent: every signal checked, every point allocated, and every threshold defined. This page documents the current scoring system used by the free AEO score checker and the full 7-stage audit.
AI Crawlability (0-25 points)
AI Crawlability measures whether AI search engines can find and access your content. Points are allocated for: robots.txt presence with AI bot directives (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot) that do not block access, llms.txt file present and complete with business description and service details, XML sitemap accessible and properly structured with valid URLs, and page render accessibility (content available without JavaScript execution). Each signal contributes proportionally to the 25-point maximum.
Structured Data (0-25 points)
Structured Data measures how well your site communicates in the language AI understands. Points are allocated for: JSON-LD schema blocks present on the homepage, Organization schema with complete entity details (name, URL, description, sameAs), additional schema types (FAQPage, Product, Service, Person, BreadcrumbList), and schema richness (depth of properties within each schema). More schema types with richer properties earn higher scores.
Content Clarity (0-25 points)
Content Clarity measures whether AI can extract clear, citable answers from your content. Points are allocated for: logical heading hierarchy (H1 present, H2/H3 used properly without skipped levels), meta description present and descriptive, question-based content patterns (H2 headings phrased as questions), content depth (sufficient word count to demonstrate topical authority), and the presence of structured summaries or answer-first paragraphs.
Entity Definition (0-25 points)
Entity Definition measures how clearly AI can identify who you are and what you do. Points are allocated for: Organization schema with complete business identity, Person schemas for founders or team members, consistent naming across all structured data and content, service or product entities defined as distinct schema objects, and cross-reference consistency (schema descriptions matching visible content).
Grade thresholds and interpretation
Total scores map to letter grades: A (90-100) indicates strong AI visibility, B (70-89) shows a solid foundation, C (50-69) means moderate visibility with significant gaps, D (30-49) indicates below-average visibility, and F (0-29) means largely invisible to AI search engines. The free score checker provides surface-level scoring from publicly visible signals. The full audit adds GA4, Search Console, competitor, and deep content analysis for a more complete assessment.