The article What is GEO explained why businesses need to be cited by AI tools. This one is the hands-on part: 12 points of AI search optimization you can check yourself in about 30 minutes. Each point comes with how to check it and its priority.
Group A — Machines can read your website
1. Pages are indexed. (Required) Type site:yourdomain.com into Google. If an important page does not show up, AI barely sees it either.
2. A correct sitemap.xml and robots.txt. (Required) Open yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Every service page and article must be listed. robots.txt must not accidentally block the article folder, or block the crawlers of the AI tools you want to be cited by.
3. Fast to load and readable without JavaScript. (High) The main content must already be in the HTML. Many AI crawlers do not run JavaScript, so a page that only shows text after scripts load is a blank page to them.
Group B — Content answers the questions customers ask
4. Each page fully answers one question. (High) The title is a question or a clear promise. The short answer sits in the opening paragraph, details come after. AI often quotes exactly this opening.
5. Concrete facts. (High) Comparison tables, numbered steps, price ranges, implementation time. "Optimal solution, reasonable cost" gives AI nothing to quote.
6. A Q&A section at the end. (High) Three to five real customer questions, each answered in 2–3 sentences. This is the format closest to how people ask AI.
7. A clearly displayed update date. (Medium) Old prices, policies and features make AI lose trust. An update date shows the content is still correct.
Group C — Machines understand who you are
8. Consistent business information. (Required) Name, field, address, person in charge and phone number must be identical on every page and on other platforms (Google Business, Facebook page, Zalo OA).
9. Structured data (schema.org). (High) At minimum: Organization for the business, Article for posts, FAQPage for the Q&A section, Product or Service for service pages. Check with Google's Rich Results Test.
10. Topic-based internal linking. (Medium) The pillar article links to its child articles and back. AI then sees your website as an in-depth source on one topic, not a set of scattered pages.
Group D — Expanding your market
11. Multilingual with correct hreflang. (High if you have international customers) When customers ask AI in English or Chinese, AI prefers sources in the same language. Each translation is a real page with hreflang tags pointing to each other, not an automatic translate button. See the trilingual SEO-ready website.
12. Someone answers once customers arrive. (High) Customers coming from AI arrive with clear questions. If nobody answers, they go back to AI to ask again, and may end up with a competitor. A 24/7 AI chat assistant answering from the very content you just optimised keeps them on your site.
Self-scoring table for AI search optimization
| Group | Max points | Your website |
|---|---|---|
| A — Machines can read it | 3 | |
| B — Answers the right questions | 4 | |
| C — Understands who you are | 3 | |
| D — Expands your market | 2 | |
| Total | 12 |
- 10–12: a good foundation; focus on writing more articles that answer your niche's questions.
- 6–9: fix groups A and C first. This is the technical part, done once and useful for a long time.
- Below 6: rebuild the website structure before investing in content.
Frequently asked questions
How long until ChatGPT starts citing my website?
There is no fixed timeline. A new page must be indexed first, and only then does it have a chance to become a source for AI tools. Content that answers a niche precisely, with facts, tends to be cited sooner.
Do I need to write separately for AI and for human readers?
No. Clear, well-structured, fact-based content is good for both.
Want these 12 points checked for your website? Contact Le Anh – 0388.610.885. You will receive the checklist plus the fixes needed, in order of priority.
