The AI visibility checklist: 15 things to check on your site this week
Most brands that AI assistants do not name have the same few basic gaps. This checklist goes from the quickest wins to the slow ones. None of it guarantees you will be named, but each item removes a reason you might not be.
By the Citeably team · · · 5 min read
Be found
Can AI crawlers and search tools reach and read your pages?
- robots.txt does not block GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot or Google-Extended unless you mean to.
- You have an XML sitemap and it is listed in robots.txt.
- Your key pages return normal pages without a login or a bot wall.
- Important text is in the HTML, not only drawn by JavaScript after load.
- Each page has a clear title, a single main heading and a meaningful URL.
Be clear
Can a reader, or a model, say in one sentence what you are?
- The top of the homepage says what you are, who it is for and what it does, in plain words.
- You have an About page and a pricing page with real information.
- You have a short FAQ that answers the questions buyers actually ask.
- Your name, category and key facts are written the same way everywhere.
- Comparison pages say honestly how you differ from the alternatives.
Be mentioned
Assistants lean on sources they trust when they list options.
- You are listed on the review and directory sites your category uses.
- Independent articles or comparisons that name you exist, and are not all written by you.
- You take part in the communities where your buyers ask questions, and disclose who you are.
- Your claims are specific and checkable, such as numbers, customers you may name and dates.
- You re-check the same questions monthly and note what changed.
How to use this list
Do not try to tick everything at once. Run a check first, see who is named instead of you and why, then pick the two or three items that match what you saw.
Re-run the same questions after a month. Answers vary from run to run, so only a clear, repeated change is worth believing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an llms.txt file?
It is cheap and harmless, but no major assistant has said it relies on it. Do it after the basics above.
Which item matters most?
It depends on your result. Check what the assistants name instead of you, and read why. That tells you which gap to close first.