How to Run an AI Visibility Audit: Step-by-Step Checklist

An AI visibility audit shows how often, and how accurately, AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews mention your business. It covers five areas: prompt testing, website answer quality, business listing consistency, third-party mentions and technical access. Use this checklist yourself, or get an AI visibility audit from Proficlix.

Most business owners know roughly where they rank on Google. Very few know what AI says about them. This checklist fixes that, and gives you a prioritised list of what to do next.

What is an AI visibility audit?

A traditional SEO audit asks: "How well does my website rank in search results?" An AI visibility audit asks a different question: "When a customer asks an AI tool for help, does it recommend me, and does it get my details right?"

That difference matters. AI tools don't just rank pages. They read, summarise and recommend. They favour businesses that are clearly described, consistent across the web and backed up by other sources. And it can be improved deliberately: researchers at Princeton, Georgia Tech and IIT Delhi found that optimising content for AI answers, for example by adding clear statistics, quotes and sources, lifted visibility in AI responses by up to 40%. An AI visibility audit checks each of those things, in five steps.

Set aside two to three hours for a small business. Keep a spreadsheet open to score each step as you go.

Step 1: How do you test your prompts?

Start with the outcome: what AI actually says right now.

Write 10 to 15 prompts your customers might use, across four types:

• Brand: "What can you tell me about [Business Name] in [City]?"

• Category: "Best [service] in [Suburb]"

• Comparison: "[Business Name] vs [Competitor]"

• Reputation: "What do customers say about [Business Name]?"

Run each one in a fresh, logged-out chat on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, and search them on Google to check the AI Overview. Record whether you're mentioned, where you appear, whether the details are accurate, and which competitors and sources are named.

Our guide to [checking whether your business appears in ChatGPT](LINK: Brief 2) has a full copy-paste prompt list and tracking template.

Score it: What percentage of category prompts mention you? That's your headline AI visibility number.

Step 2: Is your website content answer-ready?

AI tools quote websites that give direct, specific answers. Go through your key pages and check:

• Does your homepage say clearly, in the first paragraph, what you do and where?

• Does each core service have its own page?

• Do you have pages or sections for the main suburbs or regions you serve?

• Do you answer common customer questions: price ranges, timeframes, what's included, who it's for?

• Are headings written as questions, with the answer in the first sentence below?

• Is there an FAQ section on key pages?

• Is the content current, with no old prices, discontinued services or former staff?

• Do you show proof: licences, accreditations, case studies, years in business?

Score it: Tick the boxes. Anything under six out of eight is a priority.

Step 3: Are your NAP details and Google Business Profile consistent?

NAP stands for name, address and phone number. AI cross-checks these across the web to confirm you're real and to work out where you operate. Inconsistency creates doubt.

• Write down your exact, official business details, and use this as the master version.

• Check your website footer and contact page against it.

• Check your Google Business Profile: name, address, service areas, phone, hours, categories, services and description.

• Check Apple Maps, Bing Places and Facebook.

• Check major Australian directories: Yellow Pages, True Local, hipages, Oneflare, Hotfrog, and industry-specific ones.

• Look for old listings at previous addresses or under old business names.

Your Google Business Profile deserves extra attention. Gemini and Google AI Overviews lean on it heavily. Make sure it's complete, the primary category is right, and you're posting updates and photos regularly.

Score it: Count the listings with any mismatch. Every one is a fix.

Step 4: Who mentions you online?

AI tools trust businesses that other people vouch for. This step maps your off-site reputation.

• Reviews: How many Google reviews do you have? How many in the last 90 days? What's your average rating? Do you reply to them?

• Review content: Do reviews mention specific services and locations? ("Fixed our hot water system in Mitcham" is far more useful to AI than "Great service!")

• Directories and associations: Are you listed with your industry body and relevant professional directories?

• Local media and community: Any mentions in local news, council sites, community groups or sponsorship pages?

• Partners and suppliers: Do suppliers or partners list you as a stockist, installer or preferred provider?

• Competitor comparison: In Step 1, which sources did AI cite for competitors? Are you on those sites?

That last check is often the most useful. If Perplexity keeps citing a particular directory or "best of" list for your competitors, getting onto that source is a clear, concrete action.

Score it: Compare your review count and recency, and your number of quality mentions, with the two competitors AI recommends most.

Step 5: Can AI crawlers read your site?

The technical check. If you're not comfortable with this, hand it to your web developer.

• robots.txt: Visit yourdomain.com.au/robots.txt. Is it blocking GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended or ClaudeBot? Unless you have a reason to, don't.

• Security and firewall settings: Some plugins and hosting firewalls block AI crawlers by default. Check the settings.

• Schema markup: Do you have LocalBusiness (or a more specific type), Service and FAQPage structured data? Test your pages with Google's Rich Results Test.

• Readable content: Is key information in real text, not images, PDFs or sliders?

• Speed and mobile: Does the site load quickly on a phone? Run it through PageSpeed Insights.

• Indexing: Are your important pages indexed in Google? Check Google Search Console.

Score it: Any crawler block is critical. Everything else is high or medium priority.

How do you score and prioritise what you find?

You'll likely end up with a long list. Sort it into three groups:

1. Critical (fix this week): Crawler blocks, wrong contact details, a business marked as closed, major factual errors in AI answers.

2. High impact (fix this month): Missing service or location pages, inconsistent listings, an incomplete Google Business Profile, missing schema.

3. Ongoing (build over time): Review growth, third-party mentions, new content that answers customer questions.

Then re-run your Step 1 prompts every month. That's how you'll know whether the fixes are working.

Example AI Visibility Results: Audit results for a Perth dental clinic

A two-dentist clinic in Perth's northern suburbs appeared in just two of 12 category prompts. The audit found:

• Step 1: Mentioned for "dentist Joondalup", but not for high-value searches like "emergency dentist Perth northern suburbs" or "Invisalign Joondalup".

• Step 2: A single "Treatments" page covering 14 services, with no pricing guidance.

• Step 3: A former suite number still on three directories.

• Step 4: Strong reviews, but none recent. The last one was seven months old.

• Step 5: Fine technically, but no schema markup.

The priorities wrote themselves: fix the directory listings, split out pages for emergency dentistry and Invisalign, add schema and restart review requests. None of it required a big budget, just knowing where to look.

DIY or hire an agency?

If you have the time and some comfort with your website, you can absolutely run this audit yourself. The checklist above covers what matters.

An agency makes sense when you'd rather spend your time running the business, when the technical steps are outside your comfort zone, or when you need someone to also carry out the fixes and track progress over months. If you're considering that route, read Why choose our AI SEO agency. first, so you know what good looks like and which red flags to avoid. For budgeting, see what AI SEO costs in Australia. You may also find useful background, along with our explainer on SEO vs AEO vs GEO

Sources

• Aggarwal et al., "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization"

How long does an AI visibility audit take?

A DIY audit for a small business takes about two to three hours using this checklist. A professional audit, including competitor analysis and a prioritised action plan, typically takes a few days.

How often should I audit?

Run a full audit once or twice a year, and a quick prompt check (Step 1) monthly. Also audit after major changes such as a new website, relocation or rebrand.

What does a professional AI visibility audit cost in Australia?

Prices vary widely, from free introductory audits to several thousand dollars for in-depth reviews of larger businesses. See our guide to [AI SEO costs in Australia](LINK: post 60) for typical ranges.

Proficlix offers an AI visibility audit to get you started.

What's the difference between an SEO audit and an AI visibility audit?

An SEO audit focuses on how well your website ranks in search results. An AI visibility audit checks whether AI tools recommend you and describe you accurately, which also depends on your listings, reviews and third-party mentions, not just your website.

Skip the spreadsheet: get a free AI visibility audit

Want an expert to do this for you? Proficlix will run an AI readiness audit across ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, benchmark you against your competitors, and hand you a clear, prioritised action plan. Get my free AI visibility audit →

Key takeaways

• An AI visibility audit checks five areas: prompts, website answers, listing consistency, third-party mentions and technical access.

• Your headline number is the share of category prompts that mention you.

• Fix crawler blocks and wrong details first; build reviews and mentions over time.