Is Your Business Invisible to AI Search? A 20-Point Visibility Audit

Ask ChatGPT to recommend a plumber in your town. It will name two or three businesses. If yours is one of them, then great, but what if it’s not?

This isn’t about whether you’re a good plumber. It’s about whether AI tools can find, understand, and trust your business information well enough to recommend you. Most small businesses fail this test without knowing it.

The audit below takes about 15 minutes. By the end, you’ll know exactly where your AI visibility stands and which gaps to fix first. Print it out or work through it on screen. Be honest with your answers.

Part 1: Foundation Signals (7 Points)

These are the basics. If your website fails here, AI tools will struggle to process anything else you do. Think of this section as your building’s foundation: cracks here cause problems everywhere.

1. Is your website mobile-friendly?
Pull up your site on your phone. Does it load properly? Can you read text without zooming? Do buttons work with your thumb? Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing, and AI tools pull from Google’s index. A site that breaks on mobile is a site that AI struggles to trust.
2. Does your site load in under 3 seconds?
Test it at PageSpeed Insights (https://pagespeed.web.dev). Slow sites get deprioritized. If yours takes 5+ seconds, you’re losing both human visitors and AI credibility. Most template sites with unoptimized images fail this test.
3. Is your contact information visible and consistent?
Your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) should appear the same way everywhere: your website footer, contact page, Google Business Profile, and any directory listings. AI tools cross-reference these. Inconsistencies create doubt about which information is correct.
4. Does your site use HTTPS?
Look at your URL. Does it start with https:// and show a padlock icon? Sites without SSL certificates get flagged as insecure. AI tools avoid recommending businesses that can’t secure basic web traffic.
5. Do you have dedicated pages for each service?
A single “Services” page that lists everything you do in bullet points doesn’t help AI understand your business. Each major service should have its own page with detailed information. “Residential HVAC Installation” and “Commercial HVAC Maintenance” should be different pages, not different bullets.
6. Is your service area clearly stated?
AI tools need to know where you operate. “Serving the greater metro area” is vague. “Serving Portland, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, and Tigard” is specific. List your service area on your homepage, contact page, and ideally on dedicated service area pages.
7. Does your site have LocalBusiness schema markup?
Schema markup tells search engines exactly what your business is. Check using Google’s Rich Results Test (https://search.google.com/test/rich-results). If LocalBusiness schema is missing, you’re at a disadvantage.

Foundation Score: Count your “yes” answers. Write your score: ___ / 7

Part 2: Content Authority Signals (7 Points)

AI tools recommend businesses that demonstrate expertise. Your content is your proof. This section measures whether you’ve given AI enough evidence to trust you as an authority in your field.

8. Do you have content that answers specific customer questions?
Think about the questions people ask before they hire someone like you. Do you have pages or articles that answer them directly? Generic service descriptions don’t count.
9. Is your content organized around topics rather than scattered randomly?
A random collection of blog posts from 2019 doesn’t establish authority. Organized content clusters do.
10. Have you published new content in the past 6 months?
AI tools favor fresh information. Lack of updates signals an abandoned or stagnant business.
11. Does your content use the language your customers actually use?
Customers search in plain language. Does your content reflect that?
12. Do you have an FAQ section with real questions?
FAQs must reflect real customer questions, not marketing fluff.
13. Does your content go deeper than your competitors?
AI tends to cite the most helpful, detailed answer available.
14. Does your site have FAQ schema markup?
FAQ schema increases the likelihood of appearing in AI and Google Featured Snippets.

Content Authority Score: Count your “yes” answers. Write your score: ___ / 7

Part 3: Trust and Reputation Signals (6 Points)

AI tools don’t just look at your website. They use signals across the web to assess your credibility and reputation.

15. Is your Google Business Profile complete and verified?
A complete profile is one of the strongest trust signals AI tools use.
16. Do you have at least 20 Google reviews with a 4+ star average?
Both quantity and quality matter. Under 20 reviews = low trust.
17. Have you responded to your reviews?
AI can see whether you engage. Ignoring reviews signals poor service habits.
18. Is your business listed on relevant directories?
Industry directories, local chambers, Yelp, etc. help AI verify you exist.
19. Is your NAP data consistent across all listings?
Even minor inconsistencies lower trust.
20. Does your website display trust indicators?
Licenses, certifications, testimonials, awards, professional memberships.

Trust Signals Score: Count your “yes” answers. Write your score: ___ / 6

Interpreting Your Results

Total Score: Add your three section scores. Write your total: ___ / 20

Score	What It Means
0–7	High risk of AI invisibility. Your business likely doesn’t appear in AI recommendations at all. Foundational gaps must be fixed first.
8–14	Needs improvement. Some pieces are working but large gaps remain. AI may find you sometimes but will not reliably recommend you.
15–20	Strong foundation with room to grow. Focus on deepening authority and trust signals.

What to Fix First

Not all gaps are equal. Prioritize like this:

If you failed multiple foundation items (Part 1): Start here. Technical issues block all other progress. You may need a new AI-ready features website.
If foundation is solid but content is weak (Part 2): You need a structured content strategy, not random posts. 20–30 problem-based articles usually establish the authority AI needs.
If trust signals are weak (Part 3): Fix immediately. Build reviews, complete your GBP, clean up directory listings.

Turning Results Into Action

Knowing your gaps is step one. Closing them is step two.

For foundation problems: An AI-ready website solves items 1–7 in one shot. Expect 4–6 weeks to build.
For content gaps: A structured cluster of 25–30 articles solves items 8–14. Expect 8–12 weeks to produce.
For trust signal gaps: Reviews and directory cleanup are ongoing. Respond to every review, request new ones, and audit listings quarterly.

The Bottom Line

Most small businesses have never checked whether AI tools can understand and recommend them. Now you have.

Your score tells you where you stand. Your priority list tells you where to start. The question now is whether you’ll act — or continue losing AI-driven recommendations to competitors who do.

If you want help interpreting your results or understanding what it would take to close your specific gaps, a free AI visibility review can walk through your situation in detail. No generic advice. Just a clear look at your current position and what would actually move the needle.

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