What is an AEO grader?

An AEO grader analyzes a page for how well AI assistants and answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, plus Google AI Overviews) can find, extract, and cite it. It's built for teams tracking brand visibility in AI, brand recognition in AI generated answers, and share of voice across ai search, rather than just traditional search rankings.

How does this compare to the HubSpot AEO grader?

The HubSpot AEO grader is a similar concept: score a page for AI-assistant readiness. This grader adds a paired traditional SEO score, an action plan ranked by impact, and no signup for the first checks, so you can benchmark pages quickly without booking a demo.

What is answer engine optimization AEO?

Answer engine optimization AEO is the practice of structuring content so AI engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini) can extract clear answers to cite. It's distinct from traditional SEO, which optimizes for a ranking on a search engine results page.

How is the SEO score calculated?

7 points: title length (50-60 chars), meta description length (120-158 chars), canonical tag, Open Graph tags, exactly one H1, at least 2 H2 sections, and JSON-LD schema markup.

How is the AEO score calculated?

4 points: FAQ schema or question-style headings, citation-friendly lists (ul/ol), at least 3 H2/H3 headings for chunkable structure, and a short direct-answer paragraph immediately following a question heading. The two combine into a composite score with a letter grade.

Why does my page score well on traditional SEO but poorly on AEO?

Traditional SEO rewards good meta tags and technical structure. AEO rewards content shaped as direct question-and-answer pairs with citation-friendly lists, since that's the shape AI tools pull from their training data and live retrieval. A page can nail one without the other.

What's the fastest way to improve an AEO score?

Add a short FAQ section with real questions your audience asks, each followed immediately by a 1-2 sentence direct answer. That single change usually lifts the composite score more than any other fix on the action plan.

Should AEO be part of our marketing strategy?

If your buyers are researching via ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews (most B2B and consumer buyers now do), then answer engine optimization is a load-bearing part of the marketing strategy alongside traditional SEO. Grading against the AEO rubric is where most teams start when they realize brand perception in AI-generated answers has become a distinct problem.

Can I grade any page, or only the homepage?

Any publicly accessible URL: homepage, blog post, product page, anything reachable without a login.

Does this check page speed or Core Web Vitals?

No. This rubric is purely structural (HTML, meta tags, schema). For performance scoring, use the separate Website Grader tool.

Does a good score guarantee AI assistants will cite this page?

No. Structure makes a page easier to cite, but citation also depends on topical authority, freshness, and whether the assistant's index has crawled the page at all.

Does this measure share of voice against competitors?

Not directly. This grader scores your page's structural fitness for AI citations. Measuring competitive share of voice in AI answers is a distinct exercise that requires querying the assistants themselves at scale.

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