The AEO Checklist: 12 On-Page Moves to Get Cited by AI in 2026
Co-founder of Ampliflow. Builds AI automation, websites, SEO/AEO, and growth systems for UK SMEs.
Suppose a plumber in Coventry asks an AI assistant about local suppliers and sees competitors named. That single answer does not explain why his business was absent. This AEO checklist helps investigate the public pages, evidence and access controls before deciding what to change. The example is illustrative.
Last updated: June 2026 · Built for UK SMEs · Tactics verified against each AI provider's published crawler documentation and the GEO research cited below
TL;DR:
- Use the checklist to investigate, not to promise a citation.
- Protect successful URLs, intent and customer journeys.
- Review search controls separately from training permissions.
- Support material claims and explain unfamiliar terms.
- Measure qualified enquiries alongside search appearances and sampled citations.
How to Use This AEO Checklist
This checklist organises the checks around public access, factual accuracy and the customer’s decision. A checklist is a reading aid, not a format that forces an AI system to select a source.
The twelve items are grouped for convenience. Their priority depends on the site; a broken enquiry route or false service claim may deserve attention before any other change.
Start with the buyer’s question, show the supporting evidence and make the next step clear.
The 12 moves at a glance
| # | Move | What to check | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Review crawler access | Search, training and user-fetch controls separately | Access |
| 2 | Lead with the answer | Can a reader understand the main point early? | Clarity |
| 3 | Focus paragraphs | One clear idea with necessary context | Clarity |
| 4 | Review schema and FAQs | Accurate markup and questions readers actually ask | Accuracy |
| 5 | Publish first-hand evidence | Method, date, permission and limitations | Proof |
| 6 | Compare where helpful | Real choices rather than an obligatory table | Decision |
| 7 | Define unfamiliar terms | Plain explanations at first use | Accessibility |
| 8 | Correct stale facts | Honest update dates | Maintenance |
| 9 | Clarify the business | Consistent identity, services and contact details | Accuracy |
| 10 | Assess llms.txt | Optional; Google ignores it for Search ranking | Low |
| 11 | Cite sources | Readers can verify material claims | Proof |
| 12 | Test the page | Loading, keyboard, mobile and enquiry journey | Usability |
Tier 1 — Access, Accuracy and Clarity
1. Review Search Crawler Access
Check Googlebot for Google Search, OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search and the relevant Claude and Perplexity search controls. GPTBot and ClaudeBot concern training and should not be enabled merely to chase citations. Google-Extended does not control inclusion in Google AI Overviews. Review the provider-specific guidance and test firewall behaviour as well as robots.txt.
2. Lead with the answer
Give the reader the main answer early, then support it. There is no required 40–60-word answer or fixed first-sentence formula. The LLM SEO guide explains how this fits into the wider review.
3. Keep Paragraphs Focused and in Context
Keep paragraphs focused without stripping out context. A reader should be able to follow the reasoning and understand any qualification attached to a claim. Do not break a coherent explanation into tiny blocks just for AI.
4. Check Applicable Schema and Reader Questions
Use applicable structured data that matches visible content, such as Article or BreadcrumbList. Google does not require special AI schema and retired FAQ rich results in May 2026. Keep an FAQ when it answers a real question; it is not a prerequisite for appearing in AI search.
Tier 2 — Evidence and Clear Explanations
5. Publish Evidence You Can Substantiate
Publish evidence when it adds something the buyer needs: an authorised client result, a documented benchmark or a survey with a clear method. The GEO paper does not make an original statistic a guaranteed citation lever. Our 45-query study is a dated sample with explicit limitations.
6. Compare the Choices Your Buyer Faces
Use a comparison table when it makes real choices easier to assess, as in AEO vs SEO. State the same criteria fairly and include important qualifications. Tables are not mandatory and do not make a page the automatic source for an answer.
7. Explain Unfamiliar Terms
Define unfamiliar terms plainly when they first appear, with enough context to avoid a misleading simplification. Link to the glossary for further detail. A definition helps the reader; it does not make the page an engine’s permanent source of record.
8. Keep the page genuinely fresh
Review facts when the service, evidence or platform changes. Record substantive updates honestly and preserve the original publication date. Newness alone does not establish quality or earn a citation.
9. Make your business impossible to confuse with another
Keep the public name, contact details and real service area accurate across relevant pages and profiles. Correct actual contradictions. Applicable structured data can describe those facts, but neither perfect text matching nor a local address guarantees a recommendation.
Tier 3 — The infrastructure: the quiet foundations under everything
10. Decide Whether llms.txt Has a Practical Use
An llms.txt file is an optional Markdown guide to selected pages. Google explicitly says it ignores the file for Search visibility and ranking. Maintain one only for a documented use, such as a known documentation consumer. See the llms.txt guide before spending time on it.
11. Cite your own sources
Cite the original source where it supports a claim. Give readers enough context to judge the date, method and limits. Adding citations for their own sake does not make an unsupported argument sound.
12. Keep the page fast
Test loading, responsive behaviour and the enquiry journey on the website. Fix reproducible problems that stop people reading or taking the next step. This is sound usability work; it does not establish a universal citation-speed relationship.
Where to start if you only have an afternoon
Choose one important page and record its current performance. Check for access problems, stale information and enquiry friction before rewriting anything. Preserve the wording and intent that already attract suitable customers.
Then address the strongest evidence gap. That might be a clearer scope, a substantiated case study or an explanation of costs. Original research is worthwhile when it answers a real question and can be checked, not because every page needs a unique number.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AEO checklist?
An AEO checklist organises checks that support search discovery, accurate answers and a clear buyer journey. It is not a ranking formula, and its order should change when the evidence points to a more important problem.
How long does AEO take to show results?
There is no fixed citation deadline. Confirm that the change works, then compare repeated answer samples, search data and enquiries over a period suited to the business and its sales cycle.
Do I need an agency to do this?
You can review clarity, consistency and internal links yourself. Get technical help where you cannot confidently change crawler controls or site behaviour. Do not enable training crawlers or add schema merely because a checklist says to.
Which item matters most if I can only do one thing?
Fix the most consequential problem you can demonstrate. An important blocked page, incorrect service information or a broken form is more urgent than adding a new content format.
Is AEO a replacement for SEO?
No. The work overlaps with SEO, especially in Google’s AI features. Keep successful pages and customer journeys intact while checking any platform-specific access or reporting needs. See AEO vs SEO.
Should I really let AI crawlers read my content?
Choose controls by purpose. Public search discovery does not require blanket permission for model training. Private material should stay behind authentication; robots.txt does not keep it secret.
Does a UK location help me get cited?
Accurate location and service-area details help buyers judge suitability. They do not guarantee a citation, and there is no evidence that merely making the address machine-readable creates an easy local ranking win.
Related reading
- ↑ From SEO to AEO: How UK Businesses Can Dominate AI-Powered Search — the pillar guide and the full framework
- ↔ What Is Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)? — the foundational definition
- ↔ LLM SEO: Optimise for ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini — the model-by-model cut of the same work
- ↔ Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO): The Complete UK Guide — the research and the deep tactics
- ↔ How to Get Cited by ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity — platform-by-platform tactics
- ↔ What AI Search Actually Cites for UK Business Queries (2026 Data) — our original 45-query benchmark
- ↔ How to Show Up in Google AI Overviews — the checklist applied to Google's answer box
- ↔ How to Get Cited by Perplexity AI — the checklist applied to Perplexity
- ↔ Does Your Business Need an llms.txt File? — checklist item #10, in depth
Run the checklist against your own site
Record a relevant customer question and its sources, then compare that sample with your existing search and enquiry data. A competitor appearing once does not automatically make it the quarter’s most important project.
Get unstuck → — start with a clarity chat about the business and its search priorities. If a focused audit is the right next step, it is prepared from that context rather than a checklist score alone.
Choose the priority from evidence, implement it carefully and check the result. Repeat when the findings justify the next change.