Our Methodology

How AIMention scores your website

A straightforward look at what we measure, how the math works, and what we can and can’t tell you. No black box.

Your overall score is the average of six dimension scores.

Search engines rank pages. AI models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude recommend businesses — and they decide who to recommend from a different set of signals than the ones SEO tools measure.

AIMention scores your website across six of those signals. Each dimension is scored 0–100 independently, based on what we actually detect on your site — not on an AI’s opinion. Your overall score is the straight average of the six. That means you can always trace a low overall score back to the exact dimensions dragging it down, and every point of improvement maps to a specific fix.

A
90–100
Excellent
B
75–89
Good
C
60–74
Fair
D
40–59
Poor Visibility
F
0–39
Very Poor Visibility

Three steps, about two minutes.

1

We fetch your site the way AI does

We read your website’s actual HTML — the same raw content AI crawlers see. If your site only renders in JavaScript, we flag that too, because most AI platforms can’t read it.

2

We check the signals in each dimension

Structured sections, plain-text facts, markup, trust signals, directory citations, and the real city names you serve — each detected signal feeds its dimension’s score.

3

We score, grade, and prioritize

Six dimension scores average into your overall score and grade. The full report turns every gap into a prioritized checklist item and a 60-day roadmap.

What we evaluate — and what failing vs. passing looks like

Structured Content

Whether your site presents services and specialties in organized sections an AI model can parse — instead of a wall of marketing copy.

What we check
  • Clear headings that name your actual services
  • Service and specialty details spelled out, not implied
  • Content organized so each page answers one thing
Scores low: One long homepage paragraph: “We do it all! Call today for quality service you can trust.”
Scores well: A Services section listing “Furnace repair · AC installation · Duct cleaning” with a sentence on each.

Factual Clarity

Whether the basic facts of your business — name, address, phone, hours — appear as plain, readable text an AI can quote with confidence.

What we check
  • Business name, address, and phone visible as text (not only in an image or map embed)
  • Hours of operation stated on the site
  • Consistent formatting for the same facts everywhere they appear
Scores low: The phone number only exists inside a header image, and the address only appears in an embedded Google Map.
Scores well: Name, street address, phone, and hours in the footer of every page as regular text.

Structured Data Markup

Whether your site includes machine-readable markup (JSON-LD) that explicitly tells AI systems what your business is, where it is, and what it does.

What we check
  • LocalBusiness structured data present in the page source
  • Markup fields match what the page visibly says
  • Key pages (home, services, contact) carry markup, not just one
Scores low: No structured data at all — the AI has to guess what kind of business this is.
Scores well: A LocalBusiness block naming the business type, address, hours, and service area.

Authority & Trust

Whether your site carries the signals of a real, established business that an AI can safely recommend.

What we check
  • An About page with a named owner and business history
  • Credentials, licenses, or certifications stated specifically
  • Years in business and real people, not stock phrases
Scores low: No About page; the only credibility claim is “trusted by thousands.”
Scores well: “Owned by Mike Kowalski, licensed HVAC contractor, serving DuPage County since 2009.”

Citations & References

Whether your business is listed consistently across the external directories AI systems treat as trusted sources. Weighted for your business type — a restaurant isn’t penalized for skipping contractor directories.

What we check
  • Google Business Profile and core directories present
  • Industry-relevant directories for your business type
  • Same name, address, and phone across all of them
Scores low: Listed on Google with an old address, and nowhere else.
Scores well: Consistent listings on Google, Yelp, and the two or three directories that matter for your industry.

Local Relevance

Whether your pages actually name the cities and neighborhoods you serve, so AI connects your business to searches from those places. Built dynamically from your real service area — not a hardcoded list.

What we check
  • Your city and service-area towns named in page text
  • Location signals near your service descriptions
  • A service-area section or page naming where you work
Scores low: The site never names a city — “serving the local area” is the only geographic clue.
Scores well: “Serving Bartlett, Schaumburg, Elgin, and the western Chicago suburbs” on the homepage.

Then we ask the AI platforms directly.

The six dimensions predict your visibility. The AI Presence Scan measures it. Included in the full report.

12 × 4 = 48

We run 12 real prompts — local searches, direct questions about your business, and “near me” style requests, built from your actual city and service area — across 4 AI platforms: Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. That’s 48 live AI answers. Your AI Presence score is simply how often you appeared: appearance rate × 100. You also see which competitors AI named instead of you.

What we can and can’t tell you

AI platforms don’t publish their recommendation algorithms, and no tool — ours included — can guarantee how any specific AI system will behave. What AIMention can do is measure the signals those systems consistently rely on, show you exactly where yours fall short, and test your real-world visibility with live prompts.

The report tells you what to fix first and why it matters. It won’t promise you a spot in every AI answer — anyone who promises that is guessing. And if the report doesn’t show you anything worth fixing, we’ll refund your $30.

Start free. Pay only if you want the full picture.

Your score is free — no credit card. The full report with every fix, prioritized, is a one-time $30.

Free Score
$0
See where you stand
  • Overall AI Visibility Score (0–100)
  • Letter grade with a plain-English read on what it means
  • How many gaps we found on your site
Check Your Score
Done-For-You
$199 one-time
We make the fixes for you
  • Every item on your Action Checklist implemented
  • Completed within 5 business days
  • Plain-language before/after summary
See How It Works