AI Citability Checker

What it checks

The tool fetches your page and scores nine signals that determine whether an AI answer engine can select and quote it: an answer-first opening, question-shaped headings, FAQ/Article/HowTo schema, a recognizable brand entity, lists or tables, visible freshness, a meta description, substantive depth, and an llms.txt index. Each failing signal comes with the fix.

It reads only the public HTML of the URL you enter. This is a structural readiness score, not a guarantee of citation — off-site authority and query type also matter.

How the score is weighted

The checker scores nine signals out of 100 points. The weighting reflects how much each one affects whether an answer engine can lift a passage cleanly, so structural signals carry more than cosmetic ones:

• Answer-first opening — 18 points. The first paragraph has to answer the question on its own, without setup.
• FAQ, Article or HowTo schema — 16 points. Any one of the three earns full credit.
• Question-style headings — 14 points. Two or more earn full credit; one earns half.
• Organization entity schema — 12 points. Full credit needs Organization markup and sameAs links; Organization alone earns half.
• Lists or tables — 10 points. At least one list or table.
• Substantive depth — 8 points. 300 words or more earns full credit; 120 or more earns half.
• Visible freshness — 8 points. A date a reader can actually see.
• llms.txt present — 8 points. Fetched from the root of the domain you enter.
• Meta description — 6 points. Present, and summarising the answer.

Three signals award half credit rather than none, so partial progress on headings, entity markup and depth still moves the score.

What the grades mean

The percentage is converted to a letter so you can tell at a glance whether a page needs structural work or a light edit. A is 80 and above, B is 65 to 79, C is 50 to 64, D is 35 to 49, and F is anything below 35. Pages that have never been written for answer engines usually land at D or F, and the fastest route up is the answer-first opening plus a schema block — 34 of the 100 points sit in those two signals alone.

Frequently asked questions

What makes a page citable by AI answer engines?

They favor pages that lead with a clear answer, use question-shaped headings, carry FAQ or Article schema, present a recognizable brand entity, use lists and tables, show freshness, and are easy to parse. The full method is in the citation playbook.

Does a high score guarantee I will be cited?

No. Citation also depends on off-site authority and query type. A high score means your page is structurally ready — it removes the technical reasons an engine would skip you.