Blog GEO: AI Citation Optimization Audit

Scores blog posts for AI citation readiness across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, You.com, Google AI Overviews, and Google AI Mode as one SEO workflow, not a separate discipline. Generates citation capsules and a 0-100 AI Citation Readiness score with platform-specific recommendations.

Google's 2026-05-15 guidance frames generative-AI optimization as SEO: no special markup, llms.txt requirement, or separate GEO/AEO playbook is required for Google visibility. Use GEO/AEO as shorthand labels only.

Cross-reference

This skill covers FLOW surface 3 (AI assistant citations: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, You.com) and contributes to surface 2 (SERP plus AI Overviews). Surface mapping: skills/blog/references/flow-alignment.md.

For directly relevant AI-citation prompts (AI-supporting-pages-rewrite-prompt, ai-detector-test, ChatGPT discovery, visibility prompts), see /blog flow optimize.

Evidence Discipline

Use numeric AI-citation benchmarks only when the report includes a source block with URL, publisher, methodology, sample size, engine or version, query class, retrieval date, and expiry date. If any field is missing, label the benchmark as directional or remove the number. Default heuristics:

• Self-contained 120-180 word answer passages are a practitioner heuristic.
• Comparison tables with semantic headers may improve extractability, but do not cite an uplift without a dated source block.
• AI Overviews coverage is methodology-dependent: cite a dated range, not a fixed point.

Audit Process

Step 1: Read Content

Extract from the blog post:

• Full content text and word count
• Heading structure (H1, H2, H3 hierarchy)
• Individual paragraphs and their word counts
• FAQ sections (if present)
• Schema markup (JSON-LD, microdata, RDFa)
• robots.txt mentions or meta robots directives
• Any TL;DR or summary boxes
• Comparison tables and their HTML structure
• Numbered/ordered lists
• Definition-style formatting

Step 2: Passage-Level Citability (4 pts)

Check each section between headings for AI-extractable passages:

Check	Criteria
Word count	Each section contains 120-180 word self-contained passages
Context independence	Each passage makes sense extracted from surrounding context
Claim structure	Passages contain: specific claim + supporting evidence + source attribution
Completeness	Passage answers a question without requiring reader to read adjacent sections

Scoring: Count passages meeting all criteria vs total sections.

• 4 pts: 80%+ sections have citable passages
• 3 pts: 60-79%
• 2 pts: 40-59%
• 1 pt: 20-39%
• 0 pts: <20%

Step 3: Q&A Formatting (3 pts)

Check heading format and answer structure:

Check	Criteria
Question headings	60-70% of H2s are phrased as questions
Answer-first format	Opening paragraph under each H2 provides a direct answer
FAQ section	Dedicated FAQ section with structured question-answer pairs

Scoring:

• 3 pts: All three criteria met
• 2 pts: Two criteria met
• 1 pt: One criterion met
• 0 pts: None met

Step 4: Entity Clarity (3 pts)

Check topic consistency and disambiguation:

Check	Criteria
Canonical topic	One unambiguous primary topic per page
Consistent naming	Same entity name used throughout (no confusing synonyms)
Intro statement	Clear topic statement in the introduction paragraph
Title-content match	Title accurately reflects the content focus

Scoring:

• 3 pts: All four criteria met
• 2 pts: Three criteria met
• 1 pt: One or two criteria met
• 0 pts: None met

Step 5: Content Structure for Extraction (3 pts)

Check for AI-extractable content patterns:

Check	Criteria
TL;DR box	40-60 word standalone summary present at top
Comparison tables	Tables with semantic headers such as <thead> or clear column labels
Ordered lists	Numbered lists for processes and step-by-step instructions
Definition formatting	Key terms formatted with clear definition patterns
Citation capsules	40-60 word definitive statements in each major section

Scoring:

• 3 pts: 4-5 elements present
• 2 pts: 3 elements present
• 1 pt: 1-2 elements present
• 0 pts: None present

Step 6: AI Crawler Accessibility (2 pts)

Check technical requirements for AI crawler indexing:

Check	Criteria
Static HTML	Content rendered in static HTML, not behind JavaScript
Google visibility	Normal crawlability and indexability for Googlebot. No special GEO/AEO file or markup is required for Google AI features
Non-Google AI crawlers	If the site wants visibility in non-Google answer engines, check robots.txt treatment for GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and related documented crawlers
Schema in HTML	Schema markup in static HTML, not JS-injected
Page size	Reasonable page size within AI crawler limits

Scoring:

• 2 pts: Google crawlability/indexability is clean, and selected non-Google crawler policies match the site's stated goals
• 1 pt: Google is indexable but one selected non-Google crawler or rendering check needs review
• 0 pts: Google crawling/indexing is blocked or multiple selected crawlers are unintentionally blocked

Step 7: Platform-Specific Analysis

Evaluate the post for each AI platform's citation preferences:

ChatGPT

• Favors "Best X" listicles (43.8% of citations)
• Prefers well-cited, authoritative content
• Recency matters: recent updates get priority
• Domain authority influences citation likelihood

Perplexity

• Often favors fresh, source-dense, community-validated content. Verify with current logs or tooling before claiming a citation window.

Google AI Overviews

• Follow Google's normal SEO guidance: make content helpful, crawlable, indexable, and eligible for snippets. No special GEO/AEO markup or llms.txt is required for Google visibility.
• Prefers content that already ranks well organically, but verify any numeric claims with dated source blocks.

Google AI Mode

• Treat separately from AI Overviews in reports. Emphasize normal Search eligibility, clear page purpose, accessible text, and consistency between visible content and structured data.

Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and You.com

• Evaluate content clarity, source accessibility, freshness, and whether robots policy intentionally allows or blocks each crawler where documented.
• Use engine-specific recommendations only when current docs, logs, or test results are available.

For each platform, provide:

• Current citability rating (High / Medium / Low)
• Specific improvements to increase citation likelihood
• Content format recommendations

Step 8: Generate Citation Capsules

For each H2 section in the post, write a citation capsule:

• Length: 40-60 words, self-contained
• Structure: Specific claim + data point + source attribution
• Purpose: A passage AI could directly quote as a citation
• Format: Present as a suggested addition the author can embed

Example:

According to [Source], [specific claim with number]. This represents
[context/comparison], making it [significance]. [Supporting detail
that reinforces the claim].

Generate one capsule per H2 section. Label each with the section heading it belongs under.

Step 9: Calculate AI Citation Readiness Score (0-100)

Map the 15-point subcategory scores to a 0-100 display score:

Category	Raw Points	Display Weight	Max Display Score
Passage-Level Citability	/4	x6.75	27
Q&A Formatting	/3	x6.67	20
Entity Clarity	/3	x6.67	20
Content Structure	/3	x6.67	20
AI Crawler Accessibility	/2	x6.5	13
Total	/15		100

Rating thresholds:

• 90-100: Excellent: highly citable by AI systems
• 70-89: Good: citable with minor improvements
• 50-69: Needs Work: significant gaps in citability
• Below 50: Poor: major restructuring needed

Step 10: Generate Report

Output the following report:

## AI Citation Readiness Report: [Title]

**AI Citation Readiness Score: [X]/100**: [Rating]

### Score Breakdown
| Category | Raw | Display | Max |
|----------|-----|---------|-----|
| Passage-Level Citability | X/4 | X | 27 |
| Q&A Formatting | X/3 | X | 20 |
| Entity Clarity | X/3 | X | 20 |
| Content Structure | X/3 | X | 20 |
| AI Crawler Accessibility | X/2 | X | 13 |
| **Total** | **X/15** | **X** | **100** |

### Per-Section Citability Analysis
| Section (H2) | Word Count | Self-Contained | Claim+Evidence | Citable |
|---------------|-----------|----------------|----------------|---------|
| [heading] | [N] | Yes/No | Yes/No | Yes/No |

### Platform-Specific Optimization
#### ChatGPT
- [specific recommendations]

#### Perplexity
- [specific recommendations]

#### Google AI Overviews
- [specific recommendations]

#### Google AI Mode
- [specific recommendations]

#### Claude / Gemini / Copilot / You.com
- [specific recommendations]

### Generated Citation Capsules

#### [H2 Section 1]
> [40-60 word citation capsule]

#### [H2 Section 2]
> [40-60 word citation capsule]

### Technical Recommendations
- [ ] [Technical fix with specifics]

### Priority Action Items
1. [Most impactful improvement]
2. [Second most impactful]
3. [Third most impactful]

Run `/blog analyze <file>` for full content quality scoring.

Optional: Search Performance Context (blog-google)

If blog-google credentials include Tier 1 (GSC) and the post has a published URL:

1. Query GSC by page and query dimensions, then filter rows to the URL: python3 skills/blog-google/scripts/run.py gsc_query --property <property> --dimensions query,page --json
2. Add to platform-specific analysis:
   • Current impressions, clicks, CTR, average position
   • Search queries driving traffic to this URL
3. Check indexation: python3 skills/blog-google/scripts/run.py gsc_inspect <url> --json
4. Report indexation status, canonical selection, mobile usability.
5. If skipped, report SKIPPED: credentials unavailable or SKIPPED: unpublished URL.

Optional: AI Citation Probability Score

For a per-engine likelihood that the post gets cited by AI answer engines (distinct from the 15-point AI Citation Readiness category scored by /blog analyze), run:

python3 scripts/ai_citation_score.py <file> --format markdown

It returns a 0-100 overall score plus per-engine subscores for Google AI Overview, Perplexity, and ChatGPT, a factor breakdown, and up to three highest-impact fixes.