Content Audit
Start with the quick wins
Items tagged "Quick" can be done in under 30 minutes. Complete them first for the fastest improvement in AI citability.
Content Structure
Content Uniqueness & Authority
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Technical Quick-Wins
Robots.txt for AI Crawlers
Configure your robots.txt to allow AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot) while blocking unwanted bots. Most sites block AI by default.
Sitemap Strategy
Ensure your XML sitemap includes all citation-worthy pages with accurate lastmod dates. AI crawlers use sitemaps to prioritise content.
Page Speed & Rendering
AI crawlers have limited render budgets. Use server-side rendering for key content. Avoid client-only rendering for text that needs to be cited.
Internal Linking
Build topical authority with strong internal link clusters. Link related content to help AI models understand your site's expertise areas.
Schema Markup Templates
Paste schema markup in the <head> section of your HTML, wrapped in a <script type="application/ld+json"> tag. If you're using a CMS like WordPress, use a plugin like Yoast or RankMath to add it without touching code.
For site-wide schema (like Organization), add it to your homepage or global template. For page-specific schema (like Article or Product), add it to the relevant individual pages.
Use on blog posts, news articles, guides, and any editorial content with a publish date and author.
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Your Article Title",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Author Name",
"url": "https://example.com/author"
},
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Your Organization",
"logo": {
"@type": "ImageObject",
"url": "https://example.com/logo.png"
}
},
"datePublished": "2026-01-15",
"dateModified": "2026-04-01",
"description": "A clear, concise description.",
"mainEntityOfPage": {
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://example.com/article"
}
}Citation Checklist
Source Authority Signals
What Hurts Your Chances
Intent Mapping
Decision Journey
Learn (TOFU)
Researching options, comparing features, reading reviews
Content to create
Consider (MOFU)
Narrowing choices, comparing specific products and pricing
Content to create
Purchase (BOFU)
Ready to buy, looking for best price, deals, timing
Content to create
E-commerce Intent Signals
ChatGPT Shopping
Product schema, reviews, and pricing data are pulled directly. Ensure structured data is complete and crawlable.
Perplexity Product Cards
Perplexity renders product cards from schema markup. Include images, ratings, price, and availability in your structured data.
Gemini Shopping
Google Merchant Center data feeds Gemini shopping results. Ensure your product feed is accurate and up-to-date.
Price Comparison Queries
AI models compare prices across sources for "best price" queries. Structured pricing data and competitive positioning are key.
Platform Guide
ChatGPT
Citation Style
Inline links with source attribution
Source Preferences
Authoritative domains, recent content, Wikipedia, Reddit
Optimization Focus
Clear entity definitions, comprehensive coverage, Product schema for shopping
Claude
Citation Style
Contextual references with domain mention
Source Preferences
Primary sources, academic content, official documentation
Optimization Focus
Original research, expert attribution, well-structured arguments
Perplexity
Citation Style
Numbered footnotes with clickable links
Source Preferences
News, recent publications, authoritative blogs
Optimization Focus
Recency signals, strong headlines, clear key takeaways
Gemini
Citation Style
Expandable source cards below answers
Source Preferences
Google index priority, Knowledge Graph entities, YouTube
Optimization Focus
Google indexing, Knowledge Graph presence, video content
AI Overviews
Citation Style
Source chips linked to organic results
Source Preferences
Top-ranking organic pages, Google-verified entities
Optimization Focus
Traditional SEO + structured data, featured snippet optimisation
Log into your CMS (WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, etc.) and find the robots.txt settings - usually under SEO, settings, or technical configuration. Some platforms let you edit it directly; others require a plugin or custom file upload.
Add the AI crawler rules below alongside your existing rules. Keep your current Sitemap declaration and any Disallow paths you already have.
Save and publish. You can verify it's working by visiting yoursite.com/robots.txt in a browser.
# AI Search Crawlers
User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /
User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /
User-agent: anthropic-ai
Allow: /
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Google-Extended
Allow: /
User-agent: Applebot-Extended
Allow: /
User-agent: Bingbot
Allow: /
User-agent: Meta-ExternalAgent
Allow: /
User-agent: cohere-ai
Allow: /
User-agent: YouBot
Allow: /