How the free website and AI search check works
Version 2.0 (October 2026). The check reads your public home page, robots.txt and sitemap, and runs a lab speed test. It never logs in, submits forms or reads private pages.
The 12 checks
| Area | Check | Passes when | Otherwise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Findable | Home page loads securely | The page answers without an error over HTTPS. | Error status = fail; loads over plain HTTP = warning. |
| Findable | Search engines may index the page | No noindex in a meta robots tag or X-Robots-Tag header. | noindex = fail. |
| Findable | Search and AI search crawlers allowed | robots.txt doesn't block search crawlers (Googlebot, Bingbot, OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Claude-SearchBot). | Blocking Googlebot or Bingbot = fail; blocking an AI search crawler = warning. Blocking training crawlers (GPTBot, Google-Extended, ClaudeBot, CCBot) never costs points. |
| Findable | Sitemap and links to your other pages | A sitemap is found, or the home page links to other pages. | No sitemap but 3+ internal links = warning; neither = fail. |
| Understandable | Business name, location and contact details | A business name, an address or area, and a phone number or email are present. | Two of three = warning; fewer = fail. |
| Understandable | Title, description and main heading | A page title of 10 to 70 characters, a meta description, and an H1. | Two of three = warning; fewer = fail. |
| Understandable | Useful information for buyers | At least 150 words of readable text, mentioning at least two of: hours, areas served, how pricing works, FAQs. | One part missing = warning; both = fail. |
| Understandable | Structured business data | schema.org business markup with at least two of address, phone, hours, URL or email. | Markup with fewer details = warning; none = fail. |
| Reachable | Tap to call, email or message | At least two of: tel:, mailto: and WhatsApp links. | One = warning; none = fail. |
| Reachable | A clear way to enquire | An enquiry form and a contact, quote or booking link. | One of the two = warning; neither = fail. We don't submit forms, so we can't confirm delivery. |
| Reachable | Booking or out-of-hours route | An online booking link, WhatsApp or live chat. | Form only = warning; nothing = fail. |
| Reachable | Works well on a phone | A viewport tag, and Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds in a Google PageSpeed lab test on a simulated mid-range phone. | 2.5 to 4 seconds = warning; slower, or no viewport = fail; test unavailable = not assessed. |
How the score is calculated
- Each check scores 1 for a pass, 0.5 for a warning and 0 for a fail.
- Each area's score is the average of its checks. The overall score weights the areas: findable 40%, understandable 35%, reachable 25%.
- A check that can't run (for example, the speed test times out) is marked “not assessed” and left out, never counted as a fail.
- Every report shows the date and time, the pages checked and the methodology version.
The AI-generated summary
Each report includes a short summary written by a named AI model from the text of the page we fetched. It shows how clearly your page states what you do, where you are and how to contact you. It is not evidence that ChatGPT, Google or any other assistant knows or recommends you, and it never affects your score. The page text is treated as untrusted data: the model has no tools and can't act on anything the page says.
What we deliberately don't score
- llms.txt. Google says it doesn't use llms.txt for Search or its AI features, so its absence costs nothing. See how AI assistants recommend businesses.
- Blocking AI training crawlers. Search crawlers and training crawlers are controlled separately, and opting out of training is a legitimate choice.
- Whether your forms deliver messages. We never submit forms, so we only check that a form exists.
Limits
The check looks at one public page at one moment. It can't judge your internal processes, data, staff or economics, which is what a paid AI readiness assessment covers. It isn't a measure of rankings or of how any AI assistant describes you. Lab speed tests can differ from real visitors' experience.
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