The Complete GEO Checklist: Steps to Get Cited by AI

TL;DR

This is the complete GEO checklist: 36+ action items across 5 phases that take your website from invisible to AI search engines to regularly cited. Work through each phase in order — Foundation first, then Authority, Content, Distribution, and Monitoring. Basic setup takes 10 minutes; full optimization takes 2-4 weeks. For more on this, see our guide to Micro-Niches Win in AI Search: Why Specificity Beats Scale.

How Do I Use This Checklist?

Work through the 5 phases in order. Foundation must come first — AI can’t cite what it can’t access. Each subsequent phase builds on the previous one. Check off items as you complete them, and use the scoring table at the end to benchmark your progress.

Timeline expectations:

• Phase 1 (Foundation): 10-30 minutes
• Phase 2 (Authority): 1-3 hours
• Phase 3 (Content): 1-2 weeks (ongoing)
• Phase 4 (Distribution): 2-4 weeks (ongoing)
• Phase 5 (Monitoring): 30 minutes/week (ongoing)

Phase 1: Foundation — Make AI Able to Find You

This is the most critical phase. If AI crawlers can’t access your content, nothing else matters.

Robots.txt Configuration

• Allow GPTBot — OpenAI’s main crawler
• Allow ChatGPT-User — ChatGPT browsing mode
• Allow ClaudeBot — Claude’s browsing crawler
• Allow Anthropic-ai — Anthropic’s crawler
• Allow PerplexityBot — Perplexity AI’s crawler
• Allow Google-Extended — Google’s AI training crawler
• Allow CCBot — Common Crawl (feeds many AI models)
• Allow Bytespider — ByteDance’s crawler
• Allow Cohere-ai — Cohere’s crawler

Add explicit Allow rules for each crawler. If a crawler isn’t listed in your robots.txt, check whether a wildcard rule blocks it. The safest approach is explicit User-agent + Allow: / for each one.

Sitemap Configuration

• sitemap.xml exists and is valid — Include all important pages in standard XML sitemap format
• sitemap.xml referenced in robots.txt — Add Sitemap: https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml
• <lastmod> dates included — Helps crawlers prioritize fresh content
• Sitemap updated at least monthly — Remove dead pages, add new content

HTML and Rendering

• Content is in static HTML — Not loaded dynamically via JavaScript. AI bots do not execute JavaScript.
• View-source test passes — View the source of your most important pages. If you can’t see the content in raw HTML, neither can AI.
• Semantic HTML hierarchy — Proper <h1>, <h2>, <h3> structure. No skipped heading levels.
• No content behind login walls — AI crawlers don’t authenticate
• No content hidden in modals/tabs — If it’s not visible in the DOM on page load, AI can’t see it

Page Speed

• All pages load under 3 seconds — AI crawlers timeout on slow pages
• Minimal render-blocking resources — Defer non-critical JavaScript and CSS
• CDN configured — Global accessibility for crawlers worldwide
• Server uptime >99.5% — Crawlers that hit downtime may not return quickly

Phase 1 check: After completing these items, view-source your 5 most important pages. If you can read all the content in raw HTML, and your robots.txt allows all 9 AI crawlers, Foundation is complete. Our Content Formats That Get AI Citations guide covers this in detail.

Phase 2: Authority — Make AI Trust You

When conflicting information exists, AI picks the most authoritative source. This phase establishes your credibility.

AI Identity

• ai-identity.json created — Place at /.well-known/ai-identity.json with your company name, description, founding date, key facts (with numbers), credentials, and citation policy
• Citation policy set to allow — Include "allow_citation": true with your preferred name and URL

Structured Data (JSON-LD)

• Organization schema on homepage — Company name, logo, founding date, social profiles
• WebSite schema on homepage — Site name, URL, search action
• Author schema on all content pages — Author name, credentials, links to author page
• FAQ schema on FAQ pages — Structured question + answer pairs matching visible content
• Article schema on blog posts — Headline, author, publication date, description

E-E-A-T Signals

• Author bios on all content pages — Real people with real credentials, not “Admin” or “Staff”
• Detailed About page — Company history, team members, mission, expertise areas
• Contact page with real information — Physical address, phone number, email
• Awards and certifications displayed — On homepage and about page
• Client logos and testimonials — With real names and companies

External Validation

• At least 3 external sites link to you — Backlinks from relevant, authoritative sources
• Links TO authoritative sources in your content — Cite studies, official documentation, research papers
• Consistent NAP across the web — Name, Address, Phone matching everywhere your brand appears

Phase 2 check: Ask ChatGPT “What is [your company]?” If it returns accurate information, your authority signals are working. If it hallucinates or says it doesn’t know, strengthen this phase. As we discuss in AI Overview Ranking Factors: Get Into Google AI, this is a critical factor.

Phase 3: Content — Make AI Want to Quote You

This is where most GEO effort goes. Your content must be structured for AI extraction.

Atomic Paragraph Structure

• All key paragraphs under 80 words — One idea per paragraph, independently quotable
• Answer front-loaded in first sentence — No “In today’s digital age…” introductions. Start with the definition, number, or insight.
• Question-style H2 headings — “What Is [Topic]?” not “Introduction.” Match how users query AI.
• Question-style H3 subheadings — Drill into subtopics with specific micro-questions
• Bold key statements — Visual hierarchy helps AI identify main points

Content Formats

• At least one comparative listicle — “Top 10 [X] for [Y] in 2026” — highest citation format (32.5% of all AI citations)
• FAQ sections on key pages — 4-6 questions per page matching real user queries, with FAQPage schema
• How-to guides with numbered steps — Each step 10-20 words, independently extractable
• Comparison tables where relevant — Feature, pricing, or performance comparisons with clear labels

Content Quality

• Homepage has specific, factual statements — Not marketing fluff. Include numbers, dates, specifics.
• At least one unique data point — Proprietary statistic, survey result, or original research
• At least one “Complete Guide” resource — Definitive, comprehensive content on your core topic
• Short paragraphs throughout — 2-3 sentences maximum for all content, not just key pages
• Key facts in bold — Help AI and humans identify critical information
• Comparison tables where relevant — Structured data AI can extract cell-by-cell

Freshness

• All content updated within last 6 months — Stale content loses citation probability
• Current year in titles where appropriate — “Complete Guide to [Topic] in 2026”
• <lastmod> dates current in sitemap — Reflects actual update dates
• Quarterly content review scheduled — Calendar reminder to review and refresh all content

URL and Meta

• Semantic URL slugs — /guides/geo-checklist not /page?id=123
• Meta descriptions answer the query directly — Not teasers. Write the answer in the meta description.
• Title tags include primary keyword — Clear, under 60 characters, naturally worded

Phase 3 check: Take your most important page. Paste each section into ChatGPT and ask: “Answer this question using one sentence from the text.” If AI extracts a clean answer from sentence one of each section, your content is ready.

Phase 4: Distribution — Make AI See You Everywhere

Consensus drives AI confidence. Your content needs corroboration across the web.

• Brand mentioned on Wikipedia (if notable) — Even a mention in a relevant article helps
• Brand discussed on Reddit — Participate authentically in relevant subreddits
• Brand mentioned on industry forums/publications — Guest posts, interviews, mentions
• Consistent company name/description across all platforms — Same name, same description, everywhere
• At least one press mention or third-party review — Independent validation matters
• Active content publishing schedule — Weekly or biweekly new content to signal ongoing relevance
• Social media profiles link back to main site — LinkedIn, Twitter/X, YouTube with links to your domain

Phase 4 check: Search “[your brand name]” across Google, Reddit, and LinkedIn. If you appear consistently with the same name and description, and at least 3-5 external sources mention you, distribution is working. If you want to go deeper, Content Hub Strategy for Search & AI breaks this down step by step.

Phase 5: Monitoring — Track and Maintain AI Citations

GEO is not set-and-forget. Regular monitoring catches regressions and identifies opportunities.

Weekly Monitoring

• Test “What is [your company]?” in ChatGPT — Check if cited, check accuracy
• Test “What is [your company]?” in Perplexity — Check if cited, check accuracy
• Test “What is [your company]?” in Google AI Overviews — Check if cited, check accuracy
• Verify citation accuracy — Right facts? Right URL? Right company name?

Monthly Monitoring

• Track citation count trends — Are citations growing month-over-month?
• Check content freshness — Any pages with stale dates? Update them.
• Review new AI crawlers — New bots may need robots.txt entries

Quarterly Monitoring

• Full content audit — Review all content for accuracy, freshness, and structure
• Technical regression check — Verify robots.txt, sitemap, schema still valid
• Competitive analysis — Who is getting cited instead of you? What are they doing differently?
• GEO score benchmark — Track composite score over time

Alert Setup

• Alert for GEO score drops >5 points — Investigate immediately when scores decline
• Alert for citation accuracy issues — AI citing wrong facts about your brand
• Alert for new competitor citations — Track when competitors gain citations in your space

How Do I Score My GEO Readiness?

Count the completed checks and use this table to benchmark your current status:

Target: 26+ checks for regular AI citations. Most sites start at 8-15 checks — findable but not cited. The biggest gains come from Phase 1 (Foundation) and Phase 3 (Content).

What Are the Highest-Impact Items?

If you can only do 10 things, do these — they deliver the most citation improvement per effort: (We explore this further in GEO for Personal Brands: Get AI to Recommend You.)

1. Allow all 9 AI crawlers in robots.txt (Phase 1) — Takes 5 minutes, prevents total invisibility
2. Ensure content is in static HTML, not JavaScript (Phase 1) — The #1 technical blocker
3. Add question-style H2 headings (Phase 3) — 2-3x citation improvement
4. Front-load answers in first sentence (Phase 3) — Matches how AI extracts content
5. Keep paragraphs under 80 words (Phase 3) — 2-5x more citations than long paragraphs
6. Add FAQPage schema markup (Phase 2) — Highest citation rate for Q&A content
7. Create one comparative listicle (Phase 3) — 32.5% of all AI citations come from this format
8. Update timestamps to current year (Phase 3) — Fresh content gets cited more
9. Add ai-identity.json (Phase 2) — Declares your identity to AI in structured format
10. Test brand queries weekly (Phase 5) — Catches problems before they compound

These 10 items cover the highest-impact actions across all 5 phases. Complete them first, then work through the rest of the checklist.

What’s the Fastest Path to First AI Citation?

The absolute fastest path follows three steps:

Step 1 (10 minutes): Fix Foundation. Allow AI crawlers in robots.txt. Verify your content appears in view-source (no JS dependency). This relates closely to what we cover in How to Run a GEO Competitor Analysis.

Step 2 (30 minutes): Restructure one page. Pick your most important topic. Rewrite with question-style H2s, atomic paragraphs (under 80 words, answer-first), and add FAQ section with schema.

Step 3 (ongoing): Build consensus. Get your brand mentioned on 3-5 external sites. Participate in Reddit discussions, publish on LinkedIn, get a press mention or third-party review. For more on this, see our guide to How to Build a GEO Content Strategy from Scratch.

AI engines index new content within 48-72 hours. With proper structure and consensus signals, first citations typically appear within 1-3 months.

Key Takeaways

• The GEO checklist has 36+ items across 5 phases: Foundation → Authority → Content → Distribution → Monitoring
• Foundation is non-negotiable — if AI crawlers can’t access your content, nothing else matters
• Basic setup takes 10 minutes (robots.txt + HTML check); full optimization takes 2-4 weeks
• The 10 highest-impact items deliver the most citation improvement per effort — start there
• Target 26+ completed checks for regular AI citations (GEO score ~70-85)
• Review monthly for freshness, quarterly for full audit, weekly for citation monitoring
• First AI citations appear within 1-3 months of proper implementation
• GEO is not set-and-forget — ongoing monitoring and content freshness are essential for sustained citations