AEO checklist and audit template
Work through six phases in order: make sure answer engines can access and read your pages, improve the content itself, clarify your entity with structured data, build third-party authority, fix local signals if you serve an area, and set up measurement. Each item below shows its effort and whether it rests on vendor documentation, research or practitioner practice.
Download the audit template (CSV) for spreadsheets. Evidence labels: Vendor-documented vendor documentation, Independent study independent research, Practitioner practice common practice without direct vendor confirmation.
| Done | Item | Effort | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Access and technical foundation | |||
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Medium | Independent study | |
| Guide | Medium | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| 2. Content | |||
| Guide | Low | Practitioner practice | |
| Guide | Medium | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Practitioner practice | |
| Guide | High | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Independent study | |
| Guide | Medium | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Medium | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| 3. Entity and structured data | |||
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Practitioner practice | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Medium | Practitioner practice | |
| 4. Authority and third parties | |||
| Guide | Medium | Practitioner practice | |
| Guide | Medium | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | High | Independent study | |
| Guide | Medium | Practitioner practice | |
| 5. Local (if applicable) | |||
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Medium | Practitioner practice | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| 6. Measurement | |||
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Low | Vendor-documented | |
| Guide | Medium | Practitioner practice | |
How to run an audit
- Pick 10–20 priority pages and 30–100 priority questions.
- Record a baseline: Search Console, Bing AI Performance, GA4 AI referrals, a prompt panel.
- Fix phase 1 first; access problems block everything else.
- Re-measure after 4–8 weeks.
Checkbox state stays in your browser tab only; nothing is saved or sent.
Frequently asked questions
How long until AEO changes show results?
Crawling and re-indexing can take days to weeks. Measure over 4 to 8 weeks, and longer for authority work.