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Blog GEO -- AI Citation Optimization Audit

Scores blog posts for AI citation readiness across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Generates citation capsules and a 0-100 AI Citation Readiness score with platform-specific recommendations.

Key Research Data

Reference these benchmarks throughout the audit:

• Only 11% of domains cited by both ChatGPT and Perplexity
• 80% of LLM citations don't rank in Google's top 100 (Ahrefs)
• Brands 6.5x more likely cited through third-party sources (AirOps)
• 120-180 word sections get 70% more ChatGPT citations (SE Ranking, Nov 2025)
• Comparison tables with <thead> achieve 47% higher AI citation rates
• Content freshness: 76.4% of top citations updated within 30 days (Ahrefs)

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)
• Any TL;DR or summary boxes
• Comparison tables and their HTML structure

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

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	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

Step 4: Entity Clarity (3 pts)

Check	Criteria
Canonical topic	One unambiguous primary topic per page
Consistent naming	Same entity name used throughout
Intro statement	Clear topic statement in the introduction paragraph

Step 5: Content Structure for Extraction (3 pts)

Check	Criteria
TL;DR box	40-60 word standalone summary present at top
Comparison tables	Tables with proper HTML <thead> (47% higher citation rate)
Ordered lists	Numbered lists for processes and step-by-step instructions
Citation capsules	40-60 word definitive statements in each major section

Step 6: AI Crawler Accessibility (2 pts)

Check	Criteria
Static HTML	Content rendered in static HTML, not behind JavaScript
robots.txt	Allows AI crawlers: GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot
Schema in HTML	Schema markup in static HTML, not JS-injected

Step 7: Platform-Specific Analysis

ChatGPT

• Favors "Best X" listicles (43.8% of citations)
• Recency matters -- recent updates get priority
• Domain authority influences citation likelihood

Perplexity

• Favors Reddit sources (6.6% of all citations)
• Rapid content decay: 2-3 day citation window
• Freshness is the most critical factor

Google AI Overviews

• High Domain Rating strongly correlated with citation
• Present in 49% of SERPs
• Prefers content that already ranks well organically

Step 8: Generate Citation Capsules

For each H2 section, write a citation capsule:

• Length: 40-60 words, self-contained
• Structure: Specific claim + data point + source attribution

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

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

Rating thresholds:

• 90-100: Excellent
• 70-89: Good
• 50-69: Needs Work
• Below 50: Poor

Step 10: Generate Report

## AI Citation Readiness Report: [Title]

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

### Score Breakdown
| Category | Raw | Display | Max |
|----------|-----|---------|-----|

### Per-Section Citability Analysis
| Section (H2) | Word Count | Self-Contained | Claim+Evidence | Citable |

### Platform-Specific Optimization

### Generated Citation Capsules

### Priority Action Items