Fundamentals

What is a GEO Score? (And Why Yours Might Be Hurting Your Business)

Understand what a GEO score measures, why it matters for AI search visibility, and how to interpret and improve your score for better AI citations.

Cited TeamJanuary 2, 20267 min read
What is a GEO Score? (And Why Yours Might Be Hurting Your Business)

Key Takeaways

  • A GEO score (0-100) measures how well your site is optimized for AI search engines
  • The average website scores just 38/100, leaving significant opportunity
  • Scores below 50 mean you're essentially invisible to AI systems
  • Five factors determine your score: accessibility, schema, content structure, authority, and quality
  • Quick wins like fixing robots.txt can improve scores by 15+ points immediately

What is a GEO Score?

Last updated: January 2026

A GEO score is a measurement of how well your website is optimized for AI search engines and language models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Scored on a scale of 0-100, it evaluates the factors that determine whether AI systems can find, understand, and cite your content.

Think of it this way: Just as traditional SEO scores predict Google rankings, your GEO score predicts AI search visibility.

What Does a GEO Score Measure?

A comprehensive GEO score evaluates 50+ factors across five categories:

1. Technical Accessibility (20% of score)

  • AI crawler access (robots.txt)
  • Page load speed
  • JavaScript rendering
  • Mobile compatibility
  • SSL/HTTPS status

2. Structured Data (25% of score)

  • Schema markup implementation
  • Organization schema
  • FAQ schema
  • Article schema
  • Breadcrumb schema

3. Content Structure (25% of score)

  • Question-based headings
  • Direct answer format
  • Content extractability
  • Heading hierarchy
  • FAQ sections

4. Authority Signals (15% of score)

  • Author information
  • Company credentials
  • Publication dates
  • Source citations
  • Testimonials/reviews

5. Content Quality (15% of score)

  • Specificity and facts
  • Comprehensiveness
  • Freshness
  • Originality
  • Readability

What the Scores Mean

Score Range
Rating
AI Visibility Status
-------------
--------
---------------------
0-30
Critical
Essentially invisible to AI
31-50
Poor
Rarely cited, major issues
51-70
Average
Occasional citations, room to improve
71-85
Good
Regular citations, fine-tuning needed
86-100
Excellent
Frequently cited, maintain status
The average website scores just 38/100, meaning most businesses are leaving massive AI visibility opportunities on the table.

Why Your GEO Score Matters

AI Search Is Growing Fast

  • 40% of Gen Z prefers AI chatbots over Google (Gartner, 2025)
  • AI search queries growing 400% year-over-year (Semrush, 2025)
  • 65% of Google searches now include AI Overviews
  • Traditional search traffic expected to drop 25% by 2027

If your GEO score is low, you're invisible to this growing audience.

Low Scores Mean Lost Business

When potential customers ask AI about your industry:

  • They get recommendations (not including you)
  • They learn about competitors (who are optimized)
  • They make decisions (without your input)

A low GEO score isn't just a metric—it's lost revenue.

Competitors Are Optimizing

The businesses investing in GEO now will dominate AI search results. Once they're established as trusted sources, it becomes harder for newcomers to displace them.

How to Check Your GEO Score

The fastest way to know your GEO score is to run a free audit:

→ Get Your Free GEO Score Now

In 90 seconds, you'll see:

  • Your overall GEO score (0-100)
  • Category breakdown (where you're strong/weak)
  • Specific issues affecting your score
  • Prioritized recommendations

Common Reasons for Low Scores

Score 0-30: Critical Issues

Likely problems:
  • Blocking AI crawlers in robots.txt
  • No schema markup at all
  • Content rendered only via JavaScript
  • No clear organizational identity
Priority fix: Check robots.txt immediately

Score 31-50: Major Gaps

Likely problems:
  • Missing key schema types
  • Content not structured for extraction
  • No author or date information
  • Thin or outdated content
Priority fix: Add Organization and FAQ schema

Score 51-70: Optimization Needed

Likely problems:
  • Incomplete schema implementation
  • Some content not question-formatted
  • Weak E-E-A-T signals
  • Inconsistent formatting
Priority fix: Restructure key pages for AI extraction

Score 71-85: Fine-Tuning

Likely problems:
  • Minor schema gaps
  • Some pages underoptimized
  • Could strengthen authority signals
  • Content freshness issues
Priority fix: Audit all pages and fill gaps

How to Improve Your GEO Score

Quick Wins (Same Day)

  1. Ensure robots.txt allows AI crawlers (+5-15 points)
  2. Add Organization schema to homepage (+3-5 points)
  3. Add dates to blog posts (+2-3 points)

Medium Effort (1-2 Weeks)

  1. Implement FAQ schema on relevant pages (+5-10 points)
  2. Add author information to content (+3-5 points)
  3. Restructure one key page with Q&A format (+3-5 points)

Comprehensive (1-2 Months)

  1. Full schema implementation across site (+10-20 points)
  2. Content restructuring for all key pages (+10-15 points)
  3. Authority building (testimonials, credentials) (+5-10 points)

Get Your Detailed Fix Plan

A free audit shows your score. The Full GEO Report ($99) provides:

  • Complete analysis of all 50+ factors
  • Specific fix instructions for every issue
  • Code snippets you can copy-paste
  • Priority ranking (what to fix first)
  • Progress tracking checklist

Most websites improve their GEO score by 30-50 points within 8 weeks of following the report recommendations.

→ Check Your GEO Score Now

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I check my GEO score?

Check your GEO score monthly or after making significant website changes. AI systems and their evaluation criteria evolve, so regular monitoring ensures you maintain visibility and catch any issues early.

Is a GEO score the same as an SEO score?

No, they measure different things. SEO scores predict Google rankings based on backlinks, keywords, and technical factors. GEO scores predict AI citation likelihood based on content structure, schema markup, and extractability. A site can score well on one and poorly on the other.

What's a good GEO score for my industry?

Any score above 70 is considered good across industries. However, what matters most is how you compare to competitors. If competitors score 60 and you score 75, you'll likely get cited more often. Run audits on competitor sites to benchmark.

Can I improve my GEO score without technical skills?

Many improvements don't require technical skills—adding author info, updating dates, restructuring content. However, schema markup implementation typically requires basic HTML knowledge or developer assistance. Our Full Report includes copy-paste code to simplify technical changes.

Topics

GEO score
AI visibility
website audit
optimization metrics

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