A GEO audit API scores how ready a page is to be read and cited by AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google's AI Overviews. GEO stands for generative engine optimization. It overlaps with SEO, but it asks a different question: not "will this page rank?" but "can a model understand this page well enough to quote it?"

What a GEO audit checks

Our /geo/audit endpoint runs 26 checks. They fall into a few groups:

  • Can AI crawlers reach it? Whether robots.txt blocks the common AI user agents, and whether an llms.txt file exists.
  • Is the content readable without scripts? A page that only fills in after JavaScript runs may look empty to a crawler.
  • Is it structured? Clear headings, lists, tables, and schema markup that says what the page is about.
  • Is it quotable? Whether the page leads with its key facts, answers questions directly, and has enough substance to cite.
  • Is it credible? Named authors, dates, and sources.

The GEO guide explains each area and how to fix it.

Calling it

curl "https://seoscoreapi.com/geo/audit?url=https://example.com" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY"

The response has a score, a grade, the checks by category, and recommendations. Each recommendation includes a plain_english sentence and a who_fixes_it tag, so it can go straight into a client report.

Every standard /audit response also includes an ai_readability block with its own score and recommendations, and paid plans get aeo and aio scores for answer-engine and AI optimization. If you only need a quick signal, that block may be enough. The full GEO audit goes deeper.

GEO audit vs SEO audit

SEO audit GEO audit
Question Will this page rank and get clicked? Can an AI assistant read and cite it?
Looks at Titles, meta, links, speed, mobile Crawler access, structure, quotable content, credibility
Typical fix Add a meta description Lead the page with the answer

Most sites need both. A page can rank well and still be skipped by AI answers because its main facts are buried in the fifth paragraph.

Where an API helps

  • Agencies: add a GEO score to the monthly report next to the SEO score.
  • Content teams: check a draft's page before it is published.
  • Developers: fail a build when an AI crawler is blocked by mistake, which happens more often than you'd think after a robots.txt change.

Limits

The full GEO audit is on the Basic plan ($15/month) and above, with a monthly allowance that grows with the plan. The ai_readability block in the standard audit is on every plan, including the free tier.

Frequently asked questions

Is GEO the same as AEO?

They overlap. AEO (answer engine optimization) focuses on being the direct answer to a question. GEO is the wider practice of being readable and citable by generative AI.

Does a good GEO score guarantee citations?

No. It means nothing on the page is stopping a model from reading and quoting it. Whether it gets cited also depends on the topic and the competition.

Can I track whether AI assistants actually cite my site?

Yes, separately. See AI citation tracking.