Case Study: How We Improved Our AI Visibility Score by 40 Points

What if your website could go from being invisible to AI chatbots to becoming a go-to source — in just 90 days?

That's exactly what happened. Starting with an AI Visibility Score of 28, we implemented a systematic AI SEO strategy that pushed our score to 68 — a 40-point improvement. This case study breaks down exactly what we did, what worked (and what didn't), and how you can replicate these results for your own website.

The Starting Point: Score 28/100

When we first checked our AI visibility, the results were sobering. Despite having a decent Google ranking and organic traffic, AI chatbots barely acknowledged our existence.

Initial Diagnostics

What We Discovered

After analyzing our website against AI visibility best practices, we found several critical issues:

1. No llms.txt file — AI crawlers had no structured guide to our content
2. Minimal Schema markup — Only basic Open Graph tags were implemented
3. Thin content on key pages — Several important pages had fewer than 800 words
4. No FAQ sections — Missing the question-answer format AI models prefer
5. Outdated blog posts — 40% of our content hadn't been updated in over a year
6. No internal linking strategy — Pages existed in silos with no topical connections

Our 90-Day AI Visibility Strategy

We broke the improvement into three phases, each lasting 30 days.

Phase 1: Foundation (Days 1-30)

Goal: Fix technical gaps and establish AI-friendly infrastructure.

1. Created an llms.txt File

We added a comprehensive llms.txt file to our root directory:

# Our Website Name

> AI visibility and SEO optimization platform helping websites 
> get discovered by ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI.

## Core Pages

- [AI Visibility Checker](https://example.com/): Free tool to check 
  your AI visibility score across multiple platforms
- [Blog](https://example.com/blog): Expert guides on AI SEO, 
  AI visibility optimization, and AI search strategies

## Key Articles

- [What Is AI Visibility](https://example.com/blog/ai-visibility-guide): 
  Complete guide to understanding AI visibility scores
- [How to Optimize for ChatGPT](https://example.com/blog/chatgpt-seo): 
  Step-by-step ChatGPT SEO optimization guide
- [Perplexity SEO Guide](https://example.com/blog/perplexity-seo): 
  How to get cited by Perplexity AI

Impact: Within 2 weeks, Perplexity started citing us more frequently, likely because of the structured content guidance.

2. Implemented Comprehensive Schema Markup

We added structured data to all key pages:

Impact: Google AI Overviews began featuring our content within 3 weeks.

3. Optimized Meta Tags for AI

We rewrote all meta descriptions and titles to be AI-friendly:

Before:

<title>AI Visibility Checker | Our Tool</title>
<meta name="description" content="Check your website's AI visibility with our free tool.">

After:

<title>Free AI Visibility Checker: See If ChatGPT, Claude & Perplexity Cite Your Website</title>
<meta name="description" content="Check your AI Visibility Score across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI. Get a free, detailed report with actionable optimization tips in under 60 seconds.">

Key changes:

• Named specific AI platforms in titles and descriptions
• Added benefit-driven language
• Included action verbs and specific outcomes

Phase 1 Results: Score 28 → 38 (+10 points)

Phase 2: Content Enhancement (Days 31-60)

Goal: Create comprehensive, AI-citable content.

4. Rewrote Top Pages as Comprehensive Guides

We identified our 5 most important pages and expanded them into thorough guides:

Content optimization principles we followed:

1. Lead with the answer: First 1-2 paragraphs directly answer the core question
2. Use structured formats: Tables, numbered lists, comparison charts
3. Include original data: Statistics, benchmarks, and metrics AI models can cite
4. Add FAQ sections: 5-8 common questions with clear, concise answers
5. Internal linking: Connect to 3-5 related articles per page

5. Published 10 New AI SEO Articles

We created a content calendar targeting high-value AI SEO keywords:

6. Added FAQ Sections to Existing Pages

Every major page received an FAQ section with 5-8 questions. We used FAQPage schema markup so AI models could parse them easily.

Example FAQ structure:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is a good AI Visibility Score?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "A good AI Visibility Score is above 60, indicating your website is regularly cited by AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

Phase 2 Results: Score 38 → 55 (+17 points)

Phase 3: Authority Building (Days 61-90)

Goal: Establish topical authority and earn external validation.

7. Built Topical Content Clusters

We organized our content into 4 topic clusters:

Cluster 1: AI Visibility (Pillar Page)

• What is AI Visibility?
• AI Visibility Score Guide
• How to Check AI Visibility
• AI Visibility Case Study (this article)

Cluster 2: AI SEO Optimization (Pillar Page)

• AI SEO for Beginners
• AI SEO Tools Comparison
• AI SEO Mistakes to Avoid
• AI SEO Checklist

Cluster 3: Platform-Specific AI SEO (Pillar Page)

• ChatGPT SEO Guide
• Claude AI SEO
• Perplexity SEO
• Google AI Overviews SEO
• Microsoft Copilot SEO

Cluster 4: Technical AI SEO (Pillar Page)

• Schema Markup for AI
• llms.txt Guide
• Meta Tags for AI
• AI Crawlers Guide
• Robots.txt for AI

Each cluster had a comprehensive pillar page (3,000+ words) linking to 4-6 supporting articles.

8. Updated and Refreshed Old Content

We audited all existing content and:

• Updated statistics with current 2025 data
• Rewrote introductions to lead with direct answers
• Added new sections covering recent AI developments
• Fixed broken links and updated references
• Changed publication dates to reflect the update

Result: Updated articles saw a 60% increase in AI citations within 3 weeks.

9. Monitored Competitors and Filled Gaps

We tracked 5 competitors' AI visibility and identified content gaps:

10. Ensured AI Crawler Accessibility

We audited our robots.txt and server configurations:

# Our robots.txt (optimized for AI)

User-agent: *
Allow: /
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /private/

# AI Crawlers - explicitly allowed
User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /

User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /

User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

User-agent: Google-Extended
Allow: /

User-agent: Bytespider
Allow: /

# Sitemaps
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Phase 3 Results: Score 55 → 68 (+13 points)

Complete Results Summary

90-Day Transformation

Traffic Impact

What Worked Best (Ranked by Impact)

What Didn't Work (Lessons Learned)

❌ Keyword Stuffing in Meta Tags

We initially over-optimized meta descriptions with too many keywords. AI models and search engines both penalized this. Keep it natural and descriptive.

❌ Publishing Without Internal Links

Our first few new articles were published without linking to existing content. They performed significantly worse than later articles with proper internal linking.

❌ Focusing Only on ChatGPT

Early on, we concentrated on getting cited by ChatGPT and neglected Perplexity. We later found that Perplexity was actually easier to get citations from and drove more traffic.

❌ Ignoring Content Freshness

Articles that weren't updated lost citations over time. AI models prefer recent, current information.

Actionable Takeaways for Your Website

Based on our experience, here's a prioritized action plan:

Quick Wins (This Week)

1. Create an llms.txt file for your website
2. Add FAQ sections to your top 5 pages with FAQPage schema
3. Optimize your meta titles and descriptions to include AI platform names
4. Check your robots.txt to ensure AI crawlers aren't blocked

Medium-Term (This Month)

1. Expand your top 5 pages into comprehensive guides (2,000+ words)
2. Implement Article schema markup on all blog posts
3. Create 3-5 new articles targeting AI SEO keywords
4. Build internal links between related content

Long-Term (This Quarter)

1. Organize content into topic clusters with pillar pages
2. Establish a content refresh schedule (monthly reviews)
3. Monitor competitor AI visibility and fill content gaps
4. Track your AI Visibility Score monthly and iterate

Conclusion

Improving your AI Visibility Score by 40 points in 90 days is achievable with a systematic approach. The key insights from our experience:

• Technical foundation matters most — llms.txt, schema markup, and robots.txt optimization deliver the highest ROI
• Comprehensive content wins — AI models cite thorough, well-structured content over thin articles
• FAQs are powerful — Question-answer formats are perfectly aligned with how AI processes information
• Consistency beats intensity — Publishing 2-3 quality articles per week outperformed publishing 10 in a burst
• Monitor and adapt — AI search is evolving rapidly; what works today may need adjustment tomorrow

The AI search revolution isn't coming — it's already here. The websites that optimize for AI visibility now will have a significant advantage as more users turn to AI for information, recommendations, and decisions.

Check Your AI Visibility Score

Want to know where you stand? Get your free AI visibility report →

SeenByAI analyzes your website across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI to show you exactly how visible you are — and what to fix first.