Prd V09 Aeo Audit Skill for Claude

AEO Audit (AI Search Discoverability)

Position in workflow: v0.9 Launch Channels (ORB) → v0.9 AEO Audit → v0.9 Alternatives Pages, Launch Metrics

Execution Mode

Default is standard. See .claude/rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md for selection logic.

| Mode | What this skill produces |

|------|--------------------------|

| quick | 5 target queries × 2 AI surfaces (ChatGPT + Perplexity); top 3 gaps with fixes |

| standard | 10–15 queries × 3–4 AI surfaces; full Coverage Matrix; ranked fix backlog |

| deep | 20–30 queries × all major surfaces; per-surface citation analysis; structured-data audit; before/after re-test plan |

What This Does

Tests whether AI search engines surface, recommend, and accurately describe the product when a target customer asks a relevant question. AEO (answer-engine optimization) and GEO (generative-engine optimization) are the post-SEO distribution layer — when ChatGPT/Perplexity/AI Overviews answer a buyer's question, the product either is in the answer or isn't.

This is a diagnostic skill. It produces a gap map and a ranked fix backlog. The fixes are executed by prd-v09-alternatives-pages, content updates, and structured-data work — not by this skill.

How It Works

• Build a query set — From the Positioning best-fit characteristics (jobs to be done, triggers, search intent), generate target queries an actual best-fit buyer would type. Mix high-intent ("best X for Y"), comparison ("X vs Y"), and category ("what is X").
• Run each query against AI surfaces — At minimum: ChatGPT (free tier — what the median buyer sees), Perplexity, Google AI Overviews. Deep mode adds Claude, Brave Search, Kagi. Save raw responses with timestamps.
• Score each result on five dimensions:
• Mentioned? (yes / no)
• Position in recommendation list (1st, 2nd, not listed)
• Description accuracy (matches positioning vs. miscategorized vs. wrong)
• Competitive frame (which alternatives are listed alongside)
• Citation sources (which URLs/domains the AI cited to build the answer)
• Identify the gap pattern:
• Absence gaps — product not mentioned at all
• Category gaps — mentioned in the wrong category (positioning failure)
• Citation gaps — answer is built from sources the product doesn't appear in (need to be on those sources)
• Comparison gaps — competitor wins the comparison query because comparison content doesn't exist on your side
• Propose ranked fixes — Each fix maps to a specific gap type:
• Absence → content on best-fit query intent, JSON-LD structured data, citation-source targets
• Category → positioning content (handoff to Positioning skill)
• Citation → outreach/contribution to high-citation sources (G2, Reddit, blog posts on cited domains)
• Comparison → handoff to prd-v09-alternatives-pages

Example

A best-fit buyer types "best CRO tool for early-stage SaaS founders" into ChatGPT. Result:

| Surface | Mentioned? | Position | Accuracy | Citations |

|---------|-----------|----------|----------|-----------|

| ChatGPT | No | n/a | n/a | 5 sources, none ours |

| Perplexity | Yes | 4th of 5 | "an analytics tool" (wrong category) | Sources include our pricing page only |

| AI Overviews | No | n/a | n/a | G2, Reddit r/SaaS, two competitor blog posts |

Gaps identified:

• Absence in ChatGPT — no high-intent landing for this query
• Category miscoding in Perplexity — we're being summarized as "analytics", not "CRO"
• Citation gap — we don't appear in G2 or r/SaaS threads about CRO

Ranked fixes:

• Publish CRO-anchored guide (prd-v09-alternatives-pages handles competitor variants)
• Rewrite product schema (JSON-LD) with the Dunford category claim
• Outreach to G2 (claim profile, request reviews) and post a substantive thread in r/SaaS

What You Get Back

• GTM-AEO-\* entries — one per query × surface gap, with the proposed fix and ranking
• Coverage Matrix (single GTM-* with Type=Audit) — full query × surface × status table
• Fix backlog — ranked list with handoff target skills

When to Use It

| Trigger | Mode |

|---------|------|

| Pre-launch sanity check (before paid channels activate) | quick |

| Standard launch wave audit | standard |

| Quarterly retention/competitive intelligence review | deep |

| After major positioning change (re-test) | standard |

| When organic signups stall and paid CAC rises | deep |

Do not run before Positioning is complete — without a sharpened category claim, every "miscategorized" result is unfixable.

Consumes

• GTM-\* positioning statement + category claim (from v0.9 Positioning) — Defines what "accurate description" looks like; without this, scoring is opinion
• CFD-\* competitive alternatives (from v0.2) — Source for comparison-intent queries
• PER-\* best-fit characteristics (sharpened by Positioning) — Source for query intent
• GTM-\* channel mix (from v0.9 Launch Channels) — AEO is a channel; surfaces tested should match best-fit channel use

Produces

• GTM-AEO-\* entries with Type=AEO-Recommendation, one per gap-fix pair
• GTM-\* with Type=Audit — the Coverage Matrix
• Fix backlog — handoff list referencing prd-v09-alternatives-pages, Positioning re-run, content production tickets

Confidence guidance (P4): AEO scoring is 3/5 minimum because it's based on observed AI responses, not opinion. Quick mode may produce 2/5 outputs (limited sampling) and must tag them.

Output Template

GTM-AEO-XXX: [Gap Title]
Type: AEO-Recommendation
Status: Open
Priority: [High | Medium | Low]
Owner: [Person / role]

Query: "[the exact query]"
Surface: [ChatGPT | Perplexity | AI Overviews | Claude | Brave | Kagi]
Date observed: [YYYY-MM-DD]

Result summary:
  Mentioned? [yes | no]
  Position: [#]
  Accuracy: [matches positioning | miscategorized | wrong]
  Competitive frame: [list of alternatives shown]
  Citation sources: [URLs/domains used]

Gap type: [Absence | Category | Citation | Comparison]

Proposed fix:
  - [Specific action 1]
  - [Specific action 2]

Handoff: [Target skill or owner — e.g., prd-v09-alternatives-pages, content team]

Re-test: [Date to verify fix]

Linked IDs: GTM-YYY (positioning), CFD-ZZZ (competitor), PER-AAA (best-fit)

GTM-XXX: AEO Coverage Matrix
Type: Audit
Status: Snapshot — [YYYY-MM-DD]

| Query | ChatGPT | Perplexity | AI Overviews | Gap Type |
|-------|---------|------------|--------------|----------|
| ... | ✓ #2 | ✗ | ✗ | Absence (2 surfaces) |
| ... | ✗ | ✓ #4 (miscat) | ✗ | Category + Absence |

Total queries: X
Coverage rate: Y% (mentioned in any surface)
Accurate-description rate: Z% (mentioned AND correctly described)

Linked IDs: All GTM-AEO-* entries above

Anti-Patterns

| Pattern | Signal | Fix |

|---------|--------|-----|

| Vanity queries | Auditing "best [exact product name]" — you'll always win that one | Use buyer-intent queries the buyer would actually type |

| No timestamp / no re-test | Results saved but never re-tested | AI surfaces change; re-test every fix within 2 weeks |

| Surface monoculture | Only testing ChatGPT | Each surface has different model/data; minimum 3 surfaces |

| Fix all gaps equally | 20 gaps, parallel work, no ranking | Rank by query buyer-intent strength × surface adoption |

| Treating absence as failure | "We're not in any results — game over" | Absence is often the easiest fix (publish high-intent content); category miscoding is the harder one |

| Skipping citation analysis | Knowing you're absent but not why | Citation sources reveal *where* you need to appear |

Quality Gates

Before proceeding to fix execution:

• [ ] At least 5 queries tested (quick) / 10–15 (standard) / 20+ (deep)
• [ ] At least 3 AI surfaces sampled (standard+)
• [ ] Every gap has a typed classification (Absence / Category / Citation / Comparison)
• [ ] Every gap has a proposed fix with a handoff target
• [ ] Coverage Matrix exists and is dated
• [ ] Fix backlog is ranked

Downstream Connections

| Consumer | What it uses | Example |

|----------|--------------|---------|

| Alternatives Pages | Comparison-gap fixes become alternatives-page targets | "X vs us" comparison gap → SCR-ALT- page |

| Positioning (re-run) | Category-coding gaps signal positioning weakness | Recurring miscategorization → re-run prd-v09-positioning-dunford |

| Launch Metrics | Coverage Matrix becomes a KPI baseline | KPI-AEO-coverage% |

| v1.0 Continuous Discovery | Recurring gap patterns inform discovery questions | "Users keep finding competitor X — why?" |

Detailed References

• Sanity team's seo-aeo-best-practices skill (VoltAgent index)
• Princeton AI Search benchmark studies
• (No bundled references/ — AI surfaces change too quickly to canonize)