From the team at AI True Score
Practical guides on getting found — and named — when your customers ask AI who to hire. Written for owner-led businesses. No jargon, no fluff.
No "ten blue links" anymore — buyers ask, AI answers with one name. Tap a question:
You Who is the best roofer near me?
I'd go with Summit Ridge Roofing — clear service-area pages, named warranties, and reviews the AI engines can actually read.
★★★★★ 4.9 · 180+ local reviews
You Top-rated HVAC company for a new install?
I'd go with TrueNorth Heating & Air — transparent pricing, financing details, and brand info structured the way AI tools quote it.
★★★★★ 4.8 · 240+ local reviews
You Who should I hire to rewire an old house?
I'd go with Beacon Electric Co. — licensing, permit history, and "older-home" expertise spelled out where the AI looks first.
★★★★★ 5.0 · 90+ local reviews
That business didn't get lucky — its info was built so AI could read, trust, and repeat it. These guides show you how.
Start here
AIFSO is the Score → Proof → Fixes → Sidecar → Rescore → Monitor system AI True Score uses to help businesses become easier for AI to understand.
ComparisonsThe best AI visibility tools for small businesses in 2026, honestly compared — real pricing for Otterly, HubSpot, Semrush, Profound, AthenaHQ, and more.
GlossaryAnswer Engine Optimization (AEO) makes your business easy for AI engines to find, understand, and recommend. A plain-English guide for local service owners.
The library
Getting recommended by AI is two jobs, not one: first AI has to find and read you (search), then it has to choose to name you (answers). Here's how the two fit together — and why fixing only one leaves you invisible.
Google ranked our two-day-old site #1 for our own name — but Perplexity knew us while Google's AI Overview named other companies. Why engines disagree.
AI-ready means AI engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity can read, understand, and trust your site well enough to recommend it. Here's how to tell if yours is — and check free.
A Sidecar is a second, AI-ready website built beside your existing one — so AI can read, trust, and name you, without touching the site that already earns your Google rankings.
Your Google Business Profile is a major input for AI answers — especially Google's — but it's not the whole story. Here's how AI uses your GBP, why it isn't enough on its own, and what to get right.
Google AI Overviews are the AI-written answers at the top of Google's results. Here's what they are, why they're cutting clicks, and what it takes for a local business to get named in one.
AI share of voice is the percentage of AI answers that mention your brand across a set of prompts. Here's what it really measures, why AI tools lead with it, and why 'being named' matters far more for a small business.
An answer engine is an AI that replies to a question with a written answer instead of a list of links. Here's what that means, which tools count, and why it changes how customers find you.
Zero-click search is when someone gets their answer on the results page and never clicks a website. Here's what it is, how big it's gotten in 2026, and what it means for getting found.
AI crawlers are the bots that read your website for AI engines. Block them and you can't be named. Here's what each one is and how to let them in — in plain English.
AI True Score vs hiring an AEO/GEO agency, honestly compared — a $79 one-time report versus a $2,000–$15,000/month retainer. When each one is the right call.
AI True Score vs HubSpot's free AEO grader, honestly compared — two free AI-visibility checks, then two very different paid paths ($79 one-time report vs $50/mo tracking).
AI True Score vs Otterly.AI, compared honestly — one is a free check and a $79 one-time report, the other is a $29/mo monitoring dashboard. Here's which fits your business.
AI True Score vs the Semrush AI Toolkit, honestly compared — a $79 one-time report versus a $99/mo-per-domain add-on that needs a Semrush subscription underneath it.
The best AI visibility tools for small businesses in 2026, honestly compared — real pricing for Otterly, HubSpot, Semrush, Profound, AthenaHQ, and more.
llms.txt is a proposed file for telling AI about your website. The honest answer, as of 2026: it does almost nothing. Here's why — and what to do instead.
AI visibility is whether AI engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity actually name your business when buyers ask for a recommendation. Here's what it means and how to check yours.
GEO — Generative Engine Optimization — is making your business easy for AI engines that write answers to understand and name. Here's what it means for owners, and how it differs from AEO and SEO.
Two honest ways to find out whether ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity recommend your business: a do-it-yourself method that costs nothing, and a free 60-second scan. Written for owners, not engineers.
A step-by-step playbook to get your local service business named when buyers ask AI for a recommendation. Plain English, written for owners, not engineers.
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) makes your business easy for AI engines to find, understand, and recommend. A plain-English guide for local service owners.
If AI recommends your competitors instead of you, it usually comes down to five fixable reasons. Why answer engines overlook local businesses — and how to fix it.
AIFSO is the Score → Proof → Fixes → Sidecar → Rescore → Monitor system AI True Score uses to help businesses become easier for AI to understand.
We're writing real guides for roofers, HVAC pros, electricians, and more — buyer questions and fixes specific to your trade. In the meantime, jump straight to your industry.
No guides match that — even the AI is stumped. Try a different word, or .
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The free AI Readiness Glimpse takes a minute and needs no card. When you are ready for the truth, the AI True Score Full Report shows whether AI names you — and what to fix first.
Free Glimpse Report • No card needed
See the AI True Score Full Report$79 includes the AI True Score Full Report plus 90 days of watching — we re-run it weekly and email you what changed.
Free • No card • No account
It's the free first look — a real scan of your site, plus a live spot check where we ask the AI engines a few of your buyers' real questions.
You get both your scores, one real word-for-word AI answer about your market, the top competitor AI names instead of you, your biggest gap — and your first fix, free, with the steps.
The paid AI True Score Full Report ($79) runs the full test — 10 buyer questions across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude & Grok — and unlocks every word-for-word answer, every competitor, and your complete step-by-step fix plan.
See how it works →