How We Score
Every number on a BizScoreAI listing is measured against the live website and the public record. Nothing is self-reported, voted, or paid for. This page shows the exact formulas the site runs.
The BizScore
The BizScore is the large number on a listing. It is a weighted blend of five measured inputs, each on a 0 to 100 scale.
Google Rating is shown on its own circle and is not part of the BizScore. A business that is not on Google yet is not penalized for it.
The five score circles
Each circle is colored by the same four tiers, so a green circle means the same thing on every listing.
1. AI Visibility
Can an AI assistant such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google AI find, read and trust this website? Our scan engine runs every check against the live site and adds the points. Every check counts. There is no exclusion list.
| Category | Points | What is measured |
|---|---|---|
| AI Discovery | 25 | llms.txt present, AI crawlers allowed, no AI-content blocking. |
| Structured Data | 25 | Organization, FAQ and Speakable schema, AI-parseable headings. |
| Content Readiness | 30 | Question-and-answer content, content depth, direct-answer formatting, headings, list formatting. |
| AI Trust Signals | 20 | About and team page, XML sitemap, author signals, meta description, external citations, expert quotes. |
Letter grades on the AI Visibility report: A is 90 and above, B is 80, C is 70, D is 60, below 60 is F.
2. AI Agent Readiness
An AI agent visits the website the way a customer's assistant would and tries to complete six read-only tasks: find the phone number, the hours, the services, a way to make contact, the address, and a price. It opens pages and reads them. It never clicks buttons, fills forms or submits anything.
The score is the share of tasks the agent completed. A listing that has not been audited shows "Not audited yet" instead of a number.
3. SEO Score
A full technical audit of the website. The circle is the average of four sub-scores: On-Page, Technical, Performance and Content.
4. Local Citations
Whether the business is listed, with a matching name, address and phone number, on the major business directories. We search for each listing, then open the directory page and read the name, address and phone number off it to confirm it belongs to this business.
5. Google Rating
The public Google star rating, converted to a 0 to 100 scale by multiplying by 20. A 4.5-star business shows 90. This circle is informational and does not change the BizScore.
Profile Completeness
Inside the BizScore, not shown as a circle. The share of twelve core profile fields that are filled in: name, category, address, city, state, zip, phone, website, email, and Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram links. Claiming a listing and completing the profile raises it.
Rankings and badges
The "Top N%" label on a listing is its BizScore rank among every scored business in the same category.
Badge tiers are set by the BizScore alone: Gold at 90 and above, Silver at 75 and above. A score between 60 and 74 earns a private improvement note in the owner's dashboard, not a public badge. A rank badge within a category needs at least 10 scored competitors in the pool and a BizScore of 75 or higher, so a rank is never awarded for being first in a field of one.
What we never do
The evidence behind the checks
Our 125 checks are grouped into 9 categories. 71 of them are anchored to a published standard from a search engine, a standards body or a peer-reviewed study. The rest are documented heuristics and are labeled as such internally. We keep a local copy and an independent archive snapshot of every reference so the basis for a score stays available even if the original page goes offline. 14 of 14 references are archived this way today.
- GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (arXiv 2311.09735) (arXiv)
- Generative Engine Optimization: How to Dominate AI Search (arXiv 2509.08919) (arXiv)
- How Generative AI Disrupts Search: Google Search, Gemini, AI Overviews (arXiv 2604.27790) (arXiv)
- Measuring Google AI Overviews (arXiv 2605.14021) (arXiv)
- SAGEO Arena: Search-Augmented Generative Engine Optimization (arXiv 2602.12187) (arXiv)
- Google Business Profile - Improve Your Local Ranking (Google)
- Google Search Central - AI Features and Your Website (Google)
- Google Search Central - Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content (Google)
- Google Search Central - Introduction to Structured Data (Google)
- Google Search Central - SEO Starter Guide (Google)
- Backlinko - 11.8 Million Google Results Study (Backlinko)
- BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey (2026) (BrightLocal)
- Semrush Ranking Factors Study (Semrush)
- Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factors (2026) (Whitespark)
Check or improve your score
Run the free scan to see the AI Visibility checks for any website, or claim your listing to complete the profile, request a citation scan and run the AI Agent Readiness audit.
