When AI answers your customers, is your business in the answer?
Last updated: May 2026
Search is changing. Your customers are asking ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews for recommendations, not trawling through ten blue links. An AI Visibility Audit tells you if you are in those answers, and shows you how to get there if you are not.
AI is now 56% the size of search worldwide. Source: HubSpot AEO research, May 2026.
In short
An AI Visibility Audit is a structured 5-day diagnostic that tests whether your business appears in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, when buyers ask category-defining questions. It scores 16 priority queries across answer engines, measures your Citation Share and Citation Mix versus three named competitors, and delivers a 90-day fix plan you can act on the same week.
Two things happen. Only one is good for you.
Right now, when someone asks an AI tool "who is the best specialist insurance broker in the UK?" or "recommend a UK broker for commercial cover," one of two things happens.
Your business shows up in the answer, and you get the introduction.
Or a competitor shows up, and you never knew they were even in the running.
This is AI Visibility. Sometimes called Answer Engine Optimisation or AEO inside the SEO industry, but most UK service businesses have no idea how they score either way. The signals that drive traditional SEO (Google rankings, keywords, backlinks) are not the same signals that drive answer engine results. Being on page one of Google is no longer enough.
Five questions that decide whether AI sees you
Pass three, you're competitive. Pass all five, you're winning. The audit scores them against your live site.
- 1
Can an AI engine read what you do?
One-sentence summary on the homepage, or you're invisible. - 2
Are buyer questions actually answered on your site?
If the question isn't in your FAQ, the AI cites someone else's. - 3
Does your site signal credibility a machine can verify?
Trading history, FCA status, offices, reviews, trade press. None of it counts unless it's marked up and echoed by third parties. - 4
Are you visible in the right geography?
Offices the AI doesn't know about are silent assets. - 5
Are you publishing things worth citing?
Original data, real numbers, named customer stories. Brochure copy doesn't make the cut.
Want the full version? Read the long-form explainer: What is an AI Visibility Audit?
What we found in the wild
A composite pattern from recent audits of established UK specialist insurance brokers. Excellent businesses, with a different story on screen.
7 / 16
brand-critical queries returned the business.
6.3 / 10
SEO score. Functional but unoptimised.
4.0 / 10
AEO score. Significant gaps in answer engine packaging.
Not a visibility problem. A packaging problem. They win where the buyer already knows what they want, and disappear everywhere the buyer is still deciding.
Want the full story, with the sector-by-sector pattern and the 90-day fix? Read the POV: AI Visibility for UK brokers and claims businesses →
What you get
What you get for free, before you buy
Free AI Visibility Snapshot pack
Two-page Snapshot, one-page Results sheet covering the full 16-query Share of Voice test, plus the AI Visibility Jargon Buster. Sent on request, no commitment, ahead of any paid work.
What you get when you buy the full audit
Executive Summary
Two-page read for the board. Where you rank, why it matters, what to do first. Built for non-technical leadership.
Full Audit Report
13-category SEO scoring, 8-category AEO scoring, Share of Voice across 16 priority queries, Citation Share, and Citation Mix in your category. Plus a 90-day fix plan, prioritised.
AI Visibility Evidence
Screenshots and transcripts of every query we ran, so you can see exactly what AI is saying about you. Or not saying.
How it works
Agree the queries
We agree the 16 priority queries with you. Your brand, your services, your sector, and three key competitors. Where Google Search Console access is available, we ground the queries in your actual buyer language rather than assumed prompts. Otherwise we build them from sector and competitor analysis.
Run the audit
Live site crawl, Share of Voice test across answer engines, and full category scoring.
Pack delivered + walkthrough call
The four-document pack lands in your inbox. We then book a 45-minute walkthrough call to talk you through the findings and the 90-day fix plan.
Optional monitoring
Monitor & Tweak picks up from the baseline, re-scans your queries every month, and sends a one-page update with fresh recommendations.
Your own AI Visibility Portal
Every client, from the audit onward, gets their own live dashboard, scoped to their business. It is where you watch the fix land, not a spreadsheet you have to chase.
This is not a vanity metrics tool. It is where you watch the work we are doing actually land. The audit is the diagnosis. The portal is how you live with the fix, see the climb, and know exactly what we are working on and why.
What it shows
Mentions and citations
Across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, tracked week on week.
Share of voice
Your share versus the three named competitors from your audit.
Search health
Indexation, crawl coverage and the SEO signals that feed AI answers.
Striking Distance opportunities
Queries you nearly rank for. the fastest path to first citations.
Shared action plan
The 90-day fix plan, live. What we are working on, what is done, what is next.
AI bot-crawl detection
GPTBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot visit counts on your site.
Portal previews coming once client-view gating ships.
The 90-day citation cadence
Want the routine that earns the citations? Here is the exact 90-day cadence we run for clients and for ourselves. Two hours a week, twelve weeks, four channels, around a dozen earned citations across LinkedIn, Reddit, trade press and podcasts.
The full Monday-to-Friday routine, the month-by-month milestones, and how to measure lift, all on one crawlable page.
Who this is for
UK service SMEs between £1m and £50m turnover in sectors where customers are actively comparing options. Insurance broking, legal, credit hire, accident management, fleet, leasing, and professional services.
If your customers research before they buy, AI is already part of that research.
Already know you need this?
Skip the audit and book a 45-minute discovery call. No prep needed. We will talk through where AI Visibility fits in your channel mix and which tier suits your business.
Pricing
Start free. Get the diagnosis. Then climb the retainer at the pace that suits you.
Free AI Visibility Snapshot pack
Free
See where you stand.
A two-page Snapshot, the full 16-query Results sheet, and the AI Visibility Jargon Buster. Delivered same day. No call, no card, no commitment.
Full AI Visibility Audit
£995
The diagnosis.
Four-document pack plus the free Snapshot. 16-query Share of Voice test across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, 64 tests in total. 13 SEO categories and 8 AEO categories scored. Citation Share and Citation Mix in your category. Plus a 45-minute walkthrough call and a 90-day fix plan you can act on straight away.
Monitor & Tweak
£295 / mo
Keep it working.
- Fortnightly re-scoring
- Live client portal
- Operator commentary
- Small tweaks applied as we go
Content Sprint
£395 / mo
Two posts a month, aimed at the queries that matter.
- Two AEO-optimised posts a month
- Targeted at the queries surfaced in your audit
Authority Pack
£495
Get listed where the engines look.
- Third-party listing audit and submission
- Schema fixes
Full Recheck
£595
Prove the movement.
- Full re-run of the audit
- Before and after on every query
- Fresh 90-day plan
Every price here is fixed. Monitor & Tweak and Content Sprint are monthly, the Authority Pack is one-off, and the Full Recheck runs at 90 days. Ongoing clients get their own AI Visibility Portal.
Operators, not marketers.
Most AI visibility services are run by marketers bolting AEO onto an SEO pitch.
We are different. Optimus is run by operators, not marketers. Chris Latham spent 25 years in motor claims, credit hire, and insurance operations before building this audit. That means we understand what a law firm, broker, or claims business actually does, what your clients ask, and which queries genuinely matter for your business.
The audit reads like a consultant's report, not a marketing dashboard.
Why not just use a tool?
There are plenty of AI visibility tools on the market. We use some of them ourselves. They give you a dashboard. They do not give you a diagnosis.
A dashboard is not the same as a diagnosis.
A tool will tell you your Share of Voice is 3%. It will not tell you why, what to fix first, or which lever matters most for a UK insurance broker versus a US law firm. That needs a human reading the data in the context of your business.
And the portal? It is not a standalone tool subscription. It is the live view of the consultant-led work we are doing for you, scoped to your business. You are not paying for a dashboard. You are paying for the work, and the dashboard is how you watch it land week by week.
One honest caveat. Direct revenue attribution from AI Visibility is unsolved across the industry, including by the tool vendors making the boldest claims. The audit gives you directional evidence (16 priority queries, Share of Voice, bot crawl activity, AI-referred traffic where GA4 shows it) that genuinely informs your SEO, PR and content investment, not a promised revenue lift.
Request your free Snapshot pack
Two-page Snapshot plus one-page Results sheet covering the full 16-query Share of Voice test. Delivered within 2 working days. No commitment, no cost.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI Visibility Audit?
An AI Visibility Audit is a structured 5-day diagnostic that tests whether your business appears in answers generated by ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, when buyers ask category-defining questions. It scores 16 priority queries, measures Citation Share and Citation Mix across the major answer engines, and delivers a prioritised 90-day fix plan.
How is this different from an SEO audit?
An SEO audit measures how you rank on Google's traditional search results. An AI Visibility audit measures whether you appear in the AI-generated answer above those results, which is increasingly where customers stop reading. Our audit covers both. For a deeper comparison see /aeo/aeo-vs-seo.
Do we need this if our SEO is already strong?
Strong SEO is necessary but not sufficient. Many businesses with excellent Google rankings are invisible to AI tools because the signals answer engines use are different. The audit tells you exactly where the gap is. If you want a free starting point first, see /aeo/three-free-ai-visibility-fixes for the three foundation actions you can ship this week.
How long does the full audit take?
Five working days from brief approval.
What sectors do you cover?
UK service SMEs. We have delivered audits for insurance broking, legal, credit hire, accident management, leasing, and professional services. If your sector is not listed, ask.
What happens after the audit?
You pick the ongoing work that fits. Monitor & Tweak (£295/mo) keeps the re-scoring running against your audit baseline, with a live portal, operator commentary and small tweaks applied as we go. Content Sprint (£395/mo) produces two AEO-optimised posts a month targeting the queries surfaced in your audit. The Authority Pack (£495 one-off) covers a third-party listing audit and submission plus schema fixes. A Full Recheck (£595 at 90 days) re-runs the audit, shows before and after on every query, and sets a fresh 90-day plan. You can also implement the fix plan yourself with no further engagement. No obligation beyond the audit fee.
Do you offer ongoing monitoring?
Yes. Monitor & Tweak (£295/mo) is the ongoing product: fortnightly re-scoring of your priority queries, a live client portal, operator commentary, and small tweaks applied as we go. If you also want new content aimed at the queries from your audit, Content Sprint (£395/mo) adds two AEO-optimised posts a month. The Authority Pack (£495) handles third-party listings and schema fixes, and a Full Recheck (£595 at 90 days) measures the movement properly.
Is this the same as an AI Visibility tool subscription?
No. AI Visibility tools give you a dashboard. This audit gives you a diagnosis, built by a consultant who has spent 25 years in UK service businesses. You can run a tool after the audit if you want ongoing tracking. The audit is what tells you what to actually do. The deeper definitions of the metrics we report (Citation Share, Citation Mix) live on /aeo/what-is-citation-share and /aeo/what-is-citation-mix.
See where you stand in your sector.
Free Snapshot pack. 16 queries across the major AI engines. Same-day delivery.