SEO + AI Standard · The framework

A practical framework for SEO and AI visibility.

Framework version 2.0, revised 23rd September 2026. The August agency study uses version 1.1. The checks have changed; scores from these versions are not directly comparable.

This is the framework I use to organise questions about how a website is found, understood and used. It brings together established SEO work and the additional measurement involved in reviewing AI answers.

The 10 areas and 32 checks are intended to help you investigate your site and choose priorities. The weights reflect my judgement, informed by the sources linked throughout. They are not a search-engine scoring system.

By Kristian, Dog on the Table. Independent consultant based in Brighton. First published 3 August 2026.

Read the 10 pillars → Score your site

32 checks · 10 areas · weights reflect my judgement

Why I look at search and AI answers together

People can encounter a business through search results, AI answers and other sources. Those routes overlap, but a visit, a citation and a recommendation tell you different things.

This framework helps organise the work behind them: accurate information, accessible pages, useful content and a way to check what is happening. The relevant priorities depend on your business and the evidence you have.

The whole model

Ten pillars, on one screen.

Weighted within this framework. The bar is the weight. The dots are the tier mix: start here, build on this, consider next. Tap any pillar to jump in.

01 / 10

Keep a clear, current source of business information

Your website should answer practical questions about your business, products, services and people. Keep those facts current and resolve contradictions between pages. This gives customers and systems a reference they can check, although it cannot control every answer produced elsewhere.

What good looks likeweight 16

  • Start heresite

    Gather the facts customers need and publish them on clearly linked pages.

    Does your website provide clear, verifiable information about your business, services, products and people?

  • Build on thisprocess

    Assign an owner and review schedule. Update the content when the facts change.

    Does someone take responsibility for reviewing and updating your business information?

  • Build on thissite

    Resolve conflicting information and direct people to the current version.

    Do pages give consistent information and link to the current reference for each subject?

  • Build on thissite

    Publish the commercial details customers need. Explain how to obtain a quote when a public price would not be meaningful.

    Can customers find current information about price, scope, availability and terms where appropriate?

02 / 10

Make pages easy to follow and useful passages easy to understand

Use headings that help people find the section they need. Where a section answers a question, make that answer clear and include the context needed to understand it. Connected prose still matters; every paragraph does not need to read like an isolated FAQ.

What good looks likeweight 14

  • Start herepage

    Use headings that describe the section or answer a relevant question. Not every heading needs to be a question.

    Do clear headings help readers find the information they need?

  • Start herepage

    Put the useful answer near the start of its section. Keep connected paragraphs where the explanation needs them.

    Do sections answer their main question clearly, with enough context to understand the answer?

  • Start heresite

    Check intended crawler access, rendering, canonicals, indexing and snippet controls. Review training permissions separately from search and user-requested retrieval.

    Can the search and retrieval systems you intend to allow access the useful content on your priority pages?

  • Build on thispage

    Use lists, tables or FAQs where they help. Add appropriate markup that agrees with the page.

    Do page structure and relevant markup help readers find and understand the information?

03 / 10

Support claims with relevant evidence

Use sources, statistics and expert contributions where they help explain or substantiate the point. Check what each source actually supports. A paragraph doesn't need a statistic simply because it has reached a particular word count.

What good looks likeweight 11

  • Start herepage

    Attribute relevant figures and check what their sources support. Do not add statistics to meet a word-count target.

    Are relevant numerical claims supported by sources the reader can check?

  • Start herepage

    Use relevant first-hand experience, analysis or expert contributions. Add quotations when they help the reader.

    Does the content draw on relevant expertise in a form suited to its subject?

  • Build on thispage

    Link claims to reliable sources where the subject calls for supporting evidence.

    Can readers check substantive claims against relevant sources?

04 / 10

Review what AI tools say about your business

Test questions relevant to your customers and record the answers, models and dates. Look for inaccuracies, missing context and changes over time. Some findings may lead to website work; others need a wider investigation. An unhelpful answer isn't automatically something your business caused.

What good looks likeweight 9

  • Start hereprocess

    Record the questions, answers, models and dates for a defined set of checks.

    Do you test how AI tools describe your business using relevant questions?

  • Build on thisprocess

    Check each finding before choosing an action. The answer may involve existing content, technical work or another source, rather than a new page.

    Do you investigate the findings and choose appropriate follow-up actions?

  • Build on thisprocess

    Choose a suitable review schedule and keep comparable records.

    Do you repeat the checks and record changes over time?

  • Build on thisprocess

    Keep these observations separate so a mention is not mistaken for a recommendation or an accurate answer.

    Do you record mentions, recommendations, links, competitor preference and accuracy separately?

05 / 10

Use AI with editorial responsibility

AI can help organise research and prepare a draft. The person publishing the work still needs to check the facts, add relevant experience and decide whether the writing says what they mean. Speed is useful when the final piece remains something you're comfortable putting your name to.

What good looks likeweight 11

  • Start hereprocess

    Check the facts, add relevant experience and approve the finished work.

    Does a named person with relevant knowledge review AI-assisted content before publication?

  • Build on thispage

    Add the evidence and detail that help the reader understand the subject.

    Does the content offer useful original work, analysis or experience?

  • Build on thissite

    Improve, combine or remove content where the evidence supports that decision. Short content is not automatically poor content.

    Do you review content for accuracy, usefulness and relevance?

06 / 10

Help people compare and choose

Review the questions people ask while deciding whether a product or service suits them. Clear information about scope, price, limitations and alternatives can help. Keep useful introductory material too; its value depends on the audience and what it helps them do.

What good looks likeweight 9

  • Start herestrategy

    Choose priorities using customer questions and business evidence. Keep useful introductory content alongside comparison and decision support.

    Does your content plan address customer needs and business priorities across the buying process?

  • Build on thisstrategy

    Review enquiries, conversions and relevant visits together with the answers recorded in your checks.

    Do you assess meaningful outcomes alongside traffic and AI answer observations?

  • Consider nextstrategy

    Segment identifiable AI referrals and document gaps in attribution.

    Do you track identifiable referrals and conversions from AI services?

  • Consider nextpage

    Explain suitable uses, scope and trade-offs so people can compare their options.

    Do commercial pages explain who the offer suits and its important limitations?

07 / 10

Make the business identity clear

Use consistent names and accurate descriptions for the business and its people. Relevant structured data should agree with the visible information and link to the correct profiles. Review examples of confusion rather than assuming markup will prevent every error.

What good looks likeweight 8

  • Start herepage

    Provide concise identity information and clarify relevant cases of name confusion.

    Do your business and author pages explain who you are and what you do clearly?

  • Build on thissite

    Use suitable structured data with accurate names and verified profile links.

    Does relevant Organisation and Person markup match the visible facts and correct profiles?

08 / 10

Build relevant recognition beyond your own site

Look at where your audience finds information and which publications or communities are relevant to your work. Useful coverage and accurate profiles can support discovery. Assess the context and credibility of a mention, rather than relying on a promised formula for citations.

What good looks likeweight 9

  • Start hereentity

    Identify useful places to contribute or seek coverage based on audience relevance.

    Do you seek relevant recognition from publications or communities your audience uses?

  • Build on thisentity

    Review the context of mentions and build useful relationships around your work.

    Do credible external sources describe your business and its subjects accurately?

  • Build on thisentity

    Review relevant profiles and correct stale or conflicting details.

    Do important third-party profiles match your current business information?

09 / 10

Explain who is responsible for the content

Name the author where it helps the reader assess the work. A useful biography explains their relevant experience, and sources make the claims easier to check. Authorship should provide context and accountability, not simply another field to complete.

What good looks likeweight 8

  • Start herepage

    Explain who wrote the content and their relevant experience.

    Do relevant articles identify their authors and link to useful biographies?

  • Build on thissite

    Connect accurate author information and the correct professional profiles.

    Is author identity consistent across the site, relevant profiles and structured data?

  • Consider nextpage

    Include genuine observations and examples that help explain the work.

    Does the writing show relevant first-hand experience where the subject calls for it?

Where to start

Begin with the parts that affect your customers most directly: whether they can use the site, find accurate information and understand what you offer. Use the checklist to record gaps and the scorecard to organise them.

The priority labels offer a starting order. Adjust it for the evidence, effort and dependencies in your own project.

FAQ

Questions about the framework

Does AI search replace SEO?

There is considerable overlap in the work. Google's guidance says its established SEO practices remain relevant to AI Overviews and AI Mode. This framework also includes ways to observe AI answers, which is a different measurement task from recording website visits.

Does following it guarantee citations?

No. It helps organise useful checks and improvements. Citation decisions depend on the system and question, and the score is not a prediction of those decisions.

Can I use AI to help write content?

Yes. What matters here is whether the finished work is accurate, useful and properly reviewed. Google's guidance allows useful applications of generative AI while warning about scaled content produced without added value.

Does every page need expert quotes and statistics?

No. Use them where they support the subject. Don't add a quotation or a number just to satisfy a format.

Will structured data stop incorrect AI answers?

No. It can describe the facts on a page in a structured format, but it cannot force every system to use them correctly. Keep the visible information accurate and investigate the specific examples of confusion.

Can the framework assess the whole business?

No. It addresses a defined set of website, content and process questions. It is not an assessment of all your work, customer service or commercial performance.

Will AI answers reduce my traffic?

The effect needs to be assessed for your site and queries. Review traffic, enquiries and other outcomes over time. A general percentage cannot tell you what is happening to your business.

Do links or brand mentions matter more?

This framework considers both. Review where people find your business and the context in which it is mentioned, rather than treating either as a single target to maximise.

Use the framework on your site.

Read the checks, record the evidence and choose a manageable set of actions. If you'd like help interpreting the findings, we can work through them together.

Where this goes next

Score your own site against the Standard.

Read the checks, record the evidence and choose a manageable set of actions. If you'd like help interpreting the findings, we can work through them together.

Score your site → Get the printable checklist See 50 UK agencies scored against it Let's have a look
Sources

Sources behind the framework

These are the sources that informed the framework. Their findings have their own scope and limitations; the way I combine them here is my judgement.