A week-one AEO discovery kit gives an agency everything it needs to start answer engine optimization work with a clear baseline: a stakeholder questionnaire that captures how buyers actually ask questions, a competitive citation scan showing who AI tools name today, an entity inventory listing every place the brand is described, a technical access check and a baseline report that sets priorities. Run it in the first five working days of a new engagement and you avoid weeks of guessing, set realistic expectations and give the client something concrete before any content is written.
This guide lays out each asset in the kit, a day-by-day schedule, templates and how to present the findings.
Key takeaways
– Buyers use AI throughout research. Forrester reports 94% of business buyers use AI during their buying process.
– Visibility is measurable from day one using Search Console’s Generative AI performance report plus a manual prompt check.
– AI answers rely on retrieval. AirOps found 89.6% of ChatGPT prompts in its study triggered fan-out searches, so search visibility and question coverage both matter.
– Discovery should produce five assets: stakeholder brief, prompt set, citation scan, entity inventory and baseline report.
– Keep it to five working days so momentum isn’t lost.
Why does AEO need its own discovery?
Standard SEO onboarding covers keywords, technical audits and analytics access. AEO adds questions SEO discovery often skips:
- How do buyers phrase questions to AI tools?
- Which sources do AI tools trust in this category?
- How do AI tools currently describe the brand?
- Is the brand’s information consistent enough to be described accurately?
Without these answers, AEO work becomes generic content production. With them, it’s targeted.
What’s in the kit?
| Asset | Purpose | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stakeholder questionnaire | Capture buyer language, priorities, proof and constraints | Stakeholder brief |
| 2. Prompt set | Define the questions to track | 20–50 buyer prompts |
| 3. Competitive citation scan | See who gets named and cited | Citation log and summary |
| 4. Entity inventory | Check how the brand is described everywhere | Inventory with issues |
| 5. Technical access check | Confirm pages can be crawled, indexed and cited | Access issue list |
| 6. Baseline report | Set priorities and expectations | 3–5 page report |
Asset 1: The stakeholder questionnaire
Send before the kickoff call, then review together. Key questions:
Buyers and questions
– Who are your best customers, and what problems bring them to you?
– What questions do prospects ask on first calls?
– What do they compare you to (competitors, alternatives, doing nothing)?
– What objections come up most?
Offer and proof
– Which services or products matter most to growth?
– What verifiable proof do you have (reviews, certifications, published case studies, awards)?
– What can’t we say publicly (confidential clients, regulated claims)?
Brand and people
– Who are your public experts?
– How do you describe the business in one sentence?
– Have you rebranded, merged or changed names?
Constraints
– Legal or compliance reviews required?
– Approval process and turnaround times?
Asset 2: The prompt set
Turn stakeholder answers into prompts across five categories:
- Discovery: “best [service] for [audience/need],” “top [providers] in [city].”
- Comparison: “[client] vs [competitor],” “[approach A] vs [approach B].”
- Cost and process: “how much does [service] cost,” “how long does [service] take.”
- Problem: “how to fix [problem],” “why does [problem] happen.”
- Brand: “what is [client],” “is [client] good for [need],” “[client] reviews.”
Aim for 20 to 50 prompts. Get client sign-off so the set stays fixed for trend tracking.
Asset 3: The competitive citation scan
Run each prompt in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Mode, and note AI Overviews in standard Google results.
Log:
– Whether the client is named.
– Whether the client’s pages are cited.
– Competitors named.
– Every cited URL and its type (brand site, directory, review site, publication, forum, video).
– Accuracy of any description of the client.
Summarize:
– Client mention rate across prompts.
– Top competitors by mentions.
– Most-cited source types and domains.
– Accuracy issues.
Asset 4: The entity inventory
List every surface describing the brand and its people:
- Website pages (home, About, services, author bios, contact, footer).
- Structured data (Organization, LocalBusiness, Person, Product).
- Google Business Profile.
- LinkedIn company and leadership profiles.
- Directories and review platforms.
- Industry associations.
- Social profiles.
- Wikipedia or Wikidata if they exist (don’t create promotional entries; follow their policies).
For each, record name, description, services, locations, people and contact details. Flag inconsistencies.
Asset 5: The technical access check
A focused check, not a full audit:
- Robots.txt rules for Googlebot and AI crawlers the client wants to allow.
- Indexing status of priority pages (Search Console page indexing report).
- Rendering of key templates (URL Inspection).
- Noindex or nosnippet tags on important pages.
- Canonical issues.
- Page speed on main templates.
Google’s AI features documentation notes pages must be indexed and snippet-eligible to appear as supporting links, so access issues get top priority.
Asset 6: The baseline report
Three to five pages:
- Summary: where the brand stands and the top three priorities.
- AI visibility baseline: mention rate, citations, competitors, accuracy.
- Search baseline: Search Console AI impressions on priority pages, organic clicks, branded vs non-branded.
- Entity findings: key inconsistencies and fixes.
- Technical findings: access issues.
- 90-day plan: prioritized actions with owners.
Illustrative baseline summary (placeholders, not client data): “[Client] is named in [X] of [X] buyer prompts across four AI tools. Competitors [A] and [B] are named in [X] and [X]. AI answers cite [directories] and [review sites] most often; [Client] is missing from [X] of the top [X] cited directories. Two AI tools describe [Client]’s services inaccurately. [X] priority pages have indexing issues. Top priorities: fix access, align entity information and secure listings on cited directories.”
What’s the day-by-day schedule?
| Day | Activities |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Kickoff call; review questionnaire; gather access (Search Console, GA4, CMS) |
| Day 2 | Build and approve the prompt set; start technical access check |
| Day 3 | Run the citation scan across engines |
| Day 4 | Complete entity inventory; finish technical check |
| Day 5 | Write and present the baseline report and 90-day plan |
How should agencies staff week one?
- Strategist: leads kickoff, prompt set and baseline report.
- Analyst: runs prompts, logs citations, builds entity inventory.
- Technical SEO: access check.
- Account manager: client coordination and approvals.
A white-label fulfillment partner can run the analyst and technical tasks while the agency owns client communication and strategy.
How should businesses prepare for discovery?
- Gather Search Console, GA4 and CMS access in advance.
- Collect common customer questions from sales and support.
- List approved proof and anything that’s confidential.
- Identify spokespeople and their bios.
- Agree on who approves content and how quickly.
How do you present findings without overwhelming the client?
Lead with the three biggest opportunities, not every issue. Show one or two prompt examples live. Explain what can be controlled (site, content, profiles, outreach) and what can’t (AI answer variation). End with the 90-day plan and how progress will be measured monthly.
What does the client get at the end of week one?
A clear picture of where they stand, what’s holding them back, a fixed prompt set to track, a corrected source of truth for their brand information and a prioritized plan. That’s tangible value before any new content is published, and it builds trust for the months ahead.
How do you reuse the kit across clients?
Standardize what you can and customize what matters:
- Templates: questionnaire, prompt categories, citation log, entity inventory and report outline stay the same for every client.
- Prompt libraries by industry: maintain starter prompt sets for common verticals, then tailor with stakeholder language.
- Checklists: technical access and entity checklists reused as-is.
- Report shell: pre-built sections so the strategist writes the analysis, not the formatting.
With a mature kit, week one becomes predictable, and the team spends its time on interpretation rather than setup.
What if discovery shows the client isn’t ready for AEO?
Sometimes the baseline reveals deeper problems: a broken site, no reviews, unclear positioning or no capacity to approve content. Say so. Recommend fixing foundations first and adjust the scope. Clients respect honesty, and starting AEO on a broken base wastes everyone’s budget.
How do you handle multiple stakeholders with different priorities?
In larger companies, sales, marketing, product and leadership may each want different prompts tracked. Collect everyone’s input in the questionnaire, then group prompts by business priority and agree on a single core set with one owner. Extra prompts can go into a secondary set reviewed quarterly. A shared, signed-off prompt set prevents later disputes about what “success” means.
What should happen in week two?
Discovery only matters if it turns into action. Week two should start the highest-priority fixes from the baseline report: correcting access issues, updating the most-cited profiles and directories with the approved description, and briefing the first one or two answer-first pages based on the prompt set. Schedule the first monthly prompt check for 30 days out so the client sees the measurement rhythm begin. Momentum in the first month sets the tone for the whole engagement.
What are the common mistakes?
- Skipping the prompt set and tracking random questions.
- Running prompts in only one engine.
- Ignoring entity consistency.
- Leaving technical access to later.
- Over-promising in the baseline presentation.
- Letting discovery drag past a week.
Frequently asked questions
What is AEO discovery?
The first phase of an answer engine optimization engagement: gathering buyer questions, measuring current AI visibility, checking entity consistency and technical access, and setting priorities.
How long should AEO discovery take?
About five working days for most engagements, longer for complex multi-brand or multi-location clients.
How many prompts should a baseline include?
Typically 20 to 50, covering discovery, comparison, cost, problem and brand questions.
Which AI tools should a citation scan cover?
At minimum ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Mode, plus checking AI Overviews in Google results.
What should a baseline report include?
AI visibility baseline, search baseline, entity and technical findings, and a prioritized 90-day plan.
Can a white-label partner run AEO discovery?
Yes. Partners can run prompt scans, entity inventories and technical checks, while the agency owns the client relationship and strategy.
Want a ready-to-run AEO discovery kit?
We run week-one AEO discovery for businesses and white-label it for agency partners, from prompt sets to baseline reports.
Prefer to talk? Call (813) 397-3665 or email strategy@seooutsourcing.com.
