AI Search Health: How to Run a Semrush AI SEO Audit for Generative Search Visibility

AI-powered search engines are changing the way people discover information online. Platforms such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity now generate answers directly, often citing sources rather than sending users to traditional search results. As a result, website owners must optimize not only for traditional SEO but also for AI Search Health.

This guide explains how to evaluate and improve your AI Search Health using Semrush. It also demonstrates how to conduct a comprehensive AI SEO audit, provides practical AI prompts, and explains how businesses can improve visibility in generative search.

Key Highlights

What Is AI Search Health?

AI Search Health is a score that evaluates how well a website is optimized for AI-driven search engines. It measures whether a website’s structure, technical configuration, and content make it easy for AI systems to crawl, interpret, and cite.

In practical terms, a strong AI Search Health score indicates that a website is accessible to AI crawlers, structured for machine interpretation, technically optimized for AI indexing, and more likely to appear in AI-generated answers.

The score appears inside the Site Audit dashboard within the Semrush platform, where it evaluates factors such as crawlability, structured data, internal linking, and AI bot accessibility.

Why AI Search Health Matters for Modern SEO

The rise of generative search has dramatically changed user behavior. AI search experiences are often zero-click, meaning users receive answers directly without visiting a website. This shift means visibility depends not only on ranking but also on whether AI systems reference your content.

If your site cannot be crawled or understood by AI systems, your brand may never appear in AI-generated recommendations, even if you rank well in traditional search.

Why this matters

• AI platforms use their own crawlers and indexing systems.
• Technical errors can prevent AI bots from accessing content.
• Content must be structured for quick extraction and summarization.
• AI systems prioritize authoritative and well-organized information.

Traditional SEO audits often focus on Googlebot behavior. However, AI search bots may process websites differently, relying heavily on raw HTML rather than rendered JavaScript. This means sites that rely heavily on client-side rendering or slow-loading scripts may struggle to appear in AI answers.

How Semrush Measures AI Search Health

The Semrush Site Audit tool evaluates a website’s readiness for AI search by crawling the domain and analyzing key technical signals.

1. AI Bot Accessibility

AI crawlers must be able to access your website. If bots are blocked through robots.txt, your content may never appear in AI-generated answers.

2. Crawlability

Search engines and AI platforms must be able to crawl your website’s pages easily. Issues that reduce crawlability include broken internal links, orphan pages, and complex navigation structures.

3. Technical Readiness

Technical signals strongly influence whether AI systems can process a website. These signals include schema markup, structured navigation, crawlable HTML content, and llms.txt configuration.

4. Content Structure

AI search engines favor content that is structured clearly. This includes descriptive headings, semantic markup, and well-organized topic clusters.

5. Internal Linking

Strong internal linking improves contextual understanding and helps AI models identify relationships between pages.

AI Visibility Audits vs Traditional SEO Audits

Traditional SEO audits evaluate ranking factors such as keywords, backlinks, and page speed. AI visibility audits evaluate something different: whether your brand appears in AI-generated answers.

Questions an AI visibility audit answers

• Does my brand appear in AI-generated responses?
• Which pages are cited by AI assistants?
• Which topics do competitors dominate in AI search?

By combining both audits, businesses gain a more complete picture of their digital visibility.

Using AI Prompts to Conduct an SEO and GEO Audit

AI tools can assist SEO professionals by generating automated AI Search Health audits. The following question-based prompts can be used to analyze a website’s AI visibility.

AI Audit Prompts

How healthy is the AI search visibility of the domain [insert domain] according to a Semrush AI Search Health style SEO and GEO audit?

What technical SEO issues are preventing the website [insert domain] from performing well in AI-powered search results and generative engines?

How well is the domain [insert domain] optimized for generative search engines based on an AI Search Health audit similar to Semrush?

What improvements would increase the likelihood that content from [insert domain] is cited by AI assistants and generative search systems?

How strong is the topical authority of the website [insert domain] and how does it impact its AI search health score?

Which pages on [insert domain] are most likely to appear in AI-generated answers and which pages need optimization?

How does the AI search health of [insert domain] compare with its top competitors in the same industry?

What structured data, entity signals, or schema improvements could improve the AI search visibility of [insert domain]?

How does the content structure and semantic coverage of [insert domain] influence its performance in generative search engines?

What 90-day SEO and GEO strategy would significantly improve the AI Search Health score of [insert domain]?

Key Factors That Influence AI Search Health

Technical SEO Foundations

AI search platforms rely heavily on technical signals. Key optimization areas include Core Web Vitals performance, fast server response times, and clean HTML structure.

Content Authority and Structure

AI systems prioritize authoritative content. High-performing content typically includes clear headings, well-structured paragraphs, and factual, trustworthy information.

AI Bot Access

If AI crawlers cannot access your content, your website cannot appear in AI responses. Semrush audits identify blocked AI bots and recommend allowing them when appropriate.

Structured Data and Entities

Schema markup and semantic signals help AI models understand relationships between entities and topics. These signals improve contextual relevance and citation probability.

How to Improve Your AI Search Health Score

Step 1: Run a Site Audit

Start by crawling your website using the Semrush Site Audit tool. This identifies technical issues affecting both SEO and AI visibility.

Step 2: Review the AI Search Health Widget

Check the AI Search Health score and identify issues affecting crawlability, structured data, and AI bot access.

Step 3: Fix Technical Issues

Resolve errors such as blocked AI bots, missing schema markup, broken internal links, and slow loading pages.

Step 4: Optimize Content for AI Summaries

Content should be structured to allow AI systems to extract information easily. Best practices include concise answers, structured headings, and topic clusters.

Step 5: Monitor AI Visibility

Track whether your brand appears in AI-generated answers and how often competitors are cited.

Future of AI SEO and Search Visibility

AI-powered search is likely to continue expanding across platforms. As search evolves, businesses must optimize for AI citations, entity-based search, semantic relevance, and technical accessibility.

SEO strategies will increasingly focus on being recommended by AI systems rather than simply ranking on search engine results pages. AI Search Health audits provide a practical framework for preparing websites for this shift.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

AI-driven search is reshaping digital marketing. Businesses that adapt early will gain a significant advantage in brand visibility.

By monitoring AI Search Health, running regular Semrush AI SEO audits, and optimizing content for generative search, websites can increase the chances of being cited in AI-generated answers.

The key takeaway is simple: In the age of AI search, visibility is no longer just about ranking. It is about being referenced.