Goal: convert AI-search competitor mentions into a prioritized source-of-truth, proof, FAQ, schema, and page-update queue.
STOP PUBLISHING: do not claim a competitor is wrong, worse, cheaper, unlicensed, unavailable, or less qualified unless a human has verified public evidence and legal/owner review approves the wording.
Copy/paste competitor mention worksheet
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Query tested | The exact buyer question or prompt. | best emergency HVAC repair near [city] |
| AI/search surface | ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, Google AI Overview, or classic SERP. | Perplexity |
| Competitor mentioned | Name only; do not add claims you have not verified. | [Competitor name] |
| Why they may have appeared | Observable source signal, not a guess. | They have a service-area page, review snippets, FAQ, or comparison mention. |
| Our missing source | Page, proof, FAQ, schema, citation, testimonial, case study, service-area detail, or internal link missing from our site. | No emergency-service FAQ; no current service-area proof. |
| Owner action | What a human should verify or create next. | Owner approves emergency wording and proof links. |
| Safe page update | Drafted update using verified facts only. | Add a FAQ about same-day scheduling windows with approved source. |
| Review flag | Any claim needing owner/legal/compliance review. | price, guarantee, license, emergency, comparison, results |
| Status | Hold, source needed, drafted, approved, published, monitor. | source needed |
| Next check date | When to re-run the query after publishing. | 2026-06-15 |
AI audit prompt
You are auditing AI-search competitor mentions for a small business.
Inputs:
- Buyer queries tested: [PASTE]
- AI/search answer excerpts with dates: [PASTE]
- Our current relevant pages: [PASTE]
- Competitor names mentioned: [PASTE]
- Approved business facts and proof URLs: [PASTE]
Task:
1. List each query where a competitor was mentioned and our business was absent or weakly represented.
2. Identify only observable source gaps: missing FAQ, stale service page, weak proof, missing schema, missing location/service-area page, unclear offer, or missing internal link.
3. Suggest one proof-safe update for our website using only approved facts.
4. Do not invent competitor claims, performance comparisons, price differences, licenses, ratings, customer outcomes, guarantees, availability, or legal conclusions.
5. Output a table with: query, surface, competitor named, likely source gap, owner action, safe update, review flag, next check date.Weekly review workflow
- Pick 5–10 buyer-intent queries: service + location, “best,” “near me,” pricing, emergency, comparison, proof, policy, and booking questions.
- Record the date, AI/search surface, answer excerpt, competitors mentioned, and source URLs if visible.
- Map the mention to a missing source-of-truth item: page, FAQ, proof, citation, schema, review policy, service-area detail, or booking answer.
- Create one owner-approved update at a time. Avoid attacking competitors; improve your own source clarity.
- Recheck the same query after the update has been crawled or visible, then mark the row monitor/needs-more-proof.
Related resources: AI Search Source Link Map, AI Search Quote Block Checklist, and AI Search Service Page Proof Checklist.
Want the full AI-search implementation kit?
SEO After AI expands this into a practical playbook for source maps, entity clarity, proof, schema, content refreshes, and answer-engine-ready pages.