Ranking #1 on Google but invisible to ChatGPT? I built a free scanner to measure it.

After 10+ years in SEO, I started noticing something weird: brands that rank #1 on Google are often completely absent when you ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude about them.

So I built a scanner to test this at scale. It checks how AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overview, Claude, Gemini) see a brand and compares it to their actual Google ranking.

Here's what I found.

The "Citation Gap" is real

Brands invest thousands in SEO, reach page 1, and then get zero mentions in AI responses. Their competitors, sometimes smaller, sometimes just better structured, get recommended instead.

Some patterns from real scans:

• Brands that Google doesn't recognize as entities (autocorrects their name, no Knowledge Panel) are almost always invisible to AI platforms too
• The gap between "visible on Google" and "cited by AI" is much wider than most people assume. Research shows ~40% of sources cited by AI platforms don't even appear in Google's top results (Kirsten et al., arXiv 2025)

The market right now

I looked at every GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) tool I could find. The space splits into two camps: enterprise platforms at $250-500/mo that require demo calls and onboarding, or "GEO hack" tools built on guesswork with no real methodology behind them.

Neither works for an independent SEO consultant who just needs to show a client: "Look, AI is ignoring your brand. Here's why."
Try it free: https://ai-lens.app

What the research actually says

There's a lot of snake oil in the GEO space. I went the other way and built the scoring methodology on peer-reviewed academic research:

• Traditional SEO still delivers roughly 7x more visibility improvement than AI-specific optimization alone (Puerto et al., NeurIPS 2025)
• The top 20 domains capture 67% of all AI citations (Yang, AAAI 2025). It's a winner-take-most game
• ~40% of sources cited by AI platforms don't even appear in Google's top results (Kirsten et al., arXiv 2025)

The rules are different from traditional SEO. Full methodology is public: https://ai-lens.app/methodology

What you get after a scan

Every scan includes a research-backed GEO checklist with practical steps to improve AI visibility:

• Create an /llms.txt file to help AI crawlers understand your site
• Add structured data / schema markup, one of the strongest signals for AI citation based on current research
• Optimize your About page for AI readability
• Build topic clusters around your expertise

These are general best practices, not site-specific audits (yet). But the checklist gives you a concrete starting point if you're new to AI visibility.

Where I am now and what's next

Solo side project in beta. Free scan in under a minute, no signup required. The free version covers ChatGPT + Google (max score 70/100).

I'm building a Deep Scan that would add:

• Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini for full coverage across 5 AI platforms
• Schema markup auditing, llms.txt file checks, and AI crawler accessibility testing
• Actionable optimization recommendations. Not just a score, but what to fix and how, even if you're not an SEO expert

Whether I build all of this depends on whether there's real willingness to pay for it. Deep Scan pricing is being decided by early users through a community vote, not another $500/mo subscription.

What I'm honestly trying to figure out:

1. Is the free scan valuable enough to make you come back and check again?
2. Would you pay $5-20 for a full 5-platform deep scan with optimization recommendations? Or is this a "nice to know" that doesn't justify payment?
3. If you're an SEO consultant, would you scan client brands with this?

Try it here: https://ai-lens.app. Free, instant, no signup.

Not looking for validation. Looking for signal.