Documentation

Everything you need to get started

Guides, concepts, and references to help you make your brand the answer AI engines give.

Getting started

SmartLayer measures and improves how often AI engines recommend your brand. To begin, connect your website by entering your domain — no code, no plugins, no technical setup.

As soon as you connect, SmartLayer crawls your site, generates a representative set of queries your audience asks AI, samples each major engine, and returns your first AEO, GEO and SEO scores in under 5 minutes.

Start your free audit

Understanding your scores

SmartLayer gives you three complementary scores. Each answers a different question about how discoverable your brand is in the age of AI search.

AEO

Answer Engine Optimization — how often AI engines cite your brand when users ask for recommendations.

GEO

Generative Engine Optimization — how ready your site is for generative search (brand mentions, schema, crawler access).

SEO

Classic Search Engine Optimization — your traditional ranking health, still a foundation for AI visibility.

How the AEO score is calculated

Each engine contributes a weighted share of the score, based on its real-world influence:

Claude35%

ChatGPT30%

Perplexity20%

Gemini15%

For every query, your presence in each engine's answer is scored:

0.0

Not mentioned

0.5

Mentioned, but with no link to your site

1.0

Cited with a link to your site

aeo_score = Σ(engine_weight × Σ(tier_weight × citation_score)) × 100

Query sampling & tiers

SmartLayer maps the real questions your audience asks AI and groups them into three tiers by strategic value. Higher tiers weigh more heavily in your score.

Branded· 60%

Queries that mention your brand or product directly. The highest-value citations — you should always own these.

Category· 30%

Comparison and 'best tool for…' queries where buyers evaluate options. Where most competitive ground is won or lost.

Informational· 10%

Broad educational questions in your space. Lower weight, but they build topical authority over time.

Sampling runs automatically several times a week, so your scores reflect what AI engines say about you right now — not a one-time snapshot.

Content pipeline

When SmartLayer detects a gap, it can close it automatically. Content flows through a deterministic pipeline from detection to live publication:

Sampler→Scorer→Gap Analyzer→Content Generator→Quality Checker→Approval Queue→Publisher

Every generated piece passes through 4 deterministic quality checks (no extra AI tokens). It must pass at least 3 of 4, with up to 3 corrective retries, before it can ship.

High-confidence content (≥ 0.95) is auto-approved; everything else waits for a one-click human review. Approved content publishes to Shopify or WordPress in under 60 seconds.

Integrations

SmartLayer samples ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude, audits GEO readiness on Google AI Overviews and Bing Copilot, and publishes directly to Shopify and WordPress.

See all integrations