Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about AI authority, visibility, and how Scend helps your site get cited by AI platforms.
What is AI search visibility?
AI search visibility measures how often and how prominently AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews cite your website when answering user questions. It's the AI-era evolution of traditional search engine ranking — not just being found, but being understood and recommended.
How is AI visibility different from SEO?
SEO optimizes for search engine rankings (blue links on Google). AI visibility optimizes for AI-generated answers — where AI models synthesize information from multiple sources and cite specific pages. The same on-page factors (schema, content quality, authority signals) matter, but AI platforms weight them differently and care more about factual, well-structured content that directly answers user questions.
How does Scend calculate my AI visibility score?
Your AI visibility score is based on seven categories of real checks: crawler access (can AI bots reach your pages?), content structure (headings, lists, key terms), schema markup (JSON-LD structured data), semantic HTML (proper element usage), web vitals (page speed and stability), freshness signals (content dates and update frequency), and SERP coverage (how your content compares to real Google results). Every check produces a pass/fail result — no AI guessing, no fabricated numbers.
Does Scend use AI to generate results?
Scend does NOT use AI to fabricate scores or make up findings. Our audit checks are deterministic — they test real technical signals on your page. For content gap analysis, we compare your page against real Google search results fetched via SerpApi, and an LLM (DeepSeek) helps generate suggested fixes. But every score and every gap is traceable to a live search result. If the AI isn't sure, we say so — null is honest.
Which AI platforms does Scend track?
Our traffic detection snippet identifies visits from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Bing Copilot, Brave AI, Google AI Overviews, and other AI crawlers. For citation tracking (Pro plan), we actively check whether your domain is cited in AI-generated answers across Google AI Overviews, Brave AI, Gemini, Bing Copilot, and ChatGPT.
How long does it take to see results?
Technical fixes (schema, headings, meta tags) take effect within days. Content improvements (FAQ sections, expanded pages, new resources) take 1–4 weeks for AI platforms to discover and incorporate. Authority-building (backlinks, brand mentions, original research) is an ongoing effort with results visible over 3–6 months. We recommend weekly check-ins via your dashboard to track progress.
Is there a free plan?
Yes! Our free visibility report gives you an AI visibility score across key categories plus a content gap analysis for one keyword — no signup, no credit card required. For ongoing tracking, citation monitoring, competitor discovery, and more keywords, we offer a Pro plan at $59/month. A free account includes a one-time AI visibility scan and site audit.
What platforms does Scend work with?
Scend works with any website — WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, custom HTML, and more. Our traffic detection snippet is a single <script> tag that takes 30 seconds to install. The audit and gap analysis work by crawling your live site — no plugins, no CMS access, no configuration needed.
What is SERP-grounded analysis?
SERP-grounded analysis means every content gap we identify is backed by a real Google search result. When we report that your page is missing specific information, we can show you the exact Google result that covers it. This is what separates Scend from AI tools that hallucinate — our findings are traceable, not guessed.
How do I get started?
The fastest way is our free report at /report — enter your domain and optionally a keyword. You'll get your AI visibility score, category breakdown, and content gaps in under 2 minutes. If you want ongoing tracking and citation monitoring, upgrade to Pro and add your site to your dashboard.