The MASTERY-AI Framework
An open methodology for AI search visibility. 8 pillars, 27 factors — and you can inspect every one.
Most businesses have no idea how AI search evaluates their website. Traditional SEO metrics tell part of the story, but AI models weigh different signals. Without a clear framework, optimisation is guesswork.
8 Pillars of AI Visibility
M — Machine Readability
4 factorsCan AI systems access and parse your content?
A — Authority Signals
3 factorsDoes your site demonstrate expertise and trust?
S — Structured Data
3 factorsIs your information organised for machine understanding?
T — Technical Foundation
4 factorsDoes your site meet the technical requirements AI systems expect?
E — Entity Recognition
3 factorsCan AI systems identify and connect your brand entity?
R — Reputation & Citations
3 factorsIs your business referenced and cited across the web?
Y — Your Content Quality
4 factorsIs your content comprehensive, current, and valuable?
AI — AI-Specific Optimisation
3 factorsHave you optimised specifically for how AI models work?
Open Methodology
We show you exactly what we measure and why. No black boxes, no proprietary secrets. The MASTERY-AI Framework is openly published so you can inspect it, question it, and build on it.
This isn't about gatekeeping knowledge — it's about giving you the tools to understand AI search yourself.
Want to see how your site scores across all 8 pillars?
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M — Machine Readability
Can AI crawlers access your content? Machine readability is the foundation — if AI systems can't read your site, nothing else matters. This pillar evaluates your robots.txt configuration, llm.txt presence, crawl accessibility, and content structure.
Businesses with strong machine readability see higher rates of AI citation because their content is actually available to be referenced.
4 factors in this pillar
Your website needs to be readable by AI systems.
LLM.txt Mastery creates the file that makes your site AI-accessible.
A — Authority Signals
Does your site demonstrate genuine expertise? AI models evaluate trust signals differently from traditional search engines. This pillar measures your domain authority indicators, expertise demonstration, and trust markers.
Establishing clear authority signals helps AI models confidently recommend your business over competitors.
3 factors in this pillar
S — Structured Data
Is your information organised for machine understanding? Schema markup, clear data structures, and semantic HTML help AI systems extract and cite your information accurately. This pillar evaluates your schema implementation, data organisation, and semantic clarity.
Well-structured data means AI systems can accurately represent your business in their responses.
3 factors in this pillar
T — Technical Foundation
Does your site meet the technical requirements AI systems expect? Page speed, mobile responsiveness, security, and site architecture all influence how AI crawlers evaluate your site. This pillar covers performance, security posture, mobile experience, and site architecture.
A strong technical foundation ensures AI systems can efficiently process your entire site.
4 factors in this pillar
E — Entity Recognition
Can AI systems identify your brand as a distinct entity? In a world of information overload, being recognised as a specific, trustworthy entity is critical. This pillar measures brand consistency, entity disambiguation, and knowledge graph presence.
Strong entity recognition means AI models associate your brand with your area of expertise.
3 factors in this pillar
R — Reputation & Citations
Is your business referenced across the web? AI models triangulate information from multiple sources. If other credible sites mention and link to your business, AI systems treat you as more authoritative. This pillar evaluates external references, citation quality, and backlink health.
Businesses with diverse, quality citations are more likely to be recommended by AI systems.
3 factors in this pillar
Y — Your Content Quality
Is your content comprehensive, current, and genuinely valuable? AI models prioritise content that thoroughly addresses user queries. This pillar measures content depth, freshness, originality, and user value alignment.
High-quality content that directly answers user questions is the strongest signal for AI recommendation.
4 factors in this pillar
AI — AI-Specific Optimisation
Have you optimised specifically for how AI models work? Beyond traditional SEO, AI systems have unique preferences for content format, conversational relevance, and direct answer provision. This pillar evaluates AI-specific formatting, conversational readiness, and answer optimisation.
AI-specific optimisation is the newest frontier — and the area where most businesses have done the least work.
3 factors in this pillar
MASTERY-AI Framework v3.1.1 — Last reviewed: February 2026
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