September 29, 2026
Your first 48 hours
Minute five: the first result
Setup ends with the first check: every question you chose, asked once of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Grok, with their live web search on. It takes about five minutes. When it finishes, two things happen at once: the Dashboard shows your first result, and the first-result email lands in your inbox.
For most new accounts the first result is that no engine named you. That is the usual outcome, not a fault; see Why is my score 0?.
What the Dashboard shows first
For the first 48 hours the Dashboard does not open on the full grid of cards. It opens on the result:
- "None of the N answers named you yet" when no engine named you. N is the number of answers collected, for example 50 for 10 questions on five engines.
- A first-result card when one or more engines did name you: which engines, on which question.
Under either is an Open the improvement plan button. That is the next click.
The card is not a trial feature. A paid account that adds a new website sees the same moment card for that website's first result.
If you came from the free audit
A bridge note sits above the result and puts the two numbers you have now seen side by side, for example: "Your free audit graded your homepage B (70/100). That is page readiness. This score is whether AI names you: 0 of 50 answers."
They measure different things. The audit grade says how easy your homepage is for an engine to read. The visibility score says whether the engines name you when asked. A readable page that nobody names is the normal starting point, and it is what the improvement plan is for.
The headline and the line under it
Above the result the headline reads AI visibility, and the line under it says what the number is built from: the score with its ± band, how many answers, how many engines, the date it is as of, and how many advice-only questions were left out. A How this score works panel beside it gives the short version of How the score works. With fewer than three usable answers the score shows Not enough data yet instead of a number; the first check clears that.
The Questions page
Open Questions to see the same result question by question:
- If you came from the free audit, the audit's question is pinned to the top and labelled From your free audit, so you can see how all five engines answered the question you already know.
- Each row shows the score, which engines named you, and who was named instead.
- A row that reads Advice-only · not in your score is a question no engine answered with any business. It is counted but not scored. Click Replace and swap it for a question buyers ask by name; the new question's first check is free.
Ten questions is a good first set. Add more once you know which kinds of question your buyers ask.
The improvement plan
Open the improvement plan takes you to a ranked list of fixes. On a first result the top task is nearly always the same kind: get onto a page the engines already read for one of your questions (a roundup, a comparison, a directory, a community thread) rather than change your own site first. Do that one task and leave the rest until the next check.
For one question in depth, open its opportunity report from the question's drawer.
The emails
| When | What it says |
|---|---|
| About five minutes after setup | Your first result, and under Who was named instead the brands the engines recommended. |
| Day 1 | How to read the Dashboard: the headline, the line under it, and where the plan is. |
| Day 2 | The one page to change this week: the top task from the improvement plan, with the page, the fix and the day it will be re-checked. |
| Day 3 | Your questions: which to replace and which to add. |
After that you hear from AEOTrack after each weekly check. The whole schedule is in The emails AEOTrack sends and when.
After 48 hours
The Dashboard settles into its normal layout: the score and trend, where you rank, engine by engine, and what to work on. The Dashboard guide covers every card. Two things to know from here:
- Checks run weekly. The next scheduled check re-asks every question. The What changed panel names the window it compares and lists only moves that cleared the ± range.
- The trial runs 14 days from the day you confirmed your email. From day 12 a countdown chip offers a free 7-day extension; see Extending your trial.
Checklist
- Read the first result and who was named instead.
- Open the improvement plan and do the top task.
- Replace any advice-only questions.
- Connect Search Console under Settings → Integrations so question suggestions come from real searches.
- Wait for the weekly check. Read the change against the ± band.