ASI Checklist

ASI/Measuring and Improving ASI

ASI Checklist — Everything Your Content Needs to Match How AI Users Ask Questions

This checklist covers every ASI signal that determines whether your content matches the conversational, context-rich way AI users phrase their questions. A page that completes every item is written in a way that AI systems can confidently match to a wide range of related user scenarios — not just the specific queries you explicitly targeted. Use it as a writing guide for new content and as an audit tool for existing pages.

AEOGEOSEOANIASI

The direct answer

This checklist covers every signal that determines whether your content matches the conversational, context-rich way AI users phrase their questions. A page that completes every item is written in a way that AI systems can confidently match to a wide range of user scenarios — not just the specific queries you explicitly targeted, but adjacent queries from users in the situations your content describes. Use it as a writing guide for new content and as a quarterly audit tool for existing pages.

Part 1: Voice and register

1
Written in second person throughout
Every section uses “you” and “your” rather than “users,” “site owners,” or third-person constructions. Read the first paragraph of each section — if it does not address the reader directly, rewrite it.
2
Passes the read-aloud test
Read every paragraph aloud in your normal speaking voice. Passages that sound like policy documents, academic papers, or marketing brochures need rewriting. Natural conversational explanation is the target.
3
Active voice throughout
Replace passive constructions (“schema is added by,” “can be configured by”) with active voice (“you add schema,” “you configure”). Each section should have an agent — you — taking action.

Part 2: Scenario and intent matching

4
Who This Is For section present
3 to 4 specific user scenarios listed immediately after the opening paragraph. Each scenario should be specific enough that a relevant reader thinks “that is exactly me.” Vague scenarios (“if you have a website”) produce no citation benefit.
5
At least one scenario-specific section in the body
A “If you are [specific situation]…” section that addresses a particular user context with tailored guidance. This is the body-level equivalent of the Who This Is For section header.
6
Natural language variations used throughout
The topic is referred to using different natural phrasings rather than repeating the exact keyword. “AI citations,” “getting cited in ChatGPT,” “showing up in AI answers” — all refer to the same concept and each matches different user query phrasings.

Part 3: Summary and extraction structures

7
TL;DR box present on pages over 1,000 words
3 to 5 conclusion bullets at the top of the page, written last, with at least one specific number or data point. Each bullet stands alone and does not reference other bullets.
8
Comparison section for pages where a comparison is relevant
Direct verdict in the opening sentence of the section, comparison table with 5 to 7 rows, and “Choose X if / Choose Y if” guidance. URL pattern /topic-a-vs-topic-b for dedicated comparison pages.
9
FAQ section with conversational question phrasing
Questions written the way someone would ask an AI assistant, not formatted as keyword fragments. “Can I add FAQ schema without a developer?” not “FAQ schema no-code implementation.”
10
Monthly ASI citation audit running
20 target queries searched monthly in Perplexity and ChatGPT using conversational phrasing. Pages not appearing for their target scenario queries are flagged for ASI retrofit in the next content sprint.
Scoring your checklist

1 to 3 complete: ASI foundation not yet established — start with voice and register (items 1 to 3), they affect every page simultaneously. 4 to 6 complete: Basic ASI in place — focus on Who This Is For sections across your pillar pages. 7 to 9 complete: Strong ASI foundation — TL;DR boxes and comparison content will expand your citation breadth significantly. 10 complete: Full ASI implementation — your content is written in a way that matches how AI users actually describe their situations and questions.

How this connects to the other five disciplines

ASI is a writing discipline applied to every piece of content you publish — it works in combination with AEO (which structures pages for extraction), GEO (which builds topical authority), ANI (which ensures AI crawlers can access and read your content), and SEO (which handles keyword rankings and technical health). Content that is well-structured for AEO extraction, lives on a topically authoritative GEO site, is accessible to AI crawlers via ANI, and is written conversationally for ASI matching consistently outperforms content that only addresses one or two of these disciplines.

The ASI implementation habit

Unlike ANI (largely a one-time technical setup) or GEO (a content architecture project), ASI is a continuous writing practice. Every piece of content you publish should pass the read-aloud test, include a Who This Is For section, use second person throughout, and have a TL;DR box if it is over 1,000 words. Building these habits into your standard writing process takes about two weeks of conscious practice before they become automatic.

For existing content, prioritize your top 10 pages by traffic and do a full ASI retrofit on each — adding the TL;DR box, Who This Is For section, and voice pass. These pages already have traffic and topical authority signals working in their favor. Adding ASI improvements on top of existing content that is already being crawled produces the fastest citation rate improvements of any single optimization action available.

Related ASI guides

How to write a Who This Is For section · TL;DR boxes for AI citation · The full ASI checklist

The complete ASI guide library at teachmeoptimization.com/asi covers all 10 topics — from understanding how AI users phrase questions to the writing techniques that generate the most citations.

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