Is Answer Engine Optimization worth it for your business? Enter your numbers below to find out.
Visitors arriving from search engines per month (from Google Analytics or Search Console)
Industry average is 35%. B2B tech audiences run 45–55%. Consumer/retail typically 25–30%.
Don't know yours? Run a free scan. Industry average is 22. Most new domains start 15–30.
Realistic targets: +20 points in 6 months with active AEO, +35 with Scale plan compounding.
Average value of a conversion — sale, subscription, or lead. Use ACV for SaaS.
Include platform costs + internal time. AISearchStackHub Scale = $299/mo. DIY = your estimated hourly time.
Based on your inputs and industry benchmarks
The default of 35% reflects 2026 estimates for the share of your existing search audience that also uses AI search engines for related queries. This varies significantly by industry: B2B SaaS (40–55%), developer tools (50–65%), consumer retail (20–30%), local services (15–25%). Adjust the slider based on your audience profile.
The AIS Index (0–100) translates to citation visibility as follows: score 0–20 = near-zero citation presence, 20–40 = occasional mentions in ~10–25% of relevant queries, 40–60 = moderate presence in 25–50% of relevant queries, 60–80 = strong presence in 50–70% of queries, 80–100 = dominant presence in 70–90%+ of relevant queries. Score improvement is modeled as proportional citation rate improvement within these bands.
AI search-driven visitors are estimated as: (AI search audience) × (citation rate at target AIS − citation rate at current AIS) × (AI search referral conversion to site visit, estimated at 12%). This is conservative — Perplexity visible citations can drive higher referral rates; parametric model citations drive lower but still non-zero rates via brand recall.
We use 2% as a baseline conversion rate for AI search-referred visitors, consistent with observed Perplexity referral conversion benchmarks across SaaS and e-commerce categories. If your site converts organic traffic above 3%, this estimate may be conservative for you. If below 1%, adjust expectations accordingly.
AISearchStackHub's Scale plan ($299/mo) is the Citation Asset Compounding Engine — it generates, tracks, and compounds your citeable assets over time. It's designed to take you from your current AIS score to your target score faster than any manual approach.
The calculator produces directional estimates, not precise forecasts. It is useful for understanding the order-of-magnitude opportunity and for building a business case for AEO investment. The actual results depend heavily on execution quality, competitive dynamics, and your specific market. Treat the output as a planning reference, not a guarantee.
For a domain starting at an AIS score of 20–30 with active AEO investment: +15 to +25 points is achievable in 6 months with dedicated content work. With AISearchStackHub's Scale plan compounding engine: +25 to +40 points is achievable. Very low-authority domains and very competitive niches will see slower improvement; newer niches and lower-competition categories can improve faster.
No — AEO and SEO target different surfaces. AEO optimization improves AI engine citations, which generates AI search referral traffic in addition to your organic search traffic. Good AEO tactics (structured data, comprehensive content, entity clarity) also reinforce traditional SEO signals, creating a synergistic rather than cannibalistic effect.
If you haven't run an AIS scan before, a conservative default of 20–25 is reasonable for most domains that haven't done active AEO work. You can run a free scan to get your real baseline in under 5 minutes — then update the calculator with your actual score for a more accurate projection.
Stop guessing your baseline. Run a free AIS scan and see exactly where you stand across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini — then come back and update this calculator with your real number.
Run Free AIS Scan