DIY Free AI Visibility Audit for Small Businesses with Open-Source Tools

Why AI Visibility Matters for SMEs

Ever asked ChatGPT for a recommendation and realised your brand didn’t show up? Ouch. In 2025, more people start with AI engines than traditional search. If an AI doesn’t know you exist, neither will your customers.

AI visibility isn’t just a buzzword. It’s how generative tools like Gemini and Perplexity list your products. It’s how they mention—or ignore—you in their answers. For small businesses, that’s a make-or-break deal.

• Missing = losing leads.
• Not found = invisible.
• No mention = no trust signals.

A simple free brand audit helps you spot those gaps. Better still: you can DIY it with open-source tools. You don’t need a vast budget or an army of developers. You just need a clear plan.

What Is a Free Brand Audit?

A free brand audit is a quick health-check of how AI engines see your business. It covers:

• Brand mentions across AI chatbots.
• Citation tracking for your website.
• Competitor benchmarking in generative answers.
• Visibility gaps you can fix today.

Think of it like asking your friend, “Do you know me?” But in this case, your friend is a robot. And it’s brutally honest.

Traditional audits cost thousands. They’re locked behind paywalls. Our open-source toolkit flips that on its head. You grab the code. You run a few scripts. You get data. Simple.

The Open-Source Toolkit: Breaking It Down

We’ve gathered the best free tools so you don’t have to:

1. GPT-Query Script
   – Simulates prompts in ChatGPT.
   – Checks if your brand gets a mention.
2. Gemini-Crawler
   – Crawls responses from Google’s Gemini.
   – Tracks citations and source links.
3. Perplexity-Tracker
   – Logs Perplexity AI answers.
   – Measures your brand’s “share of voice.”
4. Report Generator
   – Converts raw data to graphs.
   – Exports a neat PDF.

All scripts are on GitHub. It’s MIT-licensed. You can tweak them. You can ask the community for help. No hidden fees. No lock-in.

Step-By-Step: Run Your Free Brand Audit

1. Clone the repo:
   git clone https://github.com/your-org/ai-visibility-audit
2. Install dependencies:
   pip install -r requirements.txt
3. Configure your brand details in config.yaml.
4. Run python run_audit.py.
5. Generate your report:
   python generate_report.py --output report.pdf

In under 15 minutes, you have your free brand audit. You see:

• Where AI engines mention you.
• Which prompts ignore your brand.
• How you stack up against key rivals.

Comparing to a Competitor Audit

You might’ve seen agencies offering a similar service. They promise:

• Raw citation tracking.
• Competitor benchmarks (three rivals, typically).
• A shiny PDF report.

That sounds nice. But there’s a catch:

• Closed-source. You can’t verify the logic.
• Limited to a few queries.
• No DIY option.
• Costly upgrades for deeper insights.

Our open-source approach addresses these. Here’s how:

• Transparency: Read the code. Audit the audit.
• Flexibility: Tweak queries to your niche.
• Scale: Track as many prompts as you like.
• Community support: Get issues fixed by savvy contributors.

Instead of a static PDF, you get live data. Instead of a locked dashboard, you get open files. And you still get that free brand audit without sacrificing depth.

What You’ll Get in Your DIY Report

Your audit report covers eight sections, each with actionable takeaways:

1. Executive Snapshot
   – Quick summary of visibility scores.
2. Competitive Benchmark
   – Side-by-side with three top rivals.
3. Prompt Coverage
   – Which search questions you win or miss.
4. Citation Intelligence
   – Raw URLs and trust signals.
5. Improvement Playbook
   – Step-by-step fixes.
6. Competitor Tips
   – What rivals do right (and how to emulate them).
7. Next Steps
   – Prioritised action items.
8. Critical Gaps
   – Must-fix issues to boost visibility.

It’s not fluff. It’s a roadmap. And yes, it’s a free brand audit.

Explore our features

Integrating with Maggie’s AutoBlog

Now, audits are great. But you need content to fill those gaps. Enter Maggie’s AutoBlog, our high-priority AI content generator. It:

• Analyses your website.
• Auto-writes SEO and GEO-targeted blog posts.
• Customises tone and keywords.

Need to boost AI visibility? Run a batch of posts with prompts you missed. Maggie’s AutoBlog turns your audit insights into posts that AI engines can’t ignore.

Common Pitfalls & Quick Wins

You’ve got the report. Now what?

• Pitfall 1: Ignoring prompt diversity.
  Quick win: Expand your prompt list to cover related queries.

• Pitfall 2: Overlooking competitor strategies.
  Quick win: Steal their high-performing angles (legally, of course).

• Pitfall 3: Waiting for perfect content.
  Quick win: Publish early. Iterate based on audit feedback.

A free brand audit without action is like a treasure map you never follow. Use the data. Update your content. Track improvements monthly.

Bringing It All Together

AI is rewriting how customers find you. A missing mention is a missed sale. You don’t need budgets the size of a Fortune 500. You need:

• A transparent, open-source toolkit.
• A solid free brand audit process.
• Content—like Maggie’s AutoBlog—to fill the gaps.

Small teams win when they move fast. Run your audit today. Fix a few low-hanging fruit. Watch your brand start popping up in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity.

Your competitors are already in the game. Don’t let them hog the spotlight.

Get a personalized demo