7 Best Free AEO Tools in 2026: Scanner, Checker & Optimization

## Why You Need AEO Tools

AI search engines are becoming the primary way people find information. ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews now handle billions of queries monthly. To appear in their answers, your website needs to be optimized for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) — and the right tools make the process dramatically faster.

Here are the 7 best free AEO tools available in 2026, compared by features, strengths, and ideal use cases.

## 1. AEO Scanner (aeo.codecity.com.tw)

**Best for:** Comprehensive AEO auditing with a single scan

AEO Scanner is a purpose-built tool that evaluates your website across all 9 dimensions of AEO readiness. Enter a URL, and it returns a detailed score with actionable fix-it code snippets for every issue found.

**Key features:**

- **9-metric scoring system** — Meta tags (15%), Open Graph (10%), Content structure (15%), JSON-LD (15%), Image alt text (10%), FAQ schema (10%), Contact info (10%), llms.txt (10%), Social cards (5%)
- **Real-time AI crawler tracking** — See which AI bots (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot) are visiting your site and when
- **Auto-generated fix-it code** — Get ready-to-paste HTML, JSON-LD, and meta tag snippets for every detected issue
- **Hosted llms.txt generation** — Automatically creates and hosts an llms.txt file for your scanned domain
- **AI-friendly site directory** — Scanned sites are added to a public directory that AI crawlers index
- **Multi-language support** — Interface available in English, Chinese, and Japanese
- **APAC-focused insights** — Particularly strong for websites targeting Taiwan, Japan, and the Asia-Pacific region

**Limitations:** Currently scans one URL at a time (not full-site crawls). Best used for auditing key landing pages.

## 2. Google Rich Results Test

**Best for:** Validating structured data markup

Google's Rich Results Test checks whether your structured data is valid and eligible for rich results in Google Search. While not AI-specific, valid structured data is a core AEO requirement.

**Key features:**

- Validates JSON-LD, Microdata, and RDFa markup
- Shows which rich result types your page qualifies for
- Identifies schema errors and warnings
- Tests both live URLs and code snippets

**Limitations:** Only validates against Google's supported schema types. Does not check AEO-specific elements like llms.txt or AI crawler access.

## 3. Schema.org Validator

**Best for:** Comprehensive schema markup validation

The official Schema.org validator checks your structured data against the full schema.org vocabulary — not just the subset Google supports.

**Key features:**

- Validates against the complete schema.org specification
- Supports JSON-LD, Microdata, and RDFa
- Catches errors that Google's tool misses
- Useful for validating advanced schema types used by AI engines

**Limitations:** No AEO scoring, no recommendations, no fix-it code. Purely a validator.

## 4. Google PageSpeed Insights

**Best for:** Technical performance that affects AI crawling

Page speed and Core Web Vitals affect whether AI crawlers can efficiently access your content. Slow sites get crawled less frequently.

**Key features:**

- Measures Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint, and Cumulative Layout Shift
- Provides specific optimization recommendations
- Tests both mobile and desktop performance
- Powered by Lighthouse with real-world Chrome User Experience data

**Limitations:** Not AEO-specific. Measures performance, not content structure or structured data.

## 5. Bing Webmaster Tools

**Best for:** Ensuring AI crawler discovery via Bing's index

Since ChatGPT Search and Perplexity rely heavily on Bing's index, Bing Webmaster Tools is essential for AEO.

**Key features:**

- Submit and monitor XML sitemaps
- View crawl statistics and errors
- Check which pages Bing has indexed
- Submit URLs for immediate indexing
- SEO reports and keyword data

**Limitations:** Requires site verification. Focused on Bing's traditional crawling, not AI-specific metrics.

## 6. ChatGPT (for Manual Testing)

**Best for:** Testing whether AI engines actually cite your content

The most direct way to test AEO effectiveness is to ask ChatGPT questions in your domain and see if your site is cited.

**Key features:**

- Test real AI search behavior firsthand
- See how your content is summarized and cited
- Compare your citations against competitors
- Free tier available with web search capability

**Limitations:** Manual and time-consuming. Results vary by session. No systematic tracking or scoring.

## 7. Structured Data Markup Helper (by Google)

**Best for:** Creating JSON-LD markup from scratch

If your site lacks structured data entirely, this tool helps you generate it by tagging elements on your page.

**Key features:**

- Visual interface for tagging page elements
- Generates JSON-LD or Microdata output
- Supports Article, Product, Event, and other common types
- Good starting point for structured data beginners

**Limitations:** Generates basic markup only. Does not cover AEO-specific schemas like FAQPage in depth.

## Feature Comparison

| Tool | AEO Score | JSON-LD Check | AI Crawler Tracking | Fix-it Code | llms.txt | Free |
|------|-----------|---------------|--------------------:|-------------|----------|------|
| **AEO Scanner** | Yes (9 metrics) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Rich Results | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Schema.org Validator | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| PageSpeed Insights | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | No | No | Partial | No | No | Yes |
| ChatGPT (Manual) | No | No | No | No | No | Partial |
| Markup Helper | No | Generates | No | Yes | No | Yes |

## What to Look for in an AEO Tool

When evaluating AEO tools, prioritize these capabilities:

- **Multi-signal scoring** — AEO involves at least 9 different signals. A tool that only checks one (like structured data) gives you an incomplete picture.
- **Actionable output** — Scores without fix-it guidance are frustrating. Look for tools that generate code you can implement immediately.
- **AI crawler awareness** — Understanding which AI bots visit your site (and which do not) is critical for diagnosing visibility issues.
- **llms.txt support** — This emerging standard is increasingly important and few tools support it yet.
- **Regular updates** — The AI search landscape changes rapidly. Your tools need to keep pace.

## Recommendation

Start with **AEO Scanner** for a comprehensive baseline assessment. It is the only tool that covers all 9 AEO dimensions in a single scan and provides ready-to-use fix-it code. Then use the specialized tools — Google Rich Results Test for schema validation, Bing Webmaster Tools for indexation monitoring, and manual ChatGPT testing for real-world citation verification.

The best AEO strategy uses multiple tools together, with AEO Scanner as the central hub for tracking your overall AI search readiness.