The tScore: How AI Citations Actually Work

Traditional SEO ranks pages. AI cites sentences. The tScore measures what matters for the AI era.

The 7 Dimensions

Every page is scored across seven dimensions that influence whether AI assistants will cite your content.

Technical

undefined% of your score

Is your site technically sound? Checks JSON-LD schema, meta tags, Open Graph, canonical URLs, and semantic HTML that help AI crawlers parse your page.

What we check
  • JSON-LD structured data
  • Meta description
  • Open Graph tags
  • Canonical URL
  • Semantic HTML (<article>, <section>, <main>)
BeforeA page with no structured data, no meta description, generic <div> soup, and no canonical URL — AI crawlers struggle to understand what the page is about.
AfterA page using <article> for content, <section> for topics, JSON-LD for structured data, og:title/og:description for previews, and rel="canonical" to prevent duplicates.

Citability

undefined% of your score

Can AI quote you? Checks if your content has clear, self-contained statements AI can confidently extract and cite.

What we check
  • Direct answer patterns
  • Quotable sentence density
  • FAQ sections
  • List formatting
  • Definition patterns
BeforeThere are many different approaches one might consider when thinking about improving website performance, and the best approach really depends on a lot of different factors that vary from case to case.
AfterThe three most effective ways to improve website performance are: image compression, code minification, and CDN deployment. Image compression alone can reduce page load times by up to 40%.

Freshness

undefined% of your score

Is your data current? Checks for publication dates, update timestamps, year currency, and temporal language that signals your content is maintained.

What we check
  • Publication/update date
  • Year currency (vs 3+ years old)
  • Temporal language signals
  • Last updated pattern
BeforeThis guide covers best practices from 2019. Based on data from a 2020 report, these strategies remain the gold standard for optimisation.
AfterLast updated: January 2026. Based on the latest Core Web Vitals data from Google (Q4 2025), page speed thresholds have tightened. This guide reflects current best practices.

Authority

undefined% of your score

Do you cite credible sources? Evaluates authorship signals, citation count, specific data points, and external references that AI uses to judge trustworthiness.

What we check
  • Authorship signals (author, date)
  • Citation count
  • Specific data points (%, dates, stats)
  • External link count
BeforeExperts agree this is the best approach. Studies show it works great. Everyone knows this is true and the results speak for themselves.
AfterAccording to a 2025 Stanford study, websites with structured data receive 30% more AI citations. Dr. Sarah Chen, lead researcher at the Web Performance Lab, found that pages with 3+ external references are cited 2.4x more often by ChatGPT.

Information Density

undefined% of your score

Does your content say something unique? Measures entity richness, claim specificity, and whether you provide original data vs restating common knowledge.

What we check
  • Named entity density
  • Numeric claim density
  • Claim specificity (entity + data combos)
  • Vague filler language detection
BeforeIn today's world, it is important to note that many experts suggest that things are changing rapidly. As we all know, technology continues to evolve in many ways.
AfterStatistics Canada reported 73% growth in AI adoption across Canadian businesses in Q3 2025. According to Dr. Sarah Chen at McGill, organisations using structured content saw 42% higher AI citation rates.

Structure

undefined% of your score

Is it organised for AI? Checks heading hierarchy, subheading density, lists, and logical content flow so AI can navigate your page like a table of contents.

What we check
  • H1 presence
  • Subheading count
  • Heading hierarchy (H1→H2→H3)
  • Content-to-heading ratio
  • Table of contents signals
BeforeA single wall of text with no headings, no lists, and multiple topics jammed into one long paragraph that goes on and on without any visual breaks or organisational structure whatsoever.
After## What Is Website Performance? Performance measures how fast your site loads. ## Why It Matters - 53% of users leave if a page takes over 3 seconds - Google uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor ## How to Improve 1. Compress images 2. Minify code 3. Use a CDN

Cognitive Load

undefined% of your score

Is it easy to understand? Evaluates readability, sentence complexity, passive voice, and whether marketing language is inflating your claims.

What we check
  • Marketing language detection
  • Paragraph length
  • Sentence length
  • Passive voice ratio
  • Readability score
BeforeOur revolutionary, industry-leading, state-of-the-art solution is guaranteed to instantly transform your business with incredible, mind-blowing results that are absolutely unparalleled.
AfterOur content management system reduces publishing time by 35%. Teams using the platform report fewer errors and faster review cycles, based on a 2025 survey of 200 customers.

Crawl Accessibility

Prerequisite

Can AI bots actually reach your content? Checks robots.txt directives, JavaScript rendering requirements, paywall detection, and meta robots tags that block AI crawlers.

What we check
  • Meta robots directives
  • AI-specific bot blocking
  • JavaScript rendering dependency
  • Paywall/login gate detection
  • robots.txt AI bot rules
BeforeA page that blocks PerplexityBot and GPTBot in robots.txt, requires JavaScript to render, and has a paywall — AI crawlers see an empty page.
AfterA server-rendered page with no AI bot restrictions, no paywall, proper meta tags, and content accessible to all crawlers.

How the Score is Calculated

Your tScore is a weighted average of all seven dimensions. Structure and authority carry the most weight because AI assistants tend to favour well-organised, credible content.

Technical
●●●
Citability
●●
Freshness
Authority
●●●
Information Density
●●
Structure
●●●
Cognitive Load
Crawl Accessibility

What Your Score Means

A
90-100:AI-ready. Assistants are more likely to cite your content.
B
80-89:Strong foundation. A few targeted fixes will maximise citations.
C
60-79:Significant gaps. AI may skip your content for better-structured alternatives.
D/F
<60:Major restructuring needed. AI cannot reliably extract or cite this content.

Check Your Score

Enter any URL and get your full 7-dimension tScore breakdown — free.

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tScore Methodology | Tocho