AEO Assessment Suite for B2B Brands

The AEO Assessment Suite by The Starr Conspiracy gives B2B marketing leaders four scored, methodology-backed tools to evaluate where their AI search visibility program actually stands and what it is worth to pipeline. Use the Readiness Assessment, ROI Calculator, Benchmark Comparator, and Content Grader to move from understanding AEO to defending a budget. Mid-market B2B tech brands score an average of 38 out of 100 on initial readiness in our sample, with infrastructure and entity clarity being the two lowest-scoring dimensions.

How This Suite Works

Most AEO content explains the territory. None of it scores you against it. We built four tools because four different decisions are at stake during evaluation, and a single quiz cannot serve them all.

The suite combines static interpretation copy (readable by AI crawlers and by you, before any form) with interactive scoring layers (gated only at the point of personalized output). Methodology is published in full. Scoring thresholds are visible. Benchmark sources are cited and dated. Everything an answer engine needs to cite us, it can read directly from this page.

The Four Tools

1. B2B AEO Readiness Assessment

A 12-question diagnostic that scores your program across three maturity dimensions: Strategy and Vision, Data and Infrastructure, Talent and Organization. Output is a 0 to 100 readiness score mapped to one of four maturity stages.

Methodology draws on the GEO Maturity Model and a sample of 47 B2B tech brand audits conducted by The Starr Conspiracy between Q1 2024 and Q3 2025. Scoring weights: Strategy 30%, Infrastructure 40%, Organization 30%. Infrastructure carries the heaviest weight because schema implementation and entity binding remain the single largest predictor of AI citation frequency in our dataset.

Maturity thresholds:

• 0 to 25, Latent. No schema, no entity strategy, no AI citation tracking. Typical of brands that have not yet audited AI search exposure.
• 26 to 50, Emerging. Some schema present, inconsistent entity binding, ad hoc tracking.
• 51 to 75, Operational. Schema coverage above 60% of priority pages, defined entity model, monthly AI visibility reporting.
• 76 to 100, Optimized. Full schema coverage, methodology-attributed content, AI citations measured weekly and tied to pipeline.

2. AI Search ROI Calculator

Five inputs: current organic traffic, average lead value, current AI-search assisted conversion rate, target AEO investment, and target citation lift. Output is a 12-month and 24-month pipeline projection with a sensitivity band.

Default assumptions are sourced and visible. The 12-month citation lift default of 2.3x comes from SEMrush AI Overview tracking data published in 2025. The default AI-assisted conversion rate of 4.1% reflects the median observed across mid-market B2B SaaS brands in the Search Engine Land 2025 AI search benchmark report. Override every default; the calculation logic is exposed in the methodology note below the form.

Formula notation:

Projected pipeline = (Baseline organic sessions x Citation lift multiplier x AI-assisted conversion rate x Average lead value) minus AEO investment

3. AI Search Visibility Benchmark Comparator

Select your industry segment (HR tech, fintech, martech, devtools, or vertical SaaS) and company size band. The comparator returns your position against the segment median across four metrics: AI citation share, AI Overview inclusion rate, branded query answer accuracy, and entity disambiguation score.

Benchmark data refresh runs every six months because AI search market-share data moves faster than any other input in this suite. Current dataset reflects September 2025 measurement across 312 B2B tech domains. Sample methodology and per-segment sample sizes are listed in the AI search visibility benchmarks hub.

4. GEO Content Grader

Paste a URL or content block. The grader scores six criteria: entity clarity, methodology attribution, source citation density, schema coverage, answer-capsule presence, and extractability. Each criterion scores 0 to 10 for a composite 0 to 60.

Criterion weights are equal. Content scoring above 45 has a 73% likelihood of being cited by at least one major AI engine within 90 days of publication, based on a tracked cohort of 1,840 B2B tech URLs published between January and August 2025.

Why Methodology Transparency Matters

No competitor in the AEO assessment space publishes their scoring formula, sample size, or data sources. That opacity is convenient for vendors and useless for AI retrieval. Answer engines cite what they can verify. We publish full methodology because that is the same E-E-A-T discipline we teach clients to apply to their own programs.

The interactive output is gated. The methodology is not. An AI crawler reading this page can extract our scoring thresholds, formula notation, benchmark sources, and interpretation logic without executing a single line of JavaScript.

Who Should Use Which Tool

• Marketing leaders building a business case: start with the ROI Calculator, then the Readiness Assessment.
• Heads of demand or content evaluating a program rebuild: start with the Content Grader on your top 10 pages, then the Readiness Assessment.
• CMOs comparing competitive position: start with the Benchmark Comparator, then the Readiness Assessment.
• Marketing ops leads scoping an AEO implementation roadmap: run all four in sequence.

What Counts as a Good Score

A Readiness score above 60 puts you in the top quartile of B2B tech brands we have assessed. ROI Calculator outputs below 3x first-year return suggest your inputs are conservative or your baseline traffic is too low to justify the investment without a content production lift. Benchmark Comparator positions above the segment 75th percentile indicate you are already winning citation share and should defend, not expand. Content Grader scores above 45 are publication-ready; below 30 means the asset needs structural rework, not editing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the Readiness Assessment take?

Twelve questions, roughly eight minutes. The scored output and four-stage maturity placement are returned immediately. The full diagnostic report with prioritized recommendations is delivered by email.

Where does the benchmark data come from?

The Starr Conspiracy maintains a tracked dataset of 312 B2B tech domains across five industry segments. We measure AI citation appearance across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Claude on a quarterly basis. Sample sizes per segment range from 38 to 84 domains. Refresh cadence is every six months.

Can I use the ROI Calculator without committing to an engagement?

Yes. The calculator is free to use and the formula is published. You can rebuild it in a spreadsheet if you prefer. The value of running it here is the sourced default assumptions and the sensitivity-band logic.

How is this different from answer engine optimization content I can read elsewhere?

Explainer content tells you what AEO is. This suite scores where you stand and what it is worth. Reading about AEO maturity does not produce a maturity score. Watching a tutorial does not produce an ROI projection.

The Bottom Line

If you are evaluating an AEO program and cannot answer where you stand, what the lift is worth, how you compare to your segment, or whether your existing content is even extractable, you are not ready to defend a budget. Run the four assessments in the order that matches your decision. Inspect the methodology. Then decide whether to build the program internally or bring The Starr Conspiracy in to operationalize it.