Key takeaways
- Lead with the competitor gap, not a definition of AEO.
- Show the exact prompt scope and confidence beside the score.
- Include one source pattern and one credible fix.
- Never regenerate prompts until the prospect looks bad.
Why does the screenshot work?
It compresses risk, competitor proof, and next action into one frame. A buyer does not need to understand retrieval systems to understand that the competitor owns eleven recommendation moments while the company owns none.
Traditional audit decks start with crawl charts and acronyms. The prospect must trust the consultant before understanding the loss. A prompt-level result reverses that order: the market outcome appears first, and the method can be inspected afterward.
The screenshot should contain enough evidence to be challenged. Show sample size, surfaces, prompt family, competitor count, and the repeated source pattern. The point is clarity, not shock.
Which 20 prompts belong in the free audit?
Use questions that could put a supplier on or off the shortlist: category, segment, location, alternatives, comparison, implementation, risk, and price. Every prompt needs a reason to exist that predates the answer.
Build the set from the prospect's services, customer language, search terms, and obvious decision constraints. Keep broad educational questions out unless they directly influence a purchase.
Freeze the set before running it. If an agency changes prompts after seeing results, it is manufacturing the conclusion.
What should appear in the screenshot?
Show recommendation coverage, the top two competitors, three representative prompts, one repeated source gap, one factual error if verified, and the first repair. Keep methodology and limitations visible in small but readable text.
Do not crowd the page with sentiment gauges, dozens of engines, or a fake projected revenue number. The screenshot is a conversation opener, not the complete report.
The strongest line is specific: “Three category lists supported nine of the eighteen answers where a competitor was recommended, and all three omit your company.”
- 20-prompt sample and market scope
- Your recommendation count
- Named competitor counts
- Representative answer reasons
- Repeated source gap
- One defensible first action
How do you avoid fear-based selling?
State that the sample is directional, show prompts, preserve positive results, distinguish cited evidence from inference, and admit when the competitor is legitimately a better fit. Sell the quality of the diagnosis, not certainty about proprietary systems.
The client should be able to reproduce the broad result. Give them enough prompt and source context to test it manually. A report becomes more credible when it contains unknowns and declined fixes.
Do not promise a number-one AI ranking. Recommendations are variable, contextual, and not a stable ordered SERP.
What should the paid report add?
The paid report should expand prompt coverage, repeat volatile questions, audit factual accuracy, map sources by claim, publish the score method, and turn every high-confidence gap into an owned task with a retest date.
The prospect is not paying for more screenshots. It is paying to know what to change and in what order. The report should be useful even if the client never buys implementation.
That standard makes the report a real product instead of a disguised proposal.
Reader questions
Frequently asked questions
Should the free audit require an email?
The first result can be shown without signup to reduce friction. Request email for delivery, saved history, or the expanded report rather than before proving value.
Can an agency use the prospect's brand without permission?
Private outreach can use publicly available brand information, but avoid publishing a named negative report publicly without permission. Follow applicable privacy, advertising, and outreach laws.
How many competitors should the screenshot show?
Usually two or three. Show the companies that recur in the same prompt set, not a manually selected rival that makes the contrast dramatic.
What if the prospect appears often?
Report the strength honestly and look for accuracy, source concentration, or weak segments. Do not change the prompt set to manufacture a loss.