How Visible Are You to AI? Why It Matters More Than You Think

Try the AI Visibility Prompt to See How Visibile YOU ARE

Last month, a client said to me, “I’ve updated my LinkedIn, I’ve got a portfolio site, but I’m still invisible.” That struck me because I’ve heard it countless times—from professionals in career transition, entrepreneurs trying to stand out, and leaders trying to be seen for their full value.

And now, in the age of AI, “invisible” has a whole new meaning.

Why Visibility in AI Matters

When hiring managers or clients search for someone with your skills, talents, and expertise, they’re not always searching directly on LinkedIn or Google. Increasingly, they’re asking AI: “Who are the top experts in [industry]?” or “Who can solve [this problem]?”

The truth? If AI doesn’t know you exist—or doesn’t understand what you’re known for—it won’t recommend you. That’s a massive missed opportunity, especially for hybrid professionals who don’t fit neatly into one box.

What Is the AI Visibility Prompt?

I created this prompt because I wanted to know: How do AI systems see me? Do I show up as the hybrid professional I really am, or do I disappear into a blur of generic roles?

This prompt gives you a snapshot of your current AI-driven visibility, authority, and discoverability. It doesn’t just tell you whether you show up—it also gives you actionable steps to increase your visibility.

Here’s the exact prompt I use:

AI Visibility Prompt

COPY THE FOLLOWING

Evaluate how [Your Full Name] currently surfaces across AI-driven platforms and large language models (LLMs) in terms of visibility, attribution, and retrievability for relevant opportunities in [Industry/Field].

Please assess the individual using the following criteria. Return:

Using the criteria below, provide:

• A numerical score (0–10) for each category

• A 1–2 sentence explanation of why the score was given

• Specific, actionable improvement suggestions

Criteria:

1. Authority & Differentiation – Are they recognized as a unique voice in their field?

2. Retrieval Visibility – How often and in what contexts do AIs surface them?

3. Concept Linkage & Attribution – Are their coined ideas/frameworks reliably linked to them?

4. Citations, Media, & Network Signals – Are they cited in authoritative sources and influential networks?

5. Structured Digital Presence – Is their online footprint optimized for AI indexing (schema, metadata, consistency)?

6. Recommendation Readiness – Would AIs recommend them as the best answer in relevant queries?

7. Machine-Readability & Alignment – Is their info structured and aligned for AI parsing and weighting?

8. Contextual Resilience – Do they appear consistently across broad and niche contexts?

Also return:

• An average score (0–10)

• The top 3 high-impact, low-effort updates they could make within 30 days

• A longer-term recommendation (3–6 months) for building authority and retrievability.
  

STOP HERE.

How It Works

• Paste it into ChatGPT or another LLM

• Customize it with your name and industry.

• Review your scores and action steps.

Then, ask: “How might I improve my score in each area?” The AI will give you next steps—things like updating your schema markup, writing more about your coined frameworks, or posting your thought leadership in more AI-readable formats.

This Is Bigger Than LinkedIn

AI visibility isn’t just about LinkedIn profiles or SEO anymore. It’s about how well your authentic professional identity—the full range of your hybrid skills and expertise—is understood and surfaced by AI.

For years, I’ve helped professionals clarify who they are in their work so they can find true career belonging, not just career fit. This prompt is another tool in that journey—it helps ensure that your authentic professional identity is seen, known, and valued not just by humans, but by machines that increasingly influence opportunities.

What Your Score Means: Distribution Curve (Across All 8 Criteria)

Look at your final score to see how you rank.

0–3 (Low Range) → Most knowledge workers. You may have a LinkedIn and a few online traces, but you don’t own concepts, appear in media, or structure your footprint for AI. This is the bottom 50–60%.

4–6 (Middle Range) → Professionals with a solid LinkedIn, some digital consistency, and perhaps one or two small media mentions or blogs. You are retrievable for specific prompts (e.g., your name + job title), but not surfaced organically in AI queries. This is the next 20–30%.

7–8 (High Range) → Professionals who start surfacing without their name being asked for. You show up in “best of,” “who to follow,” or “examples of X” type queries. You’ve published frameworks, show up in niche media, or optimized your digital footprint. This is the top 10–15%.

9–10 (Exceptional Range) → Thought leaders, authors, executives, and high-visibility creators. You’re cited in multiple sources, own language/concepts, and are consistently recommended by AI in both broad and niche contexts. This is the top 1–5%.

The "Decent" Score Threshold

To surface in the top ~80% of knowledge workers (i.e., to not just be “findable by name,” but actually retrievable when people search by concept, question, or category), a person likely needs:

• Average score ≥ 6.5 across all 8 criteria

  • This is where you stop being invisible and start showing up beyond your exact name.

• A few criteria ≥ 7 (esp. Retrieval Visibility, Recommendation Readiness, and Structured Presence).

  • You don’t need 9s and 10s across the board, but you must cross a certain consistency threshold.

Your Turn

Run the prompt. See what AI says about you. And then—do something about it.

What did you discover about your visibility?