AI Visibility pillar / check definition-statements

A plain sentence saying what the business is

Our editorial guideline, not a Google rule: near the top of the page, one plain sentence should say what the business is ("Acme Law is an estate planning firm in Baltimore"). We also collect definitions under "What is" headings.

By Shimon Carroll, Founder, SEO for AI Agents · Last updated

What this check measures

In the first part of the main content we look for a self-description: the business name followed by is, helps, provides, offers, serves or specializes, an "At {name}, we ..." sentence, or "We are a ...". The business name comes from your Organization markup, then your WebSite name, og:site_name or title. Under question headings such as "What is a living trust?" we also collect sentences that define the term. The evidence quotes the sentence we found and where it sits on the page.

Why it matters

Bing's Webmaster Guidelines ask that facts and definitions be explicit and that key statements not rely on implied content, and ask for clear, consistent names for organizations and places. A sentence that states what you are, for whom and where is a fact a reader can take in at a glance and an answer engine can quote without guessing.

How we score it

Editorial guideline. A page with no such sentence is a LOW finding; it is never higher and never takes the first action-plan slot while a measured defect exists. Pages that are not English, are too short, or are not business pages are not measured.

Confidence-flag rules

MEDIUM. Pattern matching can miss an unusual phrasing; the evidence shows exactly what we found, so you can check.

Common mistakes

  • Opening with a slogan ("Excellence. Integrity. Results.") instead of a fact.
  • Saying what you do without saying where, for a local business.
  • Describing the business only in an image or a video.

How to fix it

Add one sentence near the top: "{Your business} is a [what you are] that helps [who] with [what] in [where]." Keep it factual.

Primary sources

Changelog

  • · Initial publication. Editorial, low ceiling. Applies to homepages, service pages and other business pages; articles, listings and contact pages are not measured.
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