UK AI Search Visibility Index
The first UK-specific analysis of AI search visibility. We audited 32,619 UK websites to see how they perform in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI. The results are concerning.
Key Findings
The UK is doing slightly better than the global average, but the picture is still stark. Nearly three-quarters of UK websites are not properly visible to AI search engines. When someone asks ChatGPT for a recommendation, most UK businesses simply will not appear.
64.4% of UK websites score below 50/100 for AI search visibility. Only 13.1% reach the Strong tier. Just 12 UK websites in our database have achieved AI-Ready status (81+).
UK Tier Distribution
Invisible (0-20) 490 sites Low Visibility (21-40) 15,390 sites Emerging (41-60) 12,467 sites Strong (61-80) 4,260 sites AI-Ready (81-100) 12 sites
UK Performance by Sector
Health & wellness leads UK sectors at 50.2 (driven by dentists' strong schema adoption), while marketing agencies trail at 40.8. We grouped 32,000+ UK sites into 8 major sectors.
| Sector | Sites audited | Avg Score | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health & Wellness | 3,558 | 50.2 | Dentists, healthcare, wellness, pharma |
| Finance & Accounting | 370 | 49.4 | Finance, wealth management, accountants, insurance |
| Tech & Software | 595 | 45.1 | SaaS, martech, dev tools, crypto |
| Retail & Consumer | 626 | 44.1 | E-commerce, fashion, sports |
| Professional & Public | 1,332 | 43.4 | Legal, education, government |
| Property & Automotive | 521 | 43.1 | Estate agents, automotive |
| Hospitality & Travel | 1,405 | 42.1 | Hotels, restaurants, travel, food & beverage |
| Marketing Agencies | 1,118 | 40.8 | PR, creative, brand, communications agencies |
What this means: UK healthcare sites (especially dentists) lead because they adopted structured data and LocalBusiness schema early. Health & wellness is now the only sector to break 50. The real surprise is marketing agencies at just 40.8, despite being the companies selling digital expertise to others. When someone asks ChatGPT for a marketing agency recommendation, most UK agencies simply won't appear.
The UK's Top-Scoring Websites
Only 4,272 UK sites reach the Strong tier or above (61+). Here are the top performers:
| Website | Score | Industry |
|---|---|---|
| ronniehuss.co.uk | 83 | Personal Brand |
| payl8r.com | 83 | Finance |
| mygpclinic.co.uk | 82 | Healthcare |
| tinderhouse.com | 82 | Design |
| affordable-dissertation.co.uk | 82 | Education |
| homesgofast.com | 81 | Real Estate |
| treelinedental.co.uk | 80 | Dentist |
| synthesia.io | 79 | AI Tech |
What's Holding UK Websites Back
Based on our audit data, the most common issues affecting UK websites are:
1. Missing llms.txt files
Only 54% of UK sites have an llms.txt file - the plain text summary that helps AI tools understand what a website is about. This is a simple file that takes minutes to create but nearly half of UK sites are missing it.
2. Weak structured data
While 94.6% of UK sites have some form of schema markup, most have only basic implementations. Comprehensive LocalBusiness schema with full NAP (name, address, phone), geo coordinates and opening hours is rare outside the dentist sector.
3. No answer-first content
AI engines prefer content that answers questions directly in the first paragraph. Most UK business websites still write in a narrative, brand-first style rather than providing clear, quotable answers that AI can extract and cite.
4. Missing author signals
EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals matter to AI engines. Most UK sites lack author bylines, credentials and publication dates on their content.
UK vs Global Comparison
| Metric | UK | Global |
|---|---|---|
| Average Score | 44.2 | ~34 |
| % Below 50 (Low Visibility or worse) | 64.4% | ~78% |
| % Strong or above (61+) | 13.1% | ~0.5% |
| Sites audited | 32,619 | 816,355 |
The UK scores about 10 points higher than the global average, likely because UK businesses adopted structured data and SEO best practices earlier. However, being "better than average" still means 64% of UK sites score below 50 for AI visibility. The bar is low everywhere.
What UK Businesses Should Do Right Now
- Check your AI visibility score at searchscore.io - free, takes 30 seconds
- Allow AI crawlers in your robots.txt (GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot)
- Create an llms.txt file summarising your business for AI tools
- Add LocalBusiness schema with full name, address, phone and geo coordinates
- Write answer-first paragraphs on key pages - directly answer the question in the first sentence
- Add author bylines with credentials to your blog and service pages
Check Your UK Business for AI Visibility
Get your free score out of 100. See exactly how ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI see your site.
Get My Free AI ScoreMethodology
This report is based on SearchScore audits of 32,619 websites identified as UK-based (via .co.uk or .uk domain). Scores are calculated across 8 categories and 130+ signals including AI Citability, Brand Authority, Content Quality, Technical Foundations, On-Page Structure, User Experience, Topical Authority and AI Platform Readiness. Data collected Q2 2026. Tier thresholds match the global SAVI framework: AI-Ready (81-100), Strong (61-80), Emerging (41-60), Low Visibility (21-40), Invisible (0-20).
Full methodology | Global SAVI Report | How AI Search Rankings Work