Editorial planning
SEO editorial plan: read it with Google and AI engines
RankAI's editorialPlan page lets you read each SEO editorial plan item on two levels: what Google indexes and what AI engines may report. Here is how to use it before you approve a version.
On RankAI's editorialPlan page, open an SEO editorial plan and read each item on two separate levels: what Google indexes and what AI engines may report. For every item, check that both readings appear, not just one. The page names ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok and Google AI. Claude and Grok are measured only after you connect them. Gemini and Google AI Overviews are not the same observation. Human approval of a version is the default; automatic publishing is turned on per site and still goes through the checks. That way, whoever approves a version knows what they are looking at before confirming it.
Two readings, not one
An SEO editorial plan is not just a list of content to publish. The editorialPlan page shows the difference between Google's reading and AI engines' answers: these are two separate observations and should be read separately. Google indexes pages and content; AI engines may report portions of text in their answers. The page names ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok and Google AI. Claude and Grok are measured only after you connect them. Gemini and Google AI Overviews are not the same observation and should be kept distinct even when they appear in the same plan.
How to read the plan, step by step
What follows is RankAI's suggested workflow, not a universal standard. It is for anyone approving an SEO editorial plan who wants a checkable criterion for each item.
- Open the item on the editorialPlan page and check that the plan separates Google's reading from AI engines' answers. Checkable criterion: both readings appear for the item, not just one.
- Check which engines are named: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok and Google AI. Checkable criterion: the names match those shown on the page, with nothing added.
- Check the connection status for Claude and Grok: they are measured only after you connect them. Checkable criterion: the status is stated explicitly on the page.
- Keep Gemini separate from Google AI Overviews: they are not the same observation. Checkable criterion: the plan does not merge the two.
- Confirm human approval of the version. Checkable criterion: the approved version is the one you intend to publish; automatic publishing, if turned on for the site, still goes through the checks.
The useful point of this piece is the separation between two questions that often get confused when approving an SEO editorial plan: "Will Google index this page?" and "Could an AI engine report this text in an answer?" The editorialPlan page helps keep them apart because it explicitly names ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok and Google AI, and because it treats Gemini and Google AI Overviews as different observations. Whoever approves does not have to infer a perimeter of exclusion: the page names some engines, and that is the fact. Claude and Grok are measured only after you connect them, so their status has to be checked, not assumed. Human approval of a version remains the default: automatic publishing is turned on per site and still goes through the checks. In practice, before confirming a version, you read the item on two levels and check that the engine names and the connection status match what the page shows. This is RankAI's suggested workflow, not a universal standard.
A checkable limit
The editorialPlan page names ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok and Google AI; Claude and Grok are measured only after you connect them; Gemini and Google AI Overviews are not the same observation. These are the references the page lets you verify. We do not attribute to the page any plan-reading functions the record does not confirm, and we do not treat the absence of other engines from the public pages as a fact of exclusion.
For the full picture, see the in-depth page.