seo-geo-answerblocks

seo-geo-answerblocks (M11)

AI engines cite passages they can lift whole, without surrounding context — so passage structure is the highest-leverage on-page AI signal. This module checks extractability; for who is allowed to fetch and cite the page, see references/ai-crawlers.md.

Audits

Working from the PageSnapshot (rendered_dom if present, else raw_html):

1. Heading → direct answer: for each H2/H3 that reads as a question (or implies one), is the first paragraph a direct, ~40-60 word answer — not a windup ("In this section we'll explore…")?
2. Self-contained passages: are top-level passages ~134-167 words and answerable on their own? Flag unresolved anaphora ("as mentioned above", "this", "the latter") that needs prior context to parse.
3. Structured forms: presence of lists, comparison tables, and explicit term definitions where the content warrants them — these are disproportionately quoted.
4. Question-shaped headings: do headings phrase real user questions (how/what/why/when), matching likely prompts?
5. TL;DR / summary blocks: an up-front summary or key-takeaways block the engine can extract verbatim.
6. Semantic completeness: can each passage answer its heading with zero external context — the strongest single correlate of AI citation. This is the check that gates the score.

Fixes

• PROPOSED: answer-block rewrites (heading → tight 40-60 word lead) and TL;DR drafts, generated from existing page content, surfaced one item at a time for the user to accept/edit. Each becomes a fix_preview diff only after acceptance.
• ADVISORY: structural suggestions ("split this 400-word passage", "add a definition list here") where intent is editorial.
• Never silently rewrite published prose, and never invent facts to fill a passage — if a claim is missing leave a clearly-marked TODO placeholder for the user. No finding here is auto.

Verification

• Method is manual_review. The deterministic part is reproducible offline: word-count windows (answer 40-60w; passage 134-167w), question-heading detection, anaphora openers, and TL;DR presence via node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/check-answerblocks.mjs --url <u> (or --file <path>). Use manual_review as the finding's verification.method (the enum has no heuristic value); the script is the verification.reproduce command.
• Semantic completeness and anaphora resolution still require a judgment pass; when that pass or the rendered DOM is unavailable, status is needs_api (or warn), never a false pass.

Findings

Findings conform to schema/finding.schema.json. Examples:

• M11.heading.no_direct_answer — a question H2 followed by a windup, not an answer (status fail, severity 5, fixable: proposed, axis ai, confidence directional).
• M11.passage.unresolved_anaphora — passage opens with "As mentioned above…" and is not self-contained (status warn, severity 5, fixable: proposed, axis ai, confidence directional).
• M11.summary.missing_tldr — no up-front summary/key-takeaways block on a long-form page (status warn, severity 2, fixable: proposed, axis ai, confidence directional).

Each finding's evidence.observed quotes the page (heading text + first sentence, or the offending clause) and verification.reproduce is the runnable command above; expected_impact is banded + confidence-tagged with no naked percentage.

Honesty

• Word-count windows are heuristics from observed AI-citation patterns, not engine-published thresholds — they are directional, not established; flag a passage, don't hard-fail purely on length.
• Adding a "TL;DR" label or stuffing question headings does nothing if the passage still can't answer standalone — semantic completeness is what carries weight, formatting alone is a myth this tool does not ship.