# Getting started

Source: https://auditae.app/docs/getting-started

What AuditAE does, what you get when you sign up (free credit, a first audit, a free re-check) and the recommended path for a new account.

**What AuditAE does:** when a buyer asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or Google AI Overviews about your category, AuditAE checks whether the engine cites your brand — and if not, who got the link instead.

**Why it matters:** traditional SEO measures whether you rank in Google. AEO measures whether you're the answer when an AI *answers for* Google. 60% of searches now end without a click; the answer the AI gave is the conversion moment, and most brands have no instrumentation on it.

## What you get on signup

- **$5 free credit**, no card required. It shows up as the first row on the Billing page. The credit goes to your personal workspace; a new team workspace starts at $0.
- **Your first audit runs automatically** when you add your first site: 4 buyer questions × 4 engines = $1.32 in checks. The playbook and top fixes on your first audit aren't charged — only the engine checks use credit. After that, a 5-prompt × 4-engine audit is $1.65 in checks, plus about 10¢ of fix plan per answer that doesn't cite you and a 45¢ summary, so about $4.10 when no answer cites you.
- **Free re-check:** 14 days after your first audit, we re-ask up to 5 of its questions on ChatGPT and Perplexity for free and email you whether you moved.
- **One-click weekly tracking:** the "Re-check these N questions every week" card on your first audit's results shows the cost per run, and its **Track weekly** button saves the questions as the site's prompts and schedules them, with a top-up inside the card if you need one.
- **First top-up:** accounts that haven't paid yet see a $10 one-off top-up; auto-refill is offered after your first purchase.
- A **private workspace** — every audit, prompt, and saved chat is scoped to your account.
- API + MCP access — generate a key when you're ready to automate. See [REST API and API keys](https://auditae.app/docs/api) and [Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor](https://auditae.app/docs/mcp).

## Recommended path for a new account

1. Add a site for the brand you want to track — see [Add a site and run an audit](https://auditae.app/docs/run-an-audit).
2. Run an audit from that site to see how AI engines cite you today, then [read the results](https://auditae.app/docs/read-results) and [apply a fix plan](https://auditae.app/docs/fix-plan).
3. If the site is on WordPress, pair the free AuditAE plugin from [Integrations](https://auditae.app/dashboard/integrations) so AEBOT can edit posts (Elementor and block-editor pages included), push SEO meta, and inject FAQ schema directly — see [Pair the WordPress plugin](https://auditae.app/docs/wordpress-pairing).
4. Connect Google Analytics + Search Console so the site's **Traffic** tab shows real search and analytics data — see [Connect Google](https://auditae.app/docs/google).
5. Ask AEBOT for a monthly report — see [Using AEBOT](https://auditae.app/docs/aebot).
6. Top up when you need to: below $3 the Overview shows a top-up card, and AEBOT needs $1.50 to start a reply — see [Credits, prices and top-ups](https://auditae.app/docs/credits).

Not sure where to start? The [free AI brand check](https://auditae.app/ai-brand-monitor) asks one buyer question without an account, and [how it works](https://auditae.app/how-it-works) walks through the whole loop.