Ratings & Directories
Podchaser, Listen Notes, Apple, Spotify
The richest single source for "best podcast for X" questions. Rating count, review text, and category placement all feed in.
A Free Tool by Stephanie Elie
Airtime Check
Somebody just asked Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity what to listen to next. Find out if any of them named your show — or somebody else's.
~30 Minutes4 AI Engines CheckedA Score + A Monthly Tracker
Start the check ↓Who this is for: any podcast — fiction or nonfiction, interview or narrative, five episodes in or five hundred. If a listener could ask an AI what to hear next, this works for you.
Part 1 of 2 · 5 Min Read
How AI decides what to recommend
An AI has no secret opinion about your show. When someone asks what to listen to, it goes and researches an answer — which means the shows it names are the shows its research actually turns up.
Roundups & Genre Blogs
"Best of" lists in your lane
Genre blogs, "10 podcasts to try this year" roundups, newsletter recommendations. When an AI researches your genre, these are the pages it reads.
Mentions, Awards & Guest Spots
Every place your name comes up
Signal Awards, Ambies, festival selections, a guest appearance on another feed, a Reddit thread that actually names you. Every mention is a vote.
Your Own Show, Said Plainly
Show notes and RSS metadata
Notes that state genre, format, and premise in plain language give AI a clean sentence to work with. A gorgeous but vague trailer gives it nothing to grab.
Part 1 of 2, Continued
The five things that actually move the needle
Ranked roughly by leverage — how much a fix tends to matter versus how easy it is to skip. This is reasoned from established SEO practice and how AI research tools generally work, not a confirmed, verified formula for any one engine.
- 01
Publish full transcripts on your own site
The highest-leverage, most commonly skipped move on this list. Audio isn't text. A transcript is the only way an AI, or Google, can actually read what you said, quote it, and cite it back to someone.
- 02
Write show notes like they're the whole product
A few real sentences — the topic, the guest, specific claims made, timestamps — beats a vague teaser every time. This is the text every directory and every research pass actually indexes.
- 03
Spell your show's name and premise identically everywhere
Directories, your website, your socials, your RSS feed. Inconsistent naming fragments your identity instead of reinforcing it across the sources an AI cross-references.
- 04
Get named by sources you don't control
A self-description is one voice. A roundup, a directory review, a guest appearance, or press coverage is a second and third voice agreeing with it — closer to how these tools actually decide who to trust than anything you write about yourself.
- 05
Keep it current
A "best of this year" answer favors what's fresh. A stale show-notes page or an abandoned directory profile signals the opposite of what you want, even when the show itself is still great.
Why The Check Is Built This Way
Two rules that keep it honest
Rule 01
The AI can't already know you
Ask in your everyday chat and it may remember you from past conversations, then name your show to be helpful. So the test runs in a private or incognito chat, with no memory of you at all.
Rule 02
The questions can't sound like you
Your show's name appears nowhere in the six questions, and the four general ones go first — before your hook and style words could tilt the answers toward your own niche.
The Six Questions
Six ways real listeners actually ask
Fill in the form below and these turn into your actual six questions.
01
The Straight Ask
What's the best [genre]?
Wave 102
The Vetting Ask
Worth actually committing to?
Wave 103
The Commitment Ask
Worth bingeing this year?
Wave 104
The Comp Ask
Something like [comp show]?
Wave 105
The Specialty Ask
Who does the best [hook]?
Wave 206
The Vibe Ask
Who does what my listener wants?
Wave 2Wave 1 goes in first, with no name and no specialty language, so it can't be biased. Wave 2 sounds like your actual ideal listener — and only goes in after Wave 1 is already answered.
Part 2 of 2 · Run Your Check
The check
About 30 minutes from here to a real score across all four major AI chat apps. One form, four private chats, three pastes each, and a tracker that turns this into a monthly habit.
1Fill the form · 2 min
Six fields. As you type, your six questions and your whole kit write themselves below.
The way a listener would describe the kind of show it is.
The specific thing that hooks people once they try it.
Used for the "something like ___" question.
In their words, not marketing copy.
A descriptor a listener would use, so Q5 doesn't sound like Q1.
Your Six Questions, Live
Q1
What's the best [GENRE & FORMAT] out there right now?
e.g. (Alpha 8) What's the best family-friendly sci-fi audio drama out there right now?
Q2
How do I find a good [GENRE & FORMAT] that's actually worth committing to?
e.g. (Alpha 8) How do I find a good family-friendly sci-fi audio drama that's actually worth committing to?
Q3
What's a [GENRE & FORMAT] worth bingeing this year, and why?
e.g. (Alpha 8) What's a family-friendly sci-fi audio drama worth bingeing this year, and why?
Q4
Something like [A COMP SHOW]? I want a [GENRE & FORMAT].
e.g. (Alpha 8) Something like The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian? I want a family-friendly sci-fi audio drama.
Q5
Who does the best [ONE MORE WORD FOR YOUR HOOK] [YOUR #1 HOOK]? I need a [GENRE & FORMAT].
e.g. (Alpha 8) Who does the best heartfelt alien-body-swap story? I need a family-friendly sci-fi audio drama.
Q6
I want a [GENRE & FORMAT] that's [HOW YOUR IDEAL LISTENER DESCRIBES WHAT THEY WANT]. What should I listen to?
e.g. (Alpha 8) I want a family-friendly sci-fi audio drama that's funny enough for me but real enough for my kid. What should I listen to?
2Run the kit in four private chats · ~20 min
The same three pastes, run once each in Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity — four separate, fresh private chats with no memory of you. Different engines research differently, so one engine's answer isn't the whole picture; running all four is what actually tells you where you stand.
Claude
Start a new chat and tap the ghost icon top right. You'll see a dark border and an "Incognito chat" label.
ChatGPT
Start a new chat and tap the pill-shaped "Temporary" button top right.
Gemini
Start a new chat and turn on Temporary Chat if your version offers it, near the top of the screen. If you don't see it, a signed-out or incognito browser window does the same job.
Perplexity
Look for an "Incognito" toggle if your plan offers one. If you don't see it, a signed-out or incognito browser window does the same job. Perplexity searches the web by default, so it needs the least coaxing of the four.
Interfaces change — if these exact steps don't match what's in front of you, look for whatever that app calls "incognito," "temporary," or "private" chat, or just use a logged-out browser window.
Paste 1 · The General Questions
No show name, no hook language. Kept fair on purpose.
I'm looking for a podcast to listen to and I'd like real recommendations. Answer each question below one at a time. Search the web for each question before answering, and if you can't search, say so at the top and answer from what you know. Give every question its own complete answer, labeled Q1 through Q4. End every answer with a table of the 3 to 5 specific podcasts you would recommend: show name, one line on why, and what stands out (ratings, platform presence, format). Never invent a podcast. If you can't verify one is real and current, leave it out and say so. Q1: What's the best [GENRE & FORMAT] out there right now? Q2: How do I find a good [GENRE & FORMAT] that's actually worth committing to? Q3: What's a [GENRE & FORMAT] worth bingeing this year, and why? Q4: Something like [A COMP SHOW]? I want a [GENRE & FORMAT].
Paste 2 · The Specialty Questions
Paste this only after the first four answers are done.
Two more questions, same rules: search the web first, answer one at a time, and end each answer with the same table of 3 to 5 specific podcasts you would recommend. Q5: Who does the best [ONE MORE WORD FOR YOUR HOOK] [YOUR #1 HOOK]? I need a [GENRE & FORMAT]. Q6: I want a [GENRE & FORMAT] that's [HOW YOUR IDEAL LISTENER DESCRIBES WHAT THEY WANT]. What should I listen to?
Paste 3 · The Reveal
Paste this only after all six answers are written.
Thank you, now I can tell you why I asked. I make [YOUR SHOW'S NAME], a [GENRE & FORMAT]. Those six questions were a visibility test: I wanted to see whether my show comes up when real listeners ask questions like these. Look back through the six answers and tables you just wrote and score them honestly: 1. MY SCORE: For each of Q1 through Q6, was [YOUR SHOW'S NAME] named in the answer or its table? Yes or no, one line each. Then the total: "Named in X of 6 answers." 2. WHO CAME UP: List the shows that appeared most across your tables, and what they have in common. Ratings and review counts, platform presence (Apple/Spotify charts, Podchaser/Listen Notes), roundups or genre blogs that mention them, awards or festival recognition, how clearly their show notes state genre/format/premise. 3. MY DOORWAY LIST: Every source that showed up anywhere in your research across all six questions — podcast directories and rating platforms, "best of" roundups and genre blogs, community threads (Reddit/Discord), award or festival listings, guest-appearance mentions. Build it as a table: the source, what kind it is, whether [YOUR SHOW'S NAME] appears there, and whether it's something a podcaster can submit to, join, or be nominated for (free vs paid where you know). For each source, if you're not sure whether [YOUR SHOW'S NAME] appears there, run a quick search to check before marking yes or no. Only write "not confirmed" if a search still can't tell you. Don't trim this list. 4. MY THREE MOVES: Based on what the named shows have that I don't yet, the three most useful things I could do in the next 90 days to start appearing in answers like these. Specific to what you found, no generic advice. 5. MY REPORT BLOCK: End with a compact block titled PODCAST VISIBILITY REPORT, followed by which AI you are if you know (Claude, ChatGPT/GPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or unsure) and today's date: my score, the yes/no for each question, who came up most, my full doorway list with yes/no for each source, and my three moves in one line each. I'm running this same kit in more than one AI app this month, so labeling which one you are helps me tell the reports apart. RULES: Score honestly. Count only a show genuinely named in your answers, never add me as a courtesy. Don't rewrite or soften the six answers. Every gap you find is an opportunity, never a mistake I made. TONE: Warm, encouraging, specific. No flattery, no lecturing, no rhetorical questions.
3Keep the score · 2 min, then 5 min a month
Private chats don't save, and you now have four of them. Open one regular (non-private) chat, paste all four report blocks in first — labeled Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity — then paste this to build one combined tracker.
Tracker Starter
Your tracker's first message.
You're going to be my podcast visibility tracker for [YOUR SHOW'S NAME]. Above this message are four PODCAST VISIBILITY REPORTs from this same month, one each from Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. Use them together as month one. Create a clean tracking document I can keep (an artifact or document, whichever this app makes): my six questions, a results table with one row per engine (Claude / ChatGPT / Gemini / Perplexity) and one column per month showing that engine's score and its yes/no for each question, who came up most per engine, a combined doorway list across all four engines with a yes/no column per month for each source, and my current three moves. Each month, I'll paste four new reports labeled by engine. Add them as a new month column and tell me in two or three sentences what changed since last time, including whether the four engines are starting to agree with each other or are still pointing in different directions.
4Turn it into a plan · 5 min
Your 30-day content plan
Once you've run the check and have a report, this prompt turns it into three concrete content moves and a 4-week sequence. A few fields come straight from your report — fill those in from what your reveal prompt gave back.
The 30-Day Plan Prompt
Run this after Move 2, in a regular (non-private) chat.
You are an expert in Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and podcast discovery strategy. I just ran my show through my own Airtime Check. Here's what came back: Podcast name: [YOUR SHOW'S NAME] Genre / format: [GENRE & FORMAT] Primary hook: [YOUR #1 HOOK] Main platforms: [APPLE PODCASTS / SPOTIFY / OTHER] My visibility results, one AI app at a time: - Claude: named in [W] of 6, in questions [WHICH] - ChatGPT: named in [X] of 6, in questions [WHICH] - Gemini: named in [Y] of 6, in questions [WHICH] - Perplexity: named in [Z] of 6, in questions [WHICH] - Shows that came up most across all four: [LIST FROM YOUR REPORTS] - What those shows have in common: [KEY STRENGTHS FROM YOUR REPORTS] - My combined doorway list (every source any of the four engines touched): [PASTE YOUR DOORWAY LIST] My primary listener persona is: [HOW YOUR IDEAL LISTENER DESCRIBES WHAT THEY WANT] The questions this listener actually asks AI when picking what to listen to are the six from my kit: 1. What's the best [GENRE & FORMAT] out there right now? 2. How do I find a good [GENRE & FORMAT] that's actually worth committing to? 3. What's a [GENRE & FORMAT] worth bingeing this year, and why? 4. Something like [A COMP SHOW]? I want a [GENRE & FORMAT]. 5. Who does the best [ONE MORE WORD FOR YOUR HOOK] [YOUR #1 HOOK]? I need a [GENRE & FORMAT]. 6. I want a [GENRE & FORMAT] that's [HOW YOUR IDEAL LISTENER DESCRIBES WHAT THEY WANT]. What should I listen to? Based on this, please give me: 1. A diagnosis of my biggest podcast-discovery gap, and whether that gap is consistent across all four engines or concentrated in just one or two of them, and what that difference might mean (1 to 2 paragraphs, plain language). 2. Three specific content moves I can make in the next 30 days to show up more often in answers like these. For each, specify: - Content type (a show-notes rewrite, a transcript page for a flagship episode, an episode description, a "start here" landing page, a listener FAQ, a guest-swap pitch) - The exact question or query it should answer - Format guidance so an AI researching my show can extract and cite it cleanly (answer-first structure, clear headers, plain statements of genre/format/episode length rather than mood-board language) 3. One doorway from my list worth prioritizing first (a directory profile to complete, a roundup to pitch, a community to show up in) and why that one over the others. 4. A 4-week content sequence using Express, Tailor, Amplify, Evolve — one content idea that directly targets my biggest gap, spread across those four stages. Keep every recommendation specific, actionable, and realistic for a solo podcaster or a very small production team.
One More Thing
This check is one piece. If you want the whole system built for your show, that's the work I do.
Show notes, RSS metadata, a directory strategy, a content calendar that actually gets read by both listeners and the AI researching on their behalf — that's content-systems work, and it's what I build for podcasters at Bizzie Media Group.
Tell me about your show →