How to Onboard an AI Visibility Client (First 30 Days Playbook)
A week-by-week onboarding plan that takes a new AI visibility client from signed contract to first report — baseline, query bank, competitors, and the deliverable that sets expectations for the whole engagement.
Onboard an AI visibility client in four weekly phases: week 1 establish the baseline with a Domain Check, week 2 build the query bank from real cited and mentioned prompts, week 3 map the competitors sharing those queries, and week 4 ship a first report that sets the cadence for the rest of the engagement.
Why the first 30 days decide the engagement
AI visibility is a new enough service that most clients have no mental model for what “good” looks like. The onboarding window is where you install that model: you show them what a query-level baseline is, how you read competitor context, and what they should expect from a monthly report. Get this right and every later review meeting runs on rails you laid in month one.
The week-by-week plan
Run onboarding in four phases. Each week produces an artifact the next week depends on.
| Week | Focus | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Baseline & access | Domain Check snapshot, account access, monitored project created |
| Week 2 | Query bank | Curated list of queries the client is cited / mentioned on, plus target queries |
| Week 3 | Competitive map | Competitors sharing the client's queries and the gap list |
| Week 4 | First report & cadence | Baseline report delivered, reporting rhythm agreed |
Week 1 — Baseline and access
- Run a free Domain Check on the client’s primary domain to capture the starting query-level picture across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok.
- Set up a monitored project so the data refreshes on a schedule instead of being a one-time snapshot.
- Collect access you will need: analytics, any existing keyword lists, and a short list of named competitors.
- Save the baseline as an immutable reference — every future report compares back to it.
Week 2 — Build the query bank
- Start from the queries the Domain Check surfaced as already cited or mentioned.
- Tag each query by intent (informational, commercial, navigational) so reporting can group them later.
- Add target queries the client wants to be present on, even where they currently are not.
- Run an AI keyword gap analysis to find queries competitors are cited on that the client is missing.
Week 3 — Map the competitive landscape
- For the highest-value queries, record which competitor domains appear alongside or instead of the client.
- Group competitors by how often they co-occur with the client to find the real rivals in AI answers.
- Build the gap list: queries where competitors are present and the client is not.
- If you have not already, a pre-engagement competitive audit doubles as a sanity check on scope here.
Week 4 — First report and cadence
- Deliver the baseline report: current presence, intent mix, and competitive context.
- Set the reporting rhythm — live dashboard, monthly summary, quarterly review.
- Agree on the one or two query clusters you will pursue first.
- Confirm what success looks like in terms of trends and presence, not guaranteed placements.
Onboarding checklist
- Baseline Domain Check captured and saved as a reference point.
- Monitored project live and refreshing on a schedule.
- Query bank built, tagged by intent, and shared with the client.
- Competitor list confirmed and gap list produced.
- First report delivered and reporting cadence agreed in writing.
- Success framed around presence and trends — no guaranteed-ranking language anywhere.
Hand-off into the ongoing relationship
The first report is also the template for every report that follows, so make it the one you would be happy to send for the next twelve months. Lock the rhythm with a documented reporting cadence and, if you are pitching expansion later, keep the baseline handy — it is the most persuasive part of any proposal and SOW.