Your dealer website scan says blocked. What should you fix?
Before paying to fix an AI visibility score, ask what failed. Our study found that a crawler refusal and an AI citation can occur for the same website.
Read the failed request
A “blocked” result means a particular request failed. Ask which URL was tested, when, from which client and network, and what came back. A homepage response does not establish what happened on every vehicle page. It also does not tell you whether your dealership appeared in an AI answer.
Get the status code and a saved response. If the report shows a challenge page, ask the website provider to match that request to its security logs. A screenshot of a red score is not enough to identify the rule that needs attention.
What our study actually found
In Dealer Handshake’s November 3, 2026 study of 1,000 selected US dealership websites, 78 homepages returned HTTP 403 or 429 to our crawler. In a separate named inventory task, the AI answer cited 77 of those websites.
The AI task supplied each dealership’s website and preferred its own pages. It used one model through an API. These were separate observations, not proof that the model fetched a blocked page live, bypassed protection or checked current stock. The cohort was not a random national sample. The study did not measure leads or sales.
That result gives us a reason to test access and answer citations separately. It does not give a dealer permission to ignore a real access failure.
Give the website provider a specific task
| Report finding | Request from the provider | Evidence to keep after the fix |
|---|---|---|
| HTTP 403 or a challenge | Match the timestamp, URL and client to the security rule. Decide whether that client should have access. | A repeat of the same authorized request and the matching server log. |
| HTTP 429 | Check request frequency and the rate-limit policy. Agree a crawl rate that the site can support. | A bounded retest at that rate, with response codes. |
| HTTP 200 with no useful inventory | Compare the returned HTML with the rendered page and inspect the public inventory links. | The selected VIN, source page and fields actually readable. |
| A sold car appears as available | Compare the source inventory status, website update and the dated answer. | The corrected public page and a fresh check of the same question. |
| The dealership is absent from one AI answer | Save the exact question, model, date, answer and sources. Check mentions as well as own-site citations. | Repeatable observations with the same conditions, recorded separately from crawl results. |
Keep the change narrow. Ask the provider to address the identified client or page. Do not remove the site’s protections simply to turn a scanner score green.
Check Google separately
For Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Google says a supporting page must be indexed and eligible for a search snippet. Its existing SEO requirements apply. It does not require a special AI file or a separate schema type.
Use Search Console to inspect the affected vehicle or guide URL. Check the selected canonical, indexing status and live test, then compare the result with the website provider’s logs. Passing a third-party scanner does not establish any of those outcomes.
Source: Google Search Central, AI features and your website. Meeting the requirements does not guarantee that Google will index or show the page.
Retest before buying more work
Ask for the failed case again after the change. Use the same URL and request conditions for an access issue. For a stock error, check the exact VIN against the dealership’s records. Keep a named dealership question separate from a local shopping question that leaves your business name out.
Start with the free Dealer Handshake website scan if you need an initial readability check. Keep its findings with the underlying evidence and use the table above to brief your provider. The scan alone does not measure whether every assistant will recommend your store.
If buyers can discover the dealership but cannot get a useful answer about a car, the next check is the inventory connection. See our ten-VIN test, or ask us to demonstrate a supported search and shopper-approved inquiry with your inventory.
Prepared with AI assistance. Published 9 November 2026 using the previously published November 3 study and Google’s documentation. Dealer Handshake sells inventory connections and visibility services. This article reports no new study or customer outcome.