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Free brand audit template
A brand audit template with a 0 to 3 scoring scale and an evidence column, covering voice, visuals, touchpoints, reviews, and what AI engines say.
How to use this template.
- Copy the template or download the Markdown file, and keep your brand guidelines open beside it.
- Set the scope in section 1. A focused audit of five touchpoints beats a vague audit of everything.
- Walk each touchpoint as a customer would. Screenshot what you see before you score it.
- Score every row from 0 to 3 and write the evidence beside the score. A score with no evidence doesn't count.
- End with the action plan in section 10: the fix, the owner, and the date.
The brand audit template.
Brand audit: [Brand name]
Auditor: [Name] · Date: [Date] · Compared against: [Your brand guidelines, version and date]
1. Scope
- Why now: [e.g. before a rebrand, after a launch, sales stalled, new team members]
- Touchpoints in scope: [List them. Section 5 has a starter list.]
- Who you will ask: [Customers, team members, retail partners]
- What a good outcome looks like: [The decision or plan this audit should produce]
2. Scoring scale
Score every row from 0 to 3, and write the evidence beside the score. A score with no evidence doesn't count.
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Missing, or contradicts the guidelines |
| 1 | Present but inconsistent; a customer could be confused |
| 2 | Mostly consistent, with small drift |
| 3 | Consistent, clear, and specific to this brand |
3. Foundations
| Question | Score (0 to 3) | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Can the team state, in one sentence, what the brand sells and who it is for? Do the answers match? | [Ask five people and quote them] | |
| Is the difference from competitors specific and provable? | [The claim and its proof] | |
| Does the promise on the website match the product people receive? | [Compare the hero to reviews] | |
| Are the guidelines current, findable, and used? | [Where they live, last update, who uses them] |
4. Verbal identity
| Question | Score (0 to 3) | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Does the voice sound the same across the website, social, email, and packaging? | [One quote from each] | |
| Is the brand name written the same way everywhere? | [Variants found] | |
| Do the key messages appear where buyers decide? | [Where they appear, and where they are missing] | |
| Could a competitor's name replace yours in the headline without anyone noticing? | [The headline, and the test result] |
5. Visual identity and touchpoints
Visit each touchpoint as a customer would, and screenshot what you find.
| Touchpoint | Logo and color correct | Type correct | Imagery on brand | Message on brand | Notes and screenshot | Score (0 to 3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website home page | ||||||
| Product pages | ||||||
| Packaging and inserts | ||||||
| Social profiles | ||||||
| Email and receipts | ||||||
| Marketplace and retail listings | ||||||
| Ads currently running | ||||||
| Customer service replies |
6. Customer perception
| Source | What people say most often | Positive or negative | Matches what you intend? | Score (0 to 3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reviews | [Top three themes] | |||
| Customer survey or interviews | [Top three themes] | |||
| Social comments and mentions | [Top three themes] | |||
| Questions to customer service | [Most common questions] |
7. What AI engines say about the brand
Ask each engine the same questions and record the answers word for word, with the date. Score each question across all engines: 3 if every engine gets you right, 0 if none do.
| Question asked | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Gemini | Google AI Overviews | Score (0 to 3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "What is [Brand name]?" | |||||
| "What is the best [product] for [buyer]?" | |||||
| "Is [Brand name] worth it?" |
- Facts the engines got wrong: [List each one, and the page that should correct it]
- Facts they left out: [List each one]
- Competitors they named instead: [Names]
8. Competitive context
- Who buyers compare you with: [Names]
- Where you are clearly different: [Evidence]
- Where you blend in: [Evidence]
For a fuller picture, run the competitive analysis template alongside this audit.
9. Summary
| Area | Average score | Biggest issue |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations | ||
| Verbal identity | ||
| Visual identity and touchpoints | ||
| Customer perception | ||
| AI engines |
10. Action plan
Fix the issues that confuse customers first, then the ones that only bother the team.
| Priority | Issue | Fix | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Issue, with its section and row] | [Specific fix] | [Name] | [Date] |
| 2 | ||||
| 3 |
Next audit: [Date]
A worked example.
Part of an audit for Fernbrook Provisions, a demo brand invented for this page.
4. Verbal identity
| Question | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Is the brand name written the same way everywhere? | 1 | Website and packaging say "Fernbrook Provisions." Two marketplace listings say "Fernbrook Flour Co.," and the social bio says "Fernbrook Mill." |
| Do the key messages appear where buyers decide? | 2 | The farm-on-every-bag message leads the website and the packaging. It is missing from marketplace listings, where many first-time buyers find the brand. |
| Could a competitor's name replace yours in the headline? | 1 | Current headline: "Wholesome flour for home bakers." Any flour brand could run it. |
7. What AI engines say about the brand
| Question asked | Finding |
|---|---|
| "What is Fernbrook Provisions?" | One engine called it a bakery. The likely cause: an old press article about a pop-up event. |
| "What is the best flour for sourdough?" | Fernbrook wasn't named. The brands that were named all have a page that answers that exact question. |
10. Action plan
| Priority | Issue | Fix | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Three versions of the brand name | Correct both marketplace listings and the social bio | Ecommerce lead | This week |
| 2 | Generic headline | Rewrite around the farm-on-every-bag proof | Founder | Before spring launch |
| 3 | Engines describe the brand as a bakery | Add a clear "About" page that states what the company is and is not | Marketing lead | This month |
Questions about brand audits.
- What is a brand audit?
- A check of the brand people actually meet against the brand you intend. It covers how the brand sounds and looks at every touchpoint, what customers say about it, and what AI engines tell people who ask.
- How often should I run a brand audit?
- Once a year is a sensible default, plus before a rebrand, after a major launch, or when sales change and nobody can say why.
- Who should run it?
- Someone who didn't build the touchpoints being audited, so they see what a customer sees. Ask the people who did build them for evidence, not scores.
- Why include AI engines?
- People ask assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini what a brand is and whether it is worth buying. Those answers are now a touchpoint, and an engine that reads your brand wrong can repeat the mistake to anyone who asks.
- Do I need brand guidelines first?
- They help, because an audit compares what exists with what was intended. If you have none, run the audit anyway and write the guidelines from what it reveals. The brand guidelines template on this site is a starting point.
Want the audit graded for you?
Chart grades your brand as it is, writes the roadmap to fix it, and shows the sources behind the work. Grades are deterministic: the same brand record always yields the same scorecard, and the AI writes only the rationale prose.
See how Chart grades a brand