AI readiness checker
Find out whether AI search engines and assistants can reach and read your page, as a checklist with the evidence for every line and no invented score.
Results for *.example.org
Checklist, not a score
Not ready
5 of 20 checks pass. 8 are information only. The level is the lowest group result, not an average. "What does it see before JavaScript?" has a failure.
5 pass, 6 warning, 1 fail, 8 information.
Whether the page answers, robots.txt and which AI crawlers it lets in.
The text, heading and links in the first response, before any script runs.
Title, description, canonical link and structured data.
Sitemap, llms.txt and how fast the first byte arrives.
Markdown, an API catalog, an MCP server card and Link headers.
Checklist20
Failures first, then warnings, passes and information. Every line says what we saw and where.
ProblemText before JavaScript prejs-text
Most AI crawlers do not run JavaScript. What they read on this page is about 25 words.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
Render the main content on the server, or prerender it for crawlers.
WarningMain heading prejs-headings
No h1 in the first response. It may be added by scripts, which most crawlers do not run.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
Put one h1 in the server-rendered HTML that says what the page is.
WarningLinks a crawler can follow prejs-links
No links in the first response, so a crawler has nowhere to go from here.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
Use real <a href> links in the HTML, not click handlers.
WarningMeta description meta-description
No meta description.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
Add one sentence that says what the page offers. Assistants and search results often show it.
<meta name="description" content="One sentence about this page.">WarningCanonical link canonical
No canonical link.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
Say which address is the main one, so copies of the page are not read as different pages.
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.org/">WarningStructured data json-ld
No JSON-LD in the first response.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
Describe the page in JSON-LD (Organization, WebSite, Article or Product) so machines need not guess.
<script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebSite","name":"Your site","url":"https://example.com/"}</script>WarningSitemap sitemap
https://example.org/sitemap.xml answered 404.
Where we looked: https://example.org/sitemap.xml
Publish a sitemap in the standard XML form and name it in robots.txt.
Sitemap: https://example.org/sitemap.xmlGoodThe page answers page-status
https://example.org/ answered 200.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
GoodAI crawlers are allowed ai-crawlers
GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, CCBot, Applebot-Extended and 9 more are allowed (there is no robots.txt to say otherwise).
Where we looked: https://example.org/robots.txt
GoodPage-level directives page-directives
No noindex, noai or nosnippet directive in the page or its headers.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
GoodPage title title
"Example Domain"
Where we looked: https://example.org/
GoodResponse speed ttfb
First byte in 0.07 s from one cold request.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
Noterobots.txt robots-present
No robots.txt (404). Crawlers treat that as allowed.
Where we looked: https://example.org/robots.txt
Optional. Add a robots.txt to say which crawlers may read what, and to point to your sitemap.
User-agent: *
Allow: /
Sitemap: https://example.org/sitemap.xmlNoteContent signals content-signals
No Content-Signal line. Optional: it lets you say yes or no to AI training, search and AI input in one line.
Where we looked: https://example.org/robots.txt
Add a Content-Signal line to the group for all crawlers.
User-agent: *
Content-Signal: ai-train=no, search=yes, ai-input=yes
Allow: /NoteOpen Graph title og-title
No og:title. Optional: many link previews and assistants use it.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
<meta property="og:title" content="Page title">Notellms.txt llms-txt
Not found (404). Optional: Google says it does not use it.
Where we looked: https://example.org/llms.txt
# Your site name
> One sentence about what the site is.
## Docs
- [Getting started](https://example.com/docs/start): how to beginNoteMarkdown for agents markdown
Accept: text/markdown returns HTML. Optional: agents read Markdown with far fewer tokens than HTML.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
Answer requests that ask for text/markdown with a Markdown version of the page, or point to one in a Link header.
Link: </index.md>; rel="alternate"; type="text/markdown"NoteAPI catalog api-catalog
No API catalog (404). Optional: it lists your APIs in one place for agents (RFC 9727).
Where we looked: https://example.org/.well-known/api-catalog
{"linkset":[{"anchor":"https://example.com/api","service-desc":[{"href":"https://example.com/api/openapi.json"}]}]}NoteMCP server card mcp-card
No MCP server card at /.well-known/mcp/server-card.json or /.well-known/mcp.json. Optional: it tells agents how to connect to your tools.
Where we looked: https://example.org/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json
NoteLink headers link-headers
No Link header that points to an API catalog, API description, documentation or a Markdown version. Optional.
Where we looked: https://example.org/
Send a Link header on the home page so agents find your documents without guessing.
Link: </.well-known/api-catalog>; rel="api-catalog", </api/openapi.json>; rel="service-desc"Crawler access14
GPTBotAllowedTraining
OpenAI. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
ClaudeBotAllowedTraining
Anthropic. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
Google-ExtendedAllowedTraining
Google. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
CCBotAllowedTraining
Common Crawl. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
Applebot-ExtendedAllowedTraining
Apple. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
Meta-ExternalAgentAllowedTraining
Meta. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
BytespiderAllowedTraining
ByteDance. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
OAI-SearchBotAllowedSearch
OpenAI. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
Claude-SearchBotAllowedSearch
Anthropic. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
PerplexityBotAllowedSearch
Perplexity. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
ChatGPT-UserAllowedAssistant
OpenAI. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
Claude-UserAllowedAssistant
Anthropic. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
Perplexity-UserAllowedAssistant
Perplexity. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
MistralAI-UserAllowedAssistant
Mistral. Nothing in robots.txt keeps it out of this page.
Training collects pages to train models. Search builds an AI search index. Assistant fetches a page because a person asked. We read robots.txt only; we never pretend to be these crawlers.
What AI sees
The first 600 characters a crawler reads before JavaScript runs (25 words in all).
This domain is for use in documentation examples without needing permission. This is not a service; avoid relying on it …
Structured data found in the first response:
None.
llms.txt
This site does not publish an llms.txt file.
llms.txt is optional. Google says it does not use it for Search, and no search engine requires it. Some assistants and coding agents read it. A missing file is information, not a failure. We read the file; we do not follow its links.
Where we looked: https://example.org/llms.txt
Structured result (JSON) · 12 KB
{
"target": "*.example.org",
"finalUrl": "https://example.org/",
"redirectedTo": null,
"blockedUs": false,
"blockedStatus": null,
"summary": {
"pass": 5,
"warn": 6,
"fail": 1,
"info": 8,
"unchecked": 0,
"total": 20,
"level": "not_ready"
},
"groups": [
{
"id": "access",
"title": "Can AI read it?",
"result": "pass",
"checks": [
{
"id": "page-status",
"title": "The page answers",
"status": "pass",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "https://example.org/ answered 200.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": null,
"snippet": null
},
{
"id": "robots-present",
"title": "robots.txt",
"status": "info",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No robots.txt (404). Crawlers treat that as allowed.",
"source": "https://example.org/robots.txt",
"fix": "Optional. Add a robots.txt to say which crawlers may read what, and to point to your sitemap.",
"snippet": "User-agent: *\nAllow: /\n\nSitemap: https://example.org/sitemap.xml"
},
{
"id": "ai-crawlers",
"title": "AI crawlers are allowed",
"status": "pass",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, CCBot, Applebot-Extended and 9 more are allowed (there is no robots.txt to say otherwise).",
"source": "https://example.org/robots.txt",
"fix": null,
"snippet": null
},
{
"id": "content-signals",
"title": "Content signals",
"status": "info",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No Content-Signal line. Optional: it lets you say yes or no to AI training, search and AI input in one line.",
"source": "https://example.org/robots.txt",
"fix": "Add a Content-Signal line to the group for all crawlers.",
"snippet": "User-agent: *\nContent-Signal: ai-train=no, search=yes, ai-input=yes\nAllow: /"
},
{
"id": "page-directives",
"title": "Page-level directives",
"status": "pass",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No noindex, noai or nosnippet directive in the page or its headers.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": null,
"snippet": null
}
]
},
{
"id": "prejs",
"title": "What does it see before JavaScript?",
"result": "fail",
"checks": [
{
"id": "prejs-text",
"title": "Text before JavaScript",
"status": "fail",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "Most AI crawlers do not run JavaScript. What they read on this page is about 25 words.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": "Render the main content on the server, or prerender it for crawlers.",
"snippet": null
},
{
"id": "prejs-headings",
"title": "Main heading",
"status": "warn",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No h1 in the first response. It may be added by scripts, which most crawlers do not run.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": "Put one h1 in the server-rendered HTML that says what the page is.",
"snippet": null
},
{
"id": "prejs-links",
"title": "Links a crawler can follow",
"status": "warn",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No links in the first response, so a crawler has nowhere to go from here.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": "Use real <a href> links in the HTML, not click handlers.",
"snippet": null
}
]
},
{
"id": "self",
"title": "Does it describe itself?",
"result": "warn",
"checks": [
{
"id": "title",
"title": "Page title",
"status": "pass",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "\"Example Domain\"",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": null,
"snippet": null
},
{
"id": "meta-description",
"title": "Meta description",
"status": "warn",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No meta description.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": "Add one sentence that says what the page offers. Assistants and search results often show it.",
"snippet": "<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One sentence about this page.\">"
},
{
"id": "canonical",
"title": "Canonical link",
"status": "warn",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No canonical link.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": "Say which address is the main one, so copies of the page are not read as different pages.",
"snippet": "<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https://example.org/\">"
},
{
"id": "og-title",
"title": "Open Graph title",
"status": "info",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No og:title. Optional: many link previews and assistants use it.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": null,
"snippet": "<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Page title\">"
},
{
"id": "json-ld",
"title": "Structured data",
"status": "warn",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No JSON-LD in the first response.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": "Describe the page in JSON-LD (Organization, WebSite, Article or Product) so machines need not guess.",
"snippet": "<script type=\"application/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https://schema.org\",\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"name\":\"Your site\",\"url\":\"https://example.com/\"}</script>"
}
]
},
{
"id": "found",
"title": "Can it be found?",
"result": "warn",
"checks": [
{
"id": "sitemap",
"title": "Sitemap",
"status": "warn",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "https://example.org/sitemap.xml answered 404.",
"source": "https://example.org/sitemap.xml",
"fix": "Publish a sitemap in the standard XML form and name it in robots.txt.",
"snippet": "Sitemap: https://example.org/sitemap.xml"
},
{
"id": "llms-txt",
"title": "llms.txt",
"status": "info",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "Not found (404). Optional: Google says it does not use it.",
"source": "https://example.org/llms.txt",
"fix": null,
"snippet": "# Your site name\n\n> One sentence about what the site is.\n\n## Docs\n\n- [Getting started](https://example.com/docs/start): how to begin"
},
{
"id": "ttfb",
"title": "Response speed",
"status": "pass",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "First byte in 0.07 s from one cold request.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": null,
"snippet": null
}
]
},
{
"id": "agent",
"title": "Can an agent use it?",
"result": "empty",
"checks": [
{
"id": "markdown",
"title": "Markdown for agents",
"status": "info",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "Accept: text/markdown returns HTML. Optional: agents read Markdown with far fewer tokens than HTML.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": "Answer requests that ask for text/markdown with a Markdown version of the page, or point to one in a Link header.",
"snippet": "Link: </index.md>; rel=\"alternate\"; type=\"text/markdown\""
},
{
"id": "api-catalog",
"title": "API catalog",
"status": "info",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No API catalog (404). Optional: it lists your APIs in one place for agents (RFC 9727).",
"source": "https://example.org/.well-known/api-catalog",
"fix": null,
"snippet": "{\"linkset\":[{\"anchor\":\"https://example.com/api\",\"service-desc\":[{\"href\":\"https://example.com/api/openapi.json\"}]}]}"
},
{
"id": "mcp-card",
"title": "MCP server card",
"status": "info",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No MCP server card at /.well-known/mcp/server-card.json or /.well-known/mcp.json. Optional: it tells agents how to connect to your tools.",
"source": "https://example.org/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json",
"fix": null,
"snippet": null
},
{
"id": "link-headers",
"title": "Link headers",
"status": "info",
"couldntCheck": false,
"evidence": "No Link header that points to an API catalog, API description, documentation or a Markdown version. Optional.",
"source": "https://example.org/",
"fix": "Send a Link header on the home page so agents find your documents without guessing.",
"snippet": "Link: </.well-known/api-catalog>; rel=\"api-catalog\", </api/openapi.json>; rel=\"service-desc\""
}
]
}
],
"crawlerMatrix": [
{
"bot": "GPTBot",
"vendor": "OpenAI",
"kind": "training",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "ClaudeBot",
"vendor": "Anthropic",
"kind": "training",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "Google-Extended",
"vendor": "Google",
"kind": "training",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "CCBot",
"vendor": "Common Crawl",
"kind": "training",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "Applebot-Extended",
"vendor": "Apple",
"kind": "training",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "Meta-ExternalAgent",
"vendor": "Meta",
"kind": "training",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "Bytespider",
"vendor": "ByteDance",
"kind": "training",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "OAI-SearchBot",
"vendor": "OpenAI",
"kind": "search",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "Claude-SearchBot",
"vendor": "Anthropic",
"kind": "search",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "PerplexityBot",
"vendor": "Perplexity",
"kind": "search",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "ChatGPT-User",
"vendor": "OpenAI",
"kind": "assistant",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "Claude-User",
"vendor": "Anthropic",
"kind": "assistant",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "Perplexity-User",
"vendor": "Perplexity",
"kind": "assistant",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
},
{
"bot": "MistralAI-User",
"vendor": "Mistral",
"kind": "assistant",
"access": "allowed",
"byChoice": false,
"matchedRule": null
}
],
"llmsTxt": {
"present": false,
"full": false,
"url": "https://example.org/llms.txt",
"errors": []
},
"page": {
"status": 200,
"firstByteMs": 66,
"words": 25,
"excerpt": "This domain is for use in documentation examples without needing permission. This is not a service; avoid relying on it …",
"jsonLd": []
},
"notes": [],
"partial": false
}Next step
- HTTP headers and redirectsSee every header the page sendsCheck *.example.org in HTTP headers and redirects
- Security headersGrade its security headersCheck *.example.org in Security headers
- Is it down?Is it up from other countries?Check *.example.org in Is it down?
What the checker looks at
AI search and AI assistants read the web differently from people. Most of them fetch the HTML your server sends and do not run your scripts, they obey robots.txt, and they lean on plain structure: a title, a description, headings, links and a sitemap. This checker fetches your page the way such a crawler would, then reads the few files that tell crawlers and agents more, and reports what it found in five groups of questions.
- Can AI read it? Whether the page answers, whether robots.txt exists, which AI crawlers it lets in, any Content-Signal line, and page-level directives such as noindex.
- What does it see before JavaScript? The text, the main heading and the links in the first response. A page that builds itself in the browser can look empty to a crawler.
- Does it describe itself? The title, meta description, canonical link, Open Graph title and structured data (JSON-LD).
- Can it be found? A sitemap, an llms.txt file and how fast the first byte arrives.
- Can an agent use it? A Markdown version of the page, an API catalog, an MCP server card and Link headers that point to them.
Each line shows what we saw and where we looked, and for most gaps it gives the sentence to fix it and a snippet to paste. We make eight or nine requests to the site itself, in one short burst, and none to anyone else.
How to use it
- Enter a site or a pageType
example.comor a full address. We follow redirects and check the page you land on, and we say when that is a different host from the one you typed. - Read the level, then the groupsThe answer at the top is a word with counts. Below it, five tiles show which group set the level. Open the one that is not green.
- Work through the checklistFailures come first, then warnings, passes and information. Open a row to see where we looked, how to fix it and a snippet to copy. Run the check again after you deploy.
# The same check as JSON, for a script or an agent
curl "https://lookupowl.com/api/v1/tools/ai-readiness-check?url=example.com"How the level is worked out
There is no score here, because a number would need weights, and any weights would be a guess. The level is a word, and it comes from one rule that you can check by hand: it is the lowest result among the five groups. Checks are counted, never weighted. Information lines are not counted for or against anything.
| Level | When it applies |
|---|---|
| Ready | Every group has at least one pass and no warnings or failures. |
| Mostly ready | No group fails, but at least one has a warning. |
| Partly ready | No group fails, but at least one has nothing that passes yet. Optional agent features that are missing do this. |
| Not ready | At least one group has a failure, such as a page with almost no text before JavaScript. |
| Unclear | Fewer than three groups could be read, for example because the site was slow or refused us. |
Blocking AI crawlers is a choice, not a defect
Many publishers disallow AI training crawlers such as GPTBot or CCBot in robots.txt on purpose. This checker shows that as "Blocked by choice", marks each such crawler in the crawler tab, and never lets it lower the level. What it does tell you is what the choice costs: blocking a search crawler such as OAI-SearchBot keeps the page out of that assistant's search results, and blocking an assistant such as ChatGPT-User stops it fetching the page when a person asks.
A block that comes from the rule for every crawler, not from a line naming the bot, is different. That often means a staging setting that was never removed, so it is shown as a warning with the lines to allow the crawlers you want.
What most sites need to fix first
- Put the main content in the first response. Server-render or prerender pages that are built in the browser.
- Give every page a title, a description, a canonical link and one clear h1.
- Publish a sitemap and name it in robots.txt.
- Decide on purpose which AI crawlers you welcome, and say so in robots.txt, with a Content-Signal line if you like.
- Optional extras for agents: a Markdown version of your pages, an API catalog and an MCP server card.
None of this is a ranking factor we can promise, and the page says so. It is the list of things that decide whether a crawler can read you at all. For the security side of the same page, try the security headers checker, and to see every header the page sends, the HTTP headers checker.
Questions people ask
What is AI readiness?
It is whether AI search engines and assistants can find your page, read what is on it and understand what it is. That depends on crawler access in robots.txt, on content being in the first response, on basic metadata and structured data, and on a sitemap. For agents, Markdown versions and API descriptions help too.
Will a better level improve my ranking or get me cited?
We cannot promise that, and nothing on this page claims it. The checklist covers the preconditions: a crawler that cannot reach or read a page cannot use it. Whether an assistant then cites it is up to that assistant.
Why does it say "Blocked by choice" and not a failure?
Because disallowing AI crawlers by name in robots.txt is a legitimate decision about your content. We show it so you can confirm it is what you meant, and we leave the level alone. Only a failure, a warning or a group with nothing passing changes the level.
Do AI crawlers run JavaScript?
Most fetch the HTML and do not run scripts, which is why the text in the first response matters. Some crawlers do render pages, so a script-built page may still be read by them, but you cannot count on it. The "What AI sees" tab shows the first 600 characters a crawler that does not run scripts reads.
Does this tool pretend to be an AI crawler?
No. It reads robots.txt and applies the rules for each crawler name, but it fetches your pages as LookupOwl, with our own user agent. We never send another crawler's name, so what you see in your logs is a single, identifiable visitor.
Why did it say it could not check something?
A file did not answer in time, or the connection failed. That one line is marked "Couldn't check" and counted apart, and the rest of the list is complete. If a site refuses our request entirely, we tell you that instead of guessing.
Use it from AI, the API or the command line
Every LookupOwl tool is also a free API and an MCP tool, with no key and no account. This one is ai_readiness_check. Please be kind to the rate limits.
curl "https://lookupowl.com/api/v1/tools/ai-readiness-check?q=lookupowl.com"claude mcp add --transport http lookupowl https://lookupowl.com/mcp