AI Discovery Files

by Mark McNeece

Description

AI Discovery Files are machine-readable files that tell AI systems who you are, what you do, how your content may be used, and how to refer to your brand correctly.

Without these files, AI systems guess — and they often get it wrong. They confuse your business with competitors, fabricate services you don’t offer, and misrepresent your brand.

This plugin generates up to 10 AI Discovery Files directly from your WordPress data. No coding required.

What are AI Discovery Files?

AI Discovery Files are a set of standardised files placed at the root of your website, similar to how robots.txt tells search engines what to crawl and security.txt provides security contact information.

The AI Discovery Files Specification defines 10 file types across three implementation tiers:

Essential (start here)

llms.txt — AI-readable business identity (Markdown)
ai.txt — AI usage permissions (plain text)

Recommended

identity.json — Structured business identity (JSON)
ai.json — Machine-parseable permissions (JSON)
brand.txt — Brand naming and terminology rules
faq-ai.txt — Pre-answered questions for AI systems

Complete

llm.txt — Compatibility redirect to llms.txt
llms.html — Human-readable reference version
developer-ai.txt — Technical context for developers
robots-ai.txt — AI crawler-specific directives

How it works

Install and activate the plugin
Fill in your business details on the settings page
Choose which files to enable
The plugin serves the files at the correct root URLs (e.g., yoursite.com/llms.txt)

Files are generated dynamically from your settings — no files are written to disk, and everything updates automatically when you change your settings.

Key features

Auto-detection — pulls your site name, tagline, pages, theme, and WordPress version automatically
Three implementation tiers — start with Essential and expand when ready
Live preview — see exactly what each file contains before enabling it
Validation — checks files against the specification and flags issues
Conflict detection — warns if physical files already exist at the same URLs
No lock-in — disable the plugin and the files simply stop being served
Developer-friendly — filters for every generated file and collected data point

Who needs this?

Every website that wants AI systems to represent it accurately. If your business appears in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity responses, AI Discovery Files help ensure those responses are correct.

Installation

Upload the ai-discovery-files folder to /wp-content/plugins/
Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu
Go to AI Discovery in the admin menu
Fill in your business details on the Identity tab
Enable the files you want on the Status tab
Preview your files on the Preview tab

Screenshots

Identity tab — business name, contact details, location, and services
Permissions tab — AI usage, training, and crawler access controls
Content tab — FAQ builder and brand naming rules
Technical tab — developer notes, API info, and tech stack
Preview tab — live preview of every generated file
Status tab — file activation, validation, and tier progress

Faq

What is llms.txt?

llms.txt is a Markdown file placed at the root of your website that provides AI systems with a structured description of your business — your name, what you do, contact information, and key pages. It was created by Jeremy Howard at Answer.AI and has been adopted by companies including Stripe, Cloudflare, and Dell.

Will this affect my SEO?

AI Discovery Files are served with X-Robots-Tag: noindex headers, so they won’t appear in search results. However, they help AI-powered search features (like Google AI Overviews) represent your business accurately, which can improve your overall AI visibility.

Does this work with caching plugins?

Yes. AI Discovery Files are served via WordPress rewrite rules with appropriate cache headers. They are compatible with WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, and other popular caching plugins.

What if I already have a physical llms.txt file?

The plugin detects existing physical files and warns you on the Status tab. It will not override physical files — you should remove the physical file if you want the plugin to serve it instead.

Can I customise the generated files?

Yes. Every generated file can be filtered using WordPress hooks:

add_filter( 'aidf_generated_content', function( $content, $file_slug, $data ) {
    if ( 'llms-txt' === $file_slug ) {
        $content .= "\n## Custom Section\n\nYour custom content here.\n";
    }
    return $content;
}, 10, 3 );

What happens if I deactivate the plugin?

The files simply stop being served. Your settings are preserved so you can reactivate later. If you delete the plugin entirely, all settings are removed.

Reviews

Changelog

1.1.0

Add domain verification for the AI Visibility Directory
New verification modal with step-by-step instructions
Serve ai-visibility-verify.txt with user-supplied code
Verify Domain button in directory CTA banner
Verification panel on Status tab
AJAX save for verification code (no page reload)

1.0.0

Initial release
Generate all 10 AI Discovery File types
Settings page with Identity, Permissions, Content, Technical, Preview, and Status tabs
Live file preview with copy-to-clipboard
File validation against specification
Conflict detection for existing physical files
Tier progress indicator (Essential, Recommended, Complete)
FAQ repeater for building faq-ai.txt
Developer hooks and filters for customisation