Implementing ai-discovery.json

What is ai-discovery.json?#

ai-discovery.json is the cornerstone of the AI Discovery Protocol (ADP). Placed at your domain root, this JSON file provides a structured, machine-readable identity card for your website. It tells AI systems your organization name, what you do, what content you offer, and how they should interact with your site. Think of it as a business card that AI systems can read instantly. While llms.txt provides a human-readable narrative summary, ai-discovery.json provides structured data fields that AI systems can parse programmatically — enabling automated categorization, relevance matching, and trust scoring.

Creating Your ai-discovery.json#

Place this file at https://yourdomain.com/ai-discovery.json. The file should be served with application/json content type and be accessible without authentication.

{
  "version": "2.1",
  "organization": {
    "name": "Your Company",
    "description": "Brief factual description of what your company does.",
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "industry": "Technology",
    "founded": "2020"
  },
  "content": {
    "primary_language": "en",
    "topics": ["AI visibility", "domain intelligence", "SEO"],
    "content_types": ["articles", "tools", "API documentation"],
    "update_frequency": "weekly"
  },
  "ai_interaction": {
    "allows_training": true,
    "allows_citation": true,
    "allows_summarization": true,
    "preferred_citation_format": "Author (Year). Title. URL",
    "contact_for_licensing": "[email protected]"
  },
  "endpoints": {
    "llms_txt": "/llms.txt",
    "knowledge_graph": "/knowledge-graph.json",
    "sitemap": "/sitemap.xml",
    "robots": "/robots.txt"
  }
}

Best Practices#

Keep descriptions factual and concise. AI systems discount marketing language, so write as if you are filling out a factual database entry, not a sales pitch. List your actual topics and content types accurately. Set the ai_interaction flags honestly — if you do not want AI to use your content for training, say so. This file is a trust signal, and accuracy builds trust.

• Use factual language, not marketing copy.
• List 3-7 specific topics, not vague categories.
• Set ai_interaction flags honestly to build trust.
• Include all available endpoint paths.
• Update when your business focus or content strategy changes.