Learn · Getting your facts right
What are the nine checks, in plain words?
The nine things we check on every business website, what each one means, why an AI assistant cares, and how to fix it when it fails. Each check passes, or tells you in one sentence what to fix.
48.3725° N114.1817° W
BeargrassAI's own record
Nine checks read our own site, in order.
Every site we list gets the same nine questions, in the same order. Each one passes, or says in one sentence what to fix.
beargrassai.com · read 2026-10-23
https://beargrassai.com
BeargrassAI
Columbia Falls, Montana
sitemaprobots.txtai.jsonllms.txt
- Site up Did your site answer when we called. PASS Your site answered.
- HTTPS Is your site served over a locked connection. PASS Your site is served over a locked connection.
- Redirects Do the other spellings of your address land on the real one. PASS Every spelling of your address lands in one place.
- Canonical Does your page name its one true address. PASS Your page names its one true address.
- Sitemap Does your site list its own pages. PASS Your site lists its pages.
- Crawl rules Does your site say what may be read, and let search and AI assistants read it. PASS Your site says what may be read, and lets search and AI assistants read it.
- ai.json Does your site have an ai.json file. PASS Your site has an ai.json.
- llms.txt Does your site carry a plain note for AI assistants. PASS Your site carries a plain note for AI assistants.
- JSON-LD Does your page carry your facts in the form AI assistants read. PASS Your page carries your facts in a form AI assistants read.
9 of 9 site checks pass
Read from beargrassai.com · 2026-10-23
The answer
The nine checks are nine plain questions we ask of every business website, every day we read it: is the site up, is it secure, does every spelling of the address land in one place, does your home page name its one true address, does the site list its own pages, does it say what may be read, and does it carry the business's facts in the three forms AI assistants and search read (structured data, llms.txt and ai.json). Each check passes, or tells you in one sentence what to fix.
Key points
- The first six are ordinary good health for any website. Fix those first.
- Structured data is the one that matters most for AI. It states your facts in code.
- llms.txt and ai.json are the newest and least proven. Worth doing now: they cost nothing extra, and AI tools will lean on them more over time.
- Most fixes are one setting on your site's builder, or a small job for whoever helps with your site.
- No score and no grade: each check simply passes or says what to fix.
1. Site up
The question: does your site answer when someone visits?
Why it matters: an AI assistant that cannot load your site cannot read your facts, and may decide you are closed.
The fix: if it fails, the site is down or the address has lapsed. Check with your host, and make sure your web address has not expired.
2. HTTPS
The question: is your site served over a secure connection? The address starts with https and the browser shows a lock.
Why it matters: browsers warn visitors away from sites that are not secure, and crawlers treat an expired certificate as a broken site.
The fix: turn on HTTPS at your host. Most builders do it for free; if the lock is missing or broken, the security certificate usually needs renewing.
3. Redirects
The question: do the other spellings of your address, with and without www, http and https, all land on your one real address, without loops or long chains?
Why it matters: one address means one set of facts. Loops or chains of redirects make crawlers give up.
The fix: in your domain or host settings, point every spelling at your one address with a single permanent redirect.
4. Canonical
The question: does your home page name its one true address?
Why it matters: the same page can often be reached several ways. Naming the true address tells search and AI which copy counts.
The fix: most builders add this automatically. If it fails, look for a "canonical URL" field in the page's SEO settings.
5. Sitemap
The question: does your site list its own pages in a file called sitemap.xml?
Why it matters: a sitemap is the table of contents crawlers use to find every page, including your services and contact pages.
The fix: most builders create one; make sure it is switched on and named in your crawl rules.
6. Crawl rules
The question: does your site have a robots.txt file, the file that says what may be read, and does it let search and AI assistants in?
Why it matters: this file is the sign on the door for crawlers. A missing file fails this check, because a clear sign beats none. The check also fails when the file tells everyone, or Google, Bing or the readers ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity send, to stay out of the whole site, or when your home page asks search sites not to list it (a "noindex" tag, often a builder setting such as "hide from search"). Blocking only the readers that gather AI training data still passes.
The fix: make sure robots.txt exists and does not block your whole site, and that your builder's setting to hide the site from search is off. If you decide to block AI training, do it by name and leave search and live reading open, or AI assistants cannot read your facts to answer about you.
7. ai.json
The question: does your site have a small file called ai.json?
Why it matters: it is another newer way to hand AI your facts directly. There is no one agreed format yet.
The fix: add it if you can; skip it if you cannot. The directory's ai.json lists your record for you.
8. llms.txt
The question: does your site carry a short plain-text note for AI at /llms.txt?
Why it matters: it is a proposed way to give AI a quick guide to your site. It is new, and, as this is written, no major AI company has said it relies on it. See Readable by machines.
The fix: add it if your builder lets you put a file at the root of your site. If it does not, skip this one; the directory's llms.txt lists your record for you.
9. Structured data (JSON-LD)
The question: does your page carry your facts in code: your business type, name, address or service area, phone and hours?
Why it matters: this is the check that matters most for AI. It turns "these words look like hours" into "these are the hours". See Readable by machines.
The fix: add a LocalBusiness block with your address, phone and hours, matching your visible page.
What to fix first
- Site up and HTTPS. Nothing else matters if these fail.
- Structured data. The biggest gain for AI.
- Redirects, canonical, sitemap and crawl rules. Usually settings, often already right.
- llms.txt and ai.json. Last, and worth doing as soon as your site allows it.
Where it fits
Where Validated.Directory fits
We run all nine checks on your website every day we read it. Your record shows the ones you pass, with the date. For each one that fails, we tell you, and only you, in one sentence what to fix. When a fix lands on your site, the next read shows it.
Questions
- My site fails llms.txt and ai.json. Is that bad?
- No. Those two are the newest and least proven. Most small-business sites fail them. Fix the other seven first. Then add them if your site allows it: they cost nothing extra.
- Do I need all nine to pass?
- No. They are a to-do list, not a grade. Site up, HTTPS and structured data matter most.
- Why do you check every day?
- Websites break quietly: a certificate expires, a setting changes, a host has a bad day. Checking every day means the record says what is true now.
- Can I fix these myself?
- Most of them, yes, in your site builder's settings. Structured data and the root files may need whoever helps with your site.
Validated.Directory, by BeargrassAI. Columbia Falls, Montana. Written 2026-09-25.
Validated.Directory
See what AI reads about your business.
A person reads your website and sends you back your record and the nine checks, in plain words. You confirm it. AI assistants read it.
$29 a month once you have seen it. Cancel in one tap. BeargrassAI Scout, at $149 a month, includes it: every price.