Search and AI answers
Be found by AI assistants
How CubeSites talks to AI assistants, and the switches that control it.
- 3 minute read
- 3 interactive walkthroughs
- For everyone curious about AI search
One switch, easy to understand#
AI assistants from several companies now answer questions people used to search for. CubeSites gives each website a plain switch: AI assistants may read this website. On, and the site is offered in forms those assistants can read efficiently; off, and it is asked politely to stay out.
The switch sits on the Search engines section of the SEO tab, beside the sitemap and the search engine verification codes, because it answers the same question: which machines may read this site.
Business details
Pages in search
SEO checks
ProProducts and categories
Search products and categoriesCategory ALooks goodProduct ANo descriptionProduct BHidden from search enginesService area pages (Pro)
Search engines
Step 1 of 2
One switch
On, and the site is offered in forms assistants read efficiently. Off, and they are asked politely to stay out.
Reduced motion is on, so the walkthrough waits for you. Use the arrows or pick a step.
- 1Open the SEO tab.
- 2Find AI assistants may read this website.
- 3Leave it on for a business site, or switch it off where the policy says so.
What assistants actually read#
Three things make a site easy for an assistant to use. First, the pages as Markdown: every page can be fetched as plain text by adding .md to its address, or by asking for it directly, which is far easier for a machine than guessing at HTML. Second, llms.txt, the short guide listing what the site contains, with the fuller llms-full.txt beside it. Third, the Summary for AI assistants field on each page: one or two sentences saying what the page offers, which appears in those files.
The Instructions for AI drafts field is the opposite: private guidance for the editor's own AI, never shown to visitors or assistants.
In search results, it looks like
Heating and plumbing in Cardiff | Your Company
your-company.cubesites.site
Boilers, repairs and services from a local team. Free quotes across Cardiff.
Search engines
Step 1 of 2
The summary
One or two sentences saying what the page offers, appearing in llms.txt and the page's Markdown file.
Reduced motion is on, so the walkthrough waits for you. Use the arrows or pick a step.
Good to know: The .md addresses and machine files simply follow from the site being well described. There is no separate site to maintain, and nothing extra to submit.
Pages that stay out#
Hide from search engines takes a page out of the search listing and the assistant files together. A page switched off here is not offered anywhere, though it remains reachable by address.
A multi-language site keeps separate summaries per language, so an assistant answering in French reads the French description rather than the English one.
In search results, it looks like
Heating and plumbing in Cardiff | Your Company
your-company.cubesites.site
Boilers, repairs and services from a local team. Free quotes across Cardiff.
Search engines
Step 1 of 2
Hide from search engines
Takes a page out of the search listing and the assistant files together. It stays reachable by address.
Reduced motion is on, so the walkthrough waits for you. Use the arrows or pick a step.
- The main pages have a written AI summary
- Drafts and hold pages are hidden
- Anything under a confidence is out of both search and the assistant files
Common questions
Can I pick which AI companies may read the site?
The switch is all or nothing, which is how the open standard works today. A company that says it honours a refusal is taken at its word.
Does any of this change the page for visitors?
No. Everything here is generated beside the ordinary site, from the same pages.
Related guides
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