AJ Agent Crawl Optimizer vs Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance

AJ Agent Crawl Optimizer is a thin compatibility layer that teaches your site to speak the languages AI agents already use to discover and consume web content. It publishes machine-readable manifests at well-known URLs, serves clean Markdown when an AI requests it, and declares your AI-usage preferences — all without changing anything for human visitors. Each capability is a separate toggle under Settings → AJ Agent Crawl Optimizer and ships opt-in (everything starts off). On first activation, a one-time Quick Setup wizard suggests sensible defaults based on your environment (for example, it skips JSON-LD when an SEO plugin is detected so you don’t get duplicate structured data). Discovery — help agents find what your site offers API Catalog (RFC 9727) — /.well-known/api-catalog linkset advertising your REST API, plus a Link: rel="api-catalog" header on every response so agents discover it from any URL. MCP Server Card (SEP-1649 draft) — /.well-known/mcp/server-card.json describing the site to MCP-aware agents. Agent Skills Index (RFC v0.2.0) — /.well-known/agent-skills/index.json listing six skills (search, posts, pages, media, categories, tags) plus per-skill SKILL.md artifacts with verifiable sha256 digests. llms.txt (per llmstxt.org) — /llms.txt curated, LLM-readable index of your top pages and recent posts, with a Discovery section auto-linking every other plugin endpoint. IndexNow — non-blocking ping to Bing and Yandex on every post publish so search engines re-crawl within minutes. Presentation — format content for agents Markdown Negotiation — when a request includes Accept: text/markdown, the page is served as clean Markdown with X-Markdown-Tokens for context budgeting. Browsers (which send text/html) are completely unaffected. JSON-LD Schema — Schema.org structured data: WebSite, Organization, Article, BreadcrumbList, and auto-detected FAQPage. Logo resolved from your theme’s custom logo or site icon. OpenAPI 3.0.3 — /?format=openapi returns a complete spec generated dynamically from rest_get_server(), including plugin-registered REST routes. WebMCP Tools — registers four tools (search, posts, pages, site info) via navigator.modelContext.provideContext() for browsers that support the W3C WebMCP draft. Declarations Content-Signals — appends a Content-Signal: ai-train=no, search=yes, ai-input=no directive to robots.txt declaring your AI-usage preferences (per contentsignals.org). Composes with Yoast/Rank Math/AIOSEO — their additions are preserved, our line lands at the very end. Why use it No conflicts with your SEO plugin. JSON-LD auto-suppresses when Yoast SEO, Rank Math, All in One SEO, SEOPress, The SEO Framework, Slim SEO, Squirrly SEO, Schema Pro, or SASWP is active. Multisite-aware. Every endpoint also resolves at /{subsite}/... paths automatically. Cached. OpenAPI is cached for a day, llms.txt for an hour, with proper invalidation on plugin activation, theme switch, post changes, and setting toggles. Performance-conscious. Markdown handler runs at PHP_INT_MAX priority so it doesn’t break object-cache flushes or Query Monitor. IndexNow pings are non-blocking. Extensible. Nine filter hooks let you customize skills, schemas, capabilities, and content. See “For Developers” below. Accessible. Score-card SVG has dynamic aria-label, copy buttons announce success via aria-live, decorative arrows hidden from screen readers via CSS pseudo-elements. For developers The plugin exposes nine filter hooks for extension. Examples: add_filter( 'ajaco_required_capability', function () { return 'edit_posts'; } ); Delegate plugin access to a non-admin role. add_filter( 'ajaco_skill_definitions', function ( $skills ) { return $skills + [ 'products' => [ 'type' => 'information-retrieval', 'description' => 'WooCommerce products', 'endpoint' => rest_url( 'wc/v3/products' ) ] ]; } ); Register custom skills that ship in the Agent Skills Index and are served as SKILL.md artifacts with verifiable sha256 digests. add_filter( 'ajaco_content_signal', function () { return 'ai-train=yes, search=yes, ai-input=yes'; } ); Customize the Content-Signal directive (e.g. permit AI training). Other hooks: ajaco_api_catalog_linkset, ajaco_mcp_server_card, ajaco_json_ld_graph, ajaco_openapi_spec, ajaco_llms_txt_content, ajaco_active_seo_plugin. The settings page’s Help tab → For Developers lists all of them with descriptions. External services This plugin connects to one external service, and only when the corresponding feature is explicitly enabled by the site administrator. IndexNow (api.indexnow.org) What it is and what it’s used for: IndexNow is an open protocol (originally from Microsoft Bing and Yandex) that lets sites notify search engines the moment a URL is published or updated, so search engines can re-crawl within minutes instead of days. When data is sent: only when the IndexNow feature toggle is turned on AND an IndexNow API Key is configured on the settings page. In that case, every time a post of a public post type transitions to the publish status, the plugin fires a single non-blocking HTTPS POST to https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow. What data is sent: the request body is a JSON document containing exactly three fields — your site’s host (e.g. example.com), your IndexNow API key (which you generated yourself at Bing Webmaster Tools), and the permalink URL of the post that was just published. No visitor information, IP addresses, user-agents, or post content is sent. If the IndexNow feature toggle is off (the default), the plugin makes no outbound network requests of any kind. This service is provided by Microsoft (Bing) and the IndexNow project. Their terms and privacy policies apply: IndexNow protocol documentation: https://www.indexnow.org/documentation IndexNow FAQ and terms: https://www.indexnow.org/faq Microsoft Bing Webmaster Guidelines : https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a Microsoft Privacy Statement: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement Privacy AJ Agent Crawl Optimizer stores data only on your own server — there is no telemetry, no analytics, and no third-party logging. Specifically: Local data Plugin option rows in the WordPress options table store toggle states and the IndexNow API Key (stored as plain text — keep your database secure). Transients cache the OpenAPI document and llms.txt body. These are deleted on plugin uninstall. No request data, IP addresses, User-Agents, or visitor information is recorded by the plugin. Outbound network calls The plugin makes exactly one outbound HTTP request, and only when explicitly enabled: IndexNow — when the IndexNow toggle is on and a key is configured, the plugin sends a non-blocking POST to https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow on every post publish. The payload contains the site host, the IndexNow key, and the URL of the published post (no visitor data). If the IndexNow toggle is off (the default), the plugin makes zero outbound network requests. All other features (manifests, JSON-LD, robots.txt) only respond to incoming HTTP requests; they never call out. Cookies The plugin does not set any cookies. Uninstall When the plugin is deleted (not just deactivated), all plugin options, the IndexNow key, and all transients are removed from the database. Multisite networks have every site cleaned in turn.

Better Robots.txt replaces the default WordPress robots.txt workflow with a smarter, structured version you can configure and preview before publishing. Instead of a blank textarea, you get a guided wizard with presets, plain-language explanations, and a final Review & Save step so you can inspect the generated robots.txt before it goes live. Built for beginners and advanced users alike, Better Robots.txt helps you control how search engines, AI crawlers, SEO tools, archive bots, bad bots, social preview bots, and other automated agents interact with your site. Trusted by thousands of WordPress sites, Better Robots.txt is designed for the AI era without resorting to hype, vague promises, or hidden rules. Better Robots.txt is available in Free, Pro, and Premium editions. The free plugin covers the guided workflow and essential crawl control features, while Pro and Premium unlock additional governance, protection, and AI-ready modules. Some screenshots on the plugin page show features from all three editions. A quick overview Why Better Robots.txt is different Most robots.txt plugins fall into one of three categories: Simple text editor Virtual robots.txt manager Single-purpose AI or policy add-on Better Robots.txt goes further. It gives you a complete, guided crawl control workflow so you can: Choose a preset that matches your goals Control major crawler categories without writing everything by hand Keep core WordPress protection rules visible and editable Clean up low-value crawl paths that waste crawl budget Generate a cleaner robots.txt output Preview the final result before saving What you can control Better Robots.txt helps you manage: Search engine visibility AI and LLM crawler behavior AI usage signals such as search, ai-input, and ai-train preferences SEO tool crawlers Bad bots and abusive crawlers Archive and Wayback access Feed crawlers and crawl traps WooCommerce crawl cleanup CSS, JavaScript, and image crawling rules Social media preview crawlers ads.txt and app-ads.txt allowance llms.txt generation Advanced directives such as crawl-delay and custom rules Final review before publishing Editions Better Robots.txt is available in three editions: Free – Includes the guided setup, the Essential preset, core crawl control features, and the final Review & Save workflow. Pro – Adds more advanced governance and protection modules, including additional AI, crawler, and cleanup controls. Premium – Unlocks the most restrictive and advanced protection options, including the Fortress preset and additional high-control modules. Some options shown in the interface are marked Free, Pro, or Premium so users can immediately understand which modules belong to each edition. Presets Setup starts with four modes: Essential – A clean, practical configuration for most websites that want a better robots.txt without complexity. AI-First – For publishers and content sites that want AI-ready governance without shutting down discovery. Fortress – For websites that want stronger protection against scraping, archive capture, and unnecessary crawl activity. Custom – For users who prefer to configure each module manually. For many sites, one preset plus a quick review is enough. Built for beginners and experts Beginners get: A guided setup instead of a raw robots.txt box Preset-based configuration Plain-language explanations for important choices A safer workflow with a final preview step Advanced users get: Editable core WordPress protection rules Fine-grained crawler controls by category WooCommerce-oriented cleanup options Consolidated output options Advanced directives and custom rules A final output they can inspect before publishing AI-ready, without hype Better Robots.txt includes features for modern AI-related crawl governance, including: AI crawler handling Optional llms.txt support AI usage signals for compliant systems Optional machine-readable governance signals for advanced use cases These features help you express how you want automated systems to use your content. However, Better Robots.txt does not claim to control AI by force. Like robots.txt itself, these signals are most useful with compliant systems and good-faith crawlers. What Better Robots.txt is Better Robots.txt is: A robots.txt governance plugin for WordPress A guided configuration workflow instead of a raw text editor A crawl control layer to reduce wasteful crawling A practical bridge between SEO, crawl hygiene, and AI-era policy signaling A way to keep your crawl policy clearer for humans and machines Technical reference for advanced users: Better Robots.txt also maintains a public GitHub repository with product definition, governance notes, and machine-readable artefacts. What Better Robots.txt is not Better Robots.txt is not: A firewall or Web Application Firewall (WAF) An anti-scraping enforcement engine A legal compliance engine A guarantee that every bot will obey your rules A replacement for server-level security or access control It helps you publish a clearer crawl policy. It does not replace infrastructure-level protection. Typical use cases Use Better Robots.txt if you want to: Clean up a weak or noisy default robots.txt Reduce crawl waste on WordPress or WooCommerce Keep major search engines allowed while restricting other bots Control whether archive bots can snapshot your site Publish AI usage preferences more clearly Keep social preview bots allowed while limiting scrapers Review the final file before making it live Key Features Guided step-by-step wizard Preset-based setup: Essential, AI-First, Fortress, Custom Search engine visibility controls AI and LLM crawler governance AI usage signals support SEO tool crawler controls Bad bot and abusive crawler options Archive and Wayback access controls Spam, feed, and crawl trap cleanup WooCommerce crawl cleanup options CSS, JavaScript, and image crawling rules Social media preview crawler controls ads.txt and app-ads.txt allowance Optional llms.txt generation Consolidated output option Core WordPress protection rules remain visible and editable Final Review & Save preview screen About the publisher Better Robots.txt is developed and maintained by Pagup, a digital readability firm based in Quebec, Canada. Pagup helps organizations become correctly understood by search engines, generative AI systems, and autonomous agents. The robots.txt file is the first surface that AI crawlers read when they discover a site. A well-structured robots.txt that references governance files such as llms.txt, ai-manifest.json, and interpretation policies helps AI systems understand your site faster and more accurately. Better Robots.txt is one component of a broader digital readability practice that includes semantic content architecture, AI governance and machine readability, and interpretive SEO. Part of the Pagup ecosystem pagup.com — Digital readability firm. Diagnostic, semantic architecture, AI governance. gautierdorval.com — Doctrine, canonical definitions, interpretive governance research. interpretive-governance.org — Formal versioned standard for interpretive governance. better-robots.com — Documentation and resources for Better Robots.txt.