AI Discovery File Troubleshooting

Troubleshoot common AI Discovery File issues such as unavailable files, empty output, validation failures, missing pages, and stale artifacts.

Use this guide if your AI Discovery File is unavailable, empty, stale, difficult to install, or showing a validation issue.

The AI Discovery File Is Not Available

AI Discovery File v1 is available only for eligible Progress and Assurance site-level runs.

If you are using Discovery or Insight, the artifact is not included because those are single-page packages.

If you are using Progress or Assurance, confirm that the site-level run is complete.

The file is generated from eligible site-level run evidence, such as a completed Website Audit or Website Rescan. It is not generated from Single Page Audit, competitor-only, Discovery, or Insight results.

The File Is Empty

An empty file usually means no eligible public URLs were found after deterministic exclusions.

Common causes include:

  • the site could not be crawled;
  • public pages were not discoverable;
  • sitemap or navigation evidence was unavailable;
  • all candidate URLs were excluded;
  • source evidence was insufficient.

Download Does Not Work

If preview works but download fails, try refreshing the page and downloading again.

If the problem continues, contact Support and include the run, website domain, and whether preview content was visible.

Copy Does Not Work

Some browsers may block clipboard access.

If copy fails, use the download option instead.

Validation Fails

Review the validation message first.

Common validation issues include:

  • unexpected private or low-value URLs;
  • duplicate URLs;
  • stale file version;
  • empty generated output;
  • installed file not reachable at `/llms.txt`;
  • source evidence mismatch.

Expected Pages Are Missing

A page may be missing if it was not public, not discoverable, blocked from crawl, non-canonical, inaccessible, or excluded by the file's public-content rules.

If the page is important, confirm it is public and discoverable through sitemap, navigation, or internal linking. A new site-level run may be needed after the website is corrected.

Unexpected Pages Are Included

The AI Discovery File should avoid obvious login, account, admin, cart, checkout, search, tag archive, author archive, privacy, terms, cookie, private, gated, duplicate, inaccessible, or blocked URLs when those patterns are detected.

Contact Support if any of those URLs appear in your file.

The Installed File Is Not Reachable

Confirm the file is installed at:

`https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt`

The URL should not require login, should not redirect to an app or checkout page, and should show the file contents directly.

The File Is Stale

If a newer eligible Website Audit, Website Rescan, Flexible Website Rescan, or equivalent site-level run exists, regenerate the file before installing or sharing it.

What To Include When Contacting Support

Include:

  • your website domain;
  • the package or run if you know it;
  • the validation message;
  • whether preview, copy, download, or installation failed;
  • the installed `/llms.txt` URL if the file has already been installed.

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