The crawler check makes our servers fetch your pages, so the domain needs proof first: a tag in your head, a DNS record or a small file. Presence and the free checker read a home page without it.
What it does
Before AI Visibility checks whether crawlers can read your pages, you prove the domain is yours. Any one of three works: a line pasted into your home page head, a DNS TXT record, or a small file at a fixed address on your site.
You can also email the instructions to whoever runs your website. Once the proof is published, it is checked again on its own.
Why
A domain typed into a settings box isn't evidence of ownership. Without proof, anyone could point the crawler check at anyone's site.
What it won't do
- It doesn't run the crawler check on a domain you haven't proved.
- It doesn't let one account's proof count for another account or another domain.
Two things read a home page without proof: Presence reads your own home page for its markup, and the free checker reads whatever domain a visitor types.
How to use it
Open the AI Visibility guide in your dashboard, or start a trial to try it.