What AI tools actually read on your page
When someone asks an AI tool about a web page, the tool often doesn't see the page the way a visitor does. Many fetch the raw HTML without running JavaScript and convert it to plain text, usually Markdown, before reading it. Styling and layout are gone, and so is anything that only appears after JavaScript runs.
What AI Reads shows you that plain-text version of any URL and points out where your content gets lost, merged or misread, so you can fix it in the HTML.
How it works
- Fetch. We request the page's HTML from our server, without running JavaScript. You choose the user agent: this tool's own, Claude-User, ChatGPT-User or a regular Chrome browser.
- Convert. We remove scripts and styles, then convert the HTML to Markdown with Turndown, a widely used open-source converter.
- Separate the main content. We set aside the header, navigation, footer, sidebars and cookie banners. If the page has a
<main>element, we use it. - Check. The checks run on the Markdown itself, so what we report is what an AI receives.
What we check
Squashed text
Text from separate page elements that runs together with no space between them. A sale price, an old price and a discount badge can become $280.99$37525% off, which reads like one number. On screen, styling keeps them apart. In the Markdown, it doesn't. The fix is a space or a short label between the elements, like “Was $375”.
Key facts
Enter the details that matter most on the page, like a price, a phone number or a product name. We tell you whether each one is in the text, how far down it first appears, and whether it only appears in the header or footer.
Empty links and images without alt text
An icon-only link becomes [](/cart): a link with no words. An aria-label doesn't survive the conversion to Markdown, so use visible text, or alt text on the icon image.
Tables
Tables without a header row stay as raw HTML in the Markdown, and merged or nested cells often come out misaligned. Each problem table is listed by its first row, so you can find it.
Headings
A missing H1, several H1s or skipped levels give an AI a confusing outline of the page.
Main content vs. boilerplate
How much of the text is the page's actual content rather than menus and footers. Some AI tools cut off or skim long pages, so content buried under a large menu is at risk.
Limitations
- AI tools differ. Some run JavaScript or use their own converters. This tool shows the most common case: a page fetched without JavaScript and converted to Markdown.
- Structured data (schema) isn't shown. This tool is about the readable text on the page.
- It can't predict whether an AI will cite or recommend your page.
FAQ
Do AI tools run JavaScript?
Some do and many don't, and it varies by tool and by task. The version without JavaScript is what's available to every AI tool, whatever it supports.
Is this the same as llms.txt?
No. llms.txt is an optional file that points AI tools to your important pages. What AI Reads checks what an AI gets from a page itself.
Does this affect my Google rankings?
Not directly. It's about AI tools that read your pages. Many of the fixes, like clear headings and alt text, also help accessibility and traditional SEO.
Why does a price on my page show as missing?
Usually because it's merged with the text next to it, so the exact price never appears on its own. Check the Squashed text results for that page.
Is it free? Do you store what I check?
It's free with no sign-up. We don't save the pages or key facts you check. The privacy policy has the details.