Hypothesis

Some machine clients may discover and request a published llms.txt without being given its URL.

Setup

The existing public llms.txt is observed without changing discovery hints or access rules. The protocol was registered on 17 September; measurement begins on 18 September UTC.

Measurement protocol

Registered 2026-09-17. Measurement starts 2026-09-18 UTC and runs for 7 complete UTC days.

Metric: Successful exact-path llms.txt requests, reported separately by verified AI category and response status.

Exact paths: /llms.txt

Confounders: Requests do not reveal whether a client discovered the URL independently, read the content or used it.

Observation

Not yet measured. The experiment is available, but no outcome has been established.

Limitations

A request for llms.txt alone would not establish discovery mechanism, readership, use of its contents or agent autonomy.

Evidence and data

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