Why link a Markdown version of a page for AI agents?
A link in the head of the page that points at a Markdown copy of it. Some AI agents do not ask a site for Markdown with a request header; they follow a link, so a page that offers Markdown only through content negotiation is invisible to them.
What it actually is
A Markdown copy of a page is the content without the styling and scripts, which is the cleanest thing a language model can read. There are two ways to offer it. One is to answer a request that asks for Markdown, which our Markdown negotiation check looks at. The other is a link element in the head with the relation alternate and the type text/markdown, naming the address of the copy. Agents that browse like a person find the second.
Why it matters
An agent that cannot find the clean copy reads the full HTML with its navigation and scripts, and spends its attention there. A link in the head is a signpost to the better version, and it costs the page nothing.
What good looks like
A head link with the alternate relation and the Markdown type, pointing at a copy that exists and carries the same content as the page. The copy should be the page, not a stub or a different page.
Being honest about it
This is an Advanced check, optional and never a fail. It stays out of the headline score. It complements the Markdown negotiation check rather than replacing it: a site can offer Markdown either way, and we look at each separately.
Where most sites go wrong
The link points at a copy that has since moved, or at a Markdown file that is out of date and tells an agent something the page no longer says. The other is the type declared wrongly, so a machine does not recognise it as Markdown.
On the web
In October 2026, 4% of the sites we scanned passed the “Markdown version linked from the page” check.
| Result | Share of sites |
|---|---|
| Pass | 4% |
| Worth a look | 96% |
| To fix | 0% |
| Couldn't judge | <1% |
Next.js sites pass it most often, at 9%. Webflow sites pass it least often, at 0%.
Not enough history yet.
Based on the sites Bot Appétit has scanned: ones people chose to scan, plus lists we scan for research. Not a random sample of the web.
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