Help Center•March 22, 2026
Paywall Detection: Can AI Access Your Full Content?
How paywalls prevent AI crawlers from reading and citing your content.
What it measures
This check scans for paywall indicators — CSS classes, JavaScript patterns, Schema.org isAccessibleForFree: false markup, and content truncation text like "Subscribe to continue reading".
Why it matters for AI
AI crawlers can't subscribe or log in. If your content is behind a paywall, the crawler only sees the truncated preview. This means your full article never enters the AI's knowledge base, and you'll never be cited in AI-generated answers for that content.
How to improve
- Provide a meaningful free excerpt — At least 300-500 words of real content before any paywall
- Use isAccessibleForFree schema — Tell AI systems explicitly what's free and what's not
- Consider metered access — Allow a few free articles per month to get indexed
- Create free companion content — Publish summaries or previews that AI can cite, linking to the full paywalled version
💡 Quick win
Move your most important insight or finding above the paywall. AI only needs one good quote to cite you.