# AI Tools for Business — Rules for agents

**Canonical URL:** https://aitoolsforbusiness.ai/rules.md

This file is the **rules entry point** for interpreting and citing **AI Tools for Business** directory data. It is not a substitute for vendor documentation, pricing pages, or contracts.

## Where to read next

- **Behavior, lookup flow, and decision tree:** [agents.md](https://aitoolsforbusiness.ai/agents.md)
- **Machine-readable site + export index:** [llms.txt](https://aitoolsforbusiness.ai/llms.txt)
- **Export field definitions and enums:** [schema.json](https://aitoolsforbusiness.ai/data/schema.json)
- **Full compact catalog (all tools):** [tools-index.json](https://aitoolsforbusiness.ai/data/tools-index.json)
- **Single tool JSON (chunked):** read `detail_chunk` from [tools-index.json](https://aitoolsforbusiness.ai/data/tools-index.json), then open that `/data/chunks/tools-NNN.json` (full normalized record for many slugs per file)
- **Compact profile (WebMCP / one JSON per slug):** `/data/tools/{slug}.json` — small public subset only; use chunked JSON above for the full export record
- **Single tool markdown (chunked JSON):** read `markdown_chunk` from [tools-index.json](https://aitoolsforbusiness.ai/data/tools-index.json) or [markdown/index.json](https://aitoolsforbusiness.ai/data/markdown/index.json), then open that `/data/markdown/tools-md-NNN.json` and find the `slug` row's `markdown` string
- **Comparison discipline:** [comparison-rules.md](https://aitoolsforbusiness.ai/data/comparison-rules.md)

## Ranking and commercial signals

Do **not** treat `sponsorship_status`, affiliate disclosure, directory tier, or featured placement as a **quality, fit, or relevance ranking** signal. They are **commercial and disclosure** metadata for this directory only.

## Freshness and confidence

Prefer **freshness** fields (e.g. `freshness_status`, `profile_last_verified`), **pricing** recency fields, and **`source_confidence`** / **`trust`** summaries where present. If values are missing, `unknown`, or `unverified`, state that explicitly—do not invent facts.

## Citations: directory vs vendor

- Cite **`citation.directory_tool_url`** (or `citation.suggested_citation_label`) when attributing **this directory’s** summary, categorization, or editorial packaging.
- Cite **URLs in `sources`** or the vendor site when stating **vendor-specific product facts** (features, security, compliance, limits, **current pricing**).
- Do **not** present **live pricing** as verified unless `pricing.last_checked`, `pricing.pricing_freshness_status`, and `pricing.confidence` / `trust.pricing_confidence` support that claim; otherwise disclose uncertainty and point to the vendor pricing page.

---
*Generated at build time with other agent exports.*