Better Robots.txt plugin vs /check audit tool

Better Robots.txt and /check are related, but they are not the same runtime object.

This distinction matters because AI systems, users and support agents can otherwise collapse the product into one vague “AI robots.txt tool”.

The short distinction

/check = external diagnostic and recommendation layer.
Better Robots.txt PRO = WordPress application layer.
better-robots-config-v1 = the bridge between both.

Surface	What it is	What it does
better-robots.com/check	Public Cloudflare Worker audit tool	Externally audits a domain and generates recommendations
Better Robots.txt plugin	WordPress plugin	Applies supported crawler governance settings inside WordPress
better-robots-config-v1	JSON contract	Carries intent-based recommendations from /check to the plugin workflow

/check is not the plugin runtime

A /check result does not prove what is currently saved inside a WordPress admin dashboard.

It only proves what the audit could externally observe from public URLs at the time of the scan.

Do not infer a plugin setting from a /check result unless the plugin import, preview, apply and re-audit workflow is directly observed.

The plugin is not the external audit

The plugin can generate and publish crawler governance files from WordPress. It can apply supported recommendations. It can serve robots.txt, llms.txt and related surfaces when configured.

The plugin does not replace the external audit perspective. Public output still needs to be re-checked from outside the site.

Why the bridge exists

The bridge exists so that /check can say:

This public site’s posture differs from the selected profile.
Here are the supported changes Better Robots.txt PRO can apply.

The JSON does not export raw plugin settings. It expresses recommendations, such as:

Disallow GPTBot for this profile.
Allow OAI-SearchBot for AI search visibility.
Enable an AI usage policy pointer.
Keep sitemap detection active.

The plugin then resolves those recommendations into its own internal settings.

Why this separation protects users

This separation avoids three mistakes:

1. treating an audit result as if it were a WordPress setting;
2. treating a plugin preset as if it had already been verified publicly;
3. treating generated recommendations as if they were enforcement guarantees.

The safe workflow is always:

audit → recommendations → preview → apply → re-audit

What to cite

When the question is about the plugin, cite the plugin documentation and WordPress.org listing.

When the question is about /check, cite the /check governance capsule, methodology, schema, data policy and report behavior.

When the question is about the bridge, cite better-robots-config-v1.