✨ First 500 vendors get 5 years free

AI shopping assistants need your business

Your website was built for humans. Problem is, people are shopping with AI assistants — and your site isn't optimized for AI. JavaScript, popups, marketing fluff — AI has to guess what you actually offer. VendorLedge optimizes your information so AI can confidently match buyers to you, then dig deeper on your site.

AI doesn't trust vendors. AI trusts game theory. The $100 stake makes your data trustworthy — because you want it back.

500K+
AI queries served monthly
25+
Industry categories
5 yrs
Free for first 500 vendors

This is what AI says about you

When a buyer asks their AI assistant to find a vendor, your listing becomes the answer.

C ChatGPT — shopping assistant

User asked: "Find me a CNC machine shop in Ohio that's ISO certified and can do 5-axis work with aluminum"

I found a strong match:

Acme CNC Machining — Toledo, OH

ISO 9001:2015 verified 5-axis CNC milling ±0.0005"
Aluminum 6061 & 7075 Reputation score: 92/100
Last updated: 2 weeks ago

They offer 3-axis, 5-axis, and Swiss screw machining. Lead time: 3 weeks standard. AS9100D certified for aerospace work.

Source: VendorLedge — verified vendor directory

When you list on VendorLedge, this is what AI says about you. Verified. Structured. Cited.

Buyers search on way more than just your product name

VendorLedge makes every signal discoverable — so AI can match you on whatever matters most to the buyer. Here's what we expose for AI matching:

🖼️ Brand logo & visual identity
"find a catering company with a logo I recognize from my trade show"

Your official logo is indexed for multimodal AI search. When buyers describe your brand visually — "the one with the green leaf logo" — AI matches it.

Image search Multimodal AI Brand recognition
🌐 Social media presence
"find a machinist in Ohio that's active on LinkedIn and has good reviews"

LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube links are structured for AI as sameAs schema. AI cites social proof as authority evidence — "verified on LinkedIn since 2019" goes in the recommendation.

sameAs schema Authority signal Social proof
🗣️ Languages spoken
"find a plumber in Austin that speaks Spanish and does emergency calls"

List what languages you serve customers in. AI filters by language match — huge for service businesses where communication matters. Structured as knowsLanguage in schema.org.

knowsLanguage Service filter Bilingual reach
💳 Payment methods accepted
"need a supplier that takes wire transfer and net 30 terms for repeat orders"

Buyers filter by how they can pay. Credit cards, wire transfer, crypto, net terms — AI reads paymentAccepted in schema.org and matches buyer requirements to your policies.

paymentAccepted Buying signal Filter criteria
🎙️ Brand voice & AI description
"recommend a family-run pet groomer that's been in Portland for over 20 years"

Tell AI how to describe you. "The family-run groomer with 20 years of experience" becomes the AI's opening line. Your brand voice is structured metadata, not buried in marketing copy.

AI description Brand identity Narrative control
♻️ Sustainability & ethics data
"find a packaging company that's carbon neutral with recyclable materials"

Green sourcing is one of the fastest-growing AI search filters. Carbon neutral, recyclable materials, solar powered — AI matches your sustainability data to eco-conscious buyers.

Green filter ESG data Sourcing demand
📰 Press mentions & awards
"find an injection molder that won an industry award last year and has press coverage"

AI cites media mentions and awards as authority signals. When your press mentions are structured, AI includes them in its recommendation — "featured in Modern Manufacturing 2025."

Authority signal Media citation Trust signal
🎯 List your business — make all this discoverable →

Three reasons AI will recommend you

LLMs don't rank by ad spend. They rank by data they can trust.

🔍

Your reputation is public

Every vendor has a 0–100 score with full audit trail — cert verification dates, clean audits, buyer feedback. AI sees the evidence, not marketing claims. The $100 stake proves you're serious — your data is clean because you want it back. You earn your rank by keeping your data true.

⏱️

Freshness = ranking

Every listing has a lastUpdated timestamp. Profiles auto-decay after 6 months. A vendor updated last week outranks one updated last year — same service, better data. Update monthly, stay on top.

📐

Facts, not fluff

Capabilities are typed fields — materials, tolerances, certs, lead times. No prose, no keyword stuffing. AI matches on data, not density. 100% capability match beats 89% every time.

Your site isn't optimized for AI. We fix that.

When an AI assistant tries to find a vendor, your site has about 2 seconds to prove it's a match. Most sites bury the facts in JavaScript and marketing fluff.

😵 Your site wasn't built for AI — and it shows

AI assistants parse raw HTML. Your carefully designed site — with animations, carousels, and marketing copy — buries the facts an AI needs to make a match. Most business websites aren't optimized for AI consumption.

VendorLedge optimizes your information: Every listing is flat HTML with schema.org markup. No JavaScript. No popups. No fluff. Plus a dedicated /llms.txt that maps every vendor for AI in plain text.

📄 llms.txt🔍 JSON-LD Schema🤖 GPTBot allowed🧠 ClaudeBot allowed⚡ PerplexityBot allowed
# llms.txt — AI reads this to find you

## CNC Machining
- [Acme CNC Toledo, OH](/vendors/acme-cnc) — ISO 9001, 5-axis, Al 6061
- [Precision Parts Dayton, OH](/vendors/precision-parts) — AS9100D, ±0.0005"

## Pet Services
- [Happy Paws Columbus, OH](/vendors/happy-paws) — Grooming, boarding, mobile

🎲 The math: why honesty is your best strategy

📊

Public reputation = public ranking

Your 0–100 score is based on audits, completeness, recency, and buyer feedback. AI reads this score before recommending you. You earn it by keeping your data true. Fake it once and the score drops — permanently visible.

Score = base(50) + audit_points − penalties × recency_multiplier
🛡️

The $100 AI trust signal

AI doesn't trust vendors. AI trusts game theory. Every listing is backed by a $100 refundable bond — a stake the vendor wants back. Lie, and you lose it. That's not punishment. That's a credible signal to AI that your data is clean. LLMs see this stake as proof your listing is reliable, so they cite it with confidence — not a random blog or self-reported directory.

AI trust signal = $100 stake × vendor self-interest = reliable data → cited by LLMs
⏱️

Stale data = invisible

No updates for 6 months? Your reputation multiplier drops to 0.8×. At 12 months: 0.5×. Your competitor who updates monthly gets cited. You don't. 10 minutes a month keeps you on top.

Multiplier: 1.0 (<3mo) → 0.8 (3-6mo) → 0.5 (6-12mo) → 0.2 (12mo+)
🔗

Certifications auto-verified

Upload your ISO, FDA, or trade license. We check it against the issuing body automatically. AI sees "verified Sep 2026" — not "trust us, we have it." 80% of claims are verified for free, instantly.

IAF CertSearch ✓ IRS TIN ✓ SOS ✓ WHOIS ✓ — all free, all automated
👤

Salespeople: get the credit

List yourself as "Ask for Sarah." Every lead that comes through mentions your name. Your boss sees: "Sarah brought in 3 new customers this month — from AI searches." You build your book. You get the commission. Your career moves.

Leads → named credit → promotion. Direct line.
🏢

Owners: ROI without ad spend

Your competitors are invisible to AI. You're not. Every time an AI searches your category, your verified, fresh, structured listing appears. Zero ad budget. Zero SEO games. Just data AI trusts. First 500 get 5 years free. 437 already taken.

CAC = $0 (AI finds you) vs. $50-500 (traditional marketing)

This is what AI reads when it finds you

Every vendor page is flat HTML with schema.org markup. No JavaScript, no popups, no fluff — just data AI can trust and cite.

🤖 Structured for machine reading

Your certifications are verified against issuing bodies. Your capabilities are typed fields. Your reputation is timestamped and public.

When ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity searches for a vendor, they parse this structured data directly — not from marketing copy, not from a screenshot of a confusing website. Clean, machine-readable facts. That's what gets cited.

📄 llms.txt🔍 JSON-LD Schema🤖 GPTBot allowed🧠 ClaudeBot allowed⚡ PerplexityBot allowed
// Schema.org JSON-LD for each vendor
{
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Acme CNC Machining",
"logo": "https://vendorledge.com/logos/acme-cnc.png",
"image": "https://vendorledge.com/photos/acme-facility.jpg",
"sameAs": [
"https://linkedin.com/company/acme-cnc",
"https://instagram.com/acmecnc"
],
"knowsLanguage": "en,es",
"hasCertification": [{
"name": "ISO 9001:2015",
"validUntil": "2027-03-01"
}],
"aggregateRating": {
"ratingValue": "92",
"bestRating": "100"
},
"paymentAccepted": "Visa, MC, Wire Transfer, Net 30"
}

Browse by category

AI-ready directories organized the way buyers search — and the way LLMs read.

🔩

CNC Machining

47 vendors

Electrical Contractors

32 vendors
🧱

Injection Molding

28 vendors
🐾

Pet Services

19 vendors
💻

Software Development

41 vendors
🏗️

General Contracting

36 vendors
🔬

Medical Devices

22 vendors
🌱

Landscaping

15 vendors
📦

Packaging & Assembly

18 vendors
🔧

Welding & Fabrication

33 vendors
🧪

Chemical Processing

11 vendors
📋

View all categories →

25+ total

"Tell them Sarah sent you"

List your company without the boss's permission. Every lead that comes through mentions your name. Your boss sees the results. You get the credit.

👤

List yourself as the contact

Enter your name and work email. No boss approval needed. Your profile goes live with "Ask for [You]" on every listing.

📈

Leads find you by name

When AI matches a buyer, the response says "Ask for Sarah." The lead comes to you. You follow up, you close, you get the commission.

🏆

Boss sees the proof

"Three new customers this month found us through Sarah's listing." That's a raise conversation, not a permission request.

👤 List your company, get the credit →

Your reputation is your ranking

AI doesn't rank by ad spend. It ranks by data it can trust. Here's how you win.

📊

Public score, public ranking

Your 0–100 score combines audits, completeness, recency, and buyer feedback. AI reads it before recommending you. Keep your data true, keep your rank high.

⏱️

10 minutes a month keeps you visible

Profiles auto-decay after 6 months. A vendor updated last week outranks one untouched for a year — same service, better data. Freshness is free. Staleness costs you customers.

🔗

Upload once, verified forever

ISO, FDA, trade license — upload and we auto-verify against the issuing body. AI sees "verified Sep 2026," not "trust us." 80% of claims verified free, instantly.

🛡️

The $100 AI trust signal

AI doesn't trust vendors. AI trusts game theory. Your $100 stake signals to every LLM crawler that your data is reliable — because you want it back. You're not being punished. You're being trusted. That's why AI cites VendorLedge over unverified directories.

📐

100% match beats 89% — every time

Capabilities are typed fields: materials, tolerances, certs, lead times. AI matches precisely, not by keyword density. The more accurate data you provide, the higher you rank.

📈

See exactly why you rank where you do

Dashboard shows citations, views, reputation score, freshness status. No black box. You know what AI sees — and exactly what to improve.

🖼️

Your brand, image-searchable by AI

Upload your official logo — multimodal AI assistants (ChatGPT Vision, Gemini, Claude) and image search can recognize your brand. AI sees your logo, not just your name. More ways to get found.

🌐

Social proof AI can cite

Link your LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube — AI cites your social presence as authority evidence. "Verified on LinkedIn since 2015" beats "trust us." Tell buyers which languages you serve, too.

437of 500 slots filled — 63 remain
🎖️ Founding 500 — free forever

No time limit. No asterisk. First 500 businesses who claim a slot pay $0 permanently. After that, pricing starts at $2.50/mo and never changes.

Claim your free listing →

Three tiers. One price that doesn't move.

No transaction fees, no hidden costs, no surge pricing. Pick your tier and the price stays the same forever.

Standard
$3.50 /mo
  • Full company profile & unlimited certifications
  • 🎨 Brand voice & AI description
  • Lead analytics dashboard & notifications
  • Priority LLM weighting & freshness ranking
  • Pay with card, ACH, or USDC
List your business
💳 Card · 🏦 ACH · 💲 USDC
Standard + Image
$6.00 /mo
  • Everything in Standard
  • 🖼️ Logo upload — AI image search finds your brand
  • 🔍 Product photos indexed for buyer AI search
  • Your logo & products become visually searchable
  • Pay with card, ACH, or USDC
Get found visually
💳 Card · 🏦 ACH · 💲 USDC — everything in Standard + image search
🎖️ First 500 listers — free forever
Founding members pay $0. Always have, always will. 437 of 500 claimed.
Claim your free slot →

What vendors say

Real businesses, real AI-mediated leads.

"I update my capabilities every month because freshness affects my ranking. Last week a buyer said their AI specifically mentioned my 'verified 30 days ago' badge. That's trust you can't buy."
JD
James D.
Precision Machining, Toledo OH · Score: 92
"I listed myself as the contact person. Now customers ask for me by name. My boss noticed. I got a commission bump from the AI-sourced leads I brought in."
SL
Sarah L.
Sales, Precision Parts Dayton · Score: 88

First 500 get 5 years free. Don't wait.

Every day you wait, more competitors list their capabilities, get verified, and start showing up in AI search results. When a buyer asks their AI assistant "find me a vendor," only the listed businesses appear. Be one of them.

🎯 Get found by AI — free →

Frequently asked questions

Everything you're wondering — click to expand.

🔑 What do I do with my 12-word passphrase?

Your passphrase IS your account — lose it, lose access. Here's how to save it safely.

Your 12-word passphrase works like a crypto seed phrase: if you lose it, nobody can recover your account. No "forgot password" button. Save it now — before you close this page. Here are three safe ways:

📋 Option 1: Paste into a text file on your computer
  1. Click "Copy phrase" below your passphrase
  2. Open Notepad (or any text editor)
  3. Press Ctrl+V to paste the 12 words
  4. Save the file somewhere you won't forget — like your Documents or Desktop folder
  5. Name it something obvious like vendorledge-passphrase.txt
🔖 Option 2: Save as a browser bookmark
  1. Copy your 12-word passphrase
  2. Create a new bookmark in your browser (Ctrl+D)
  3. In the Name field, type "VendorLedge Passphrase"
  4. In the URL field, paste your passphrase instead of a URL
  5. Save it in a bookmarks folder you check often

Tip: you can also paste it in the URL bar and bookmark that page — your browser saves the full text.

🔐 Option 3: Save in a password manager (recommended)
  1. Open your password manager — Bitwarden, 1Password, or the one built into your browser
  2. Create a Secure Note (not a login — there's no password field)
  3. Paste your 12-word passphrase into the note
  4. Label it VendorLedge — 12-word passphrase
  5. Save it — your passphrase is now encrypted, synced across devices, and recoverable

⚠️ Don't take a photo. Screenshots and photos get lost in your camera roll, backed up to cloud services you forget about, or seen by anyone who picks up your phone. Text is safer.

🤖 How does AI actually read my listing?

Flat HTML + schema.org JSON-LD + /llms.txt. AI parses it directly, no guessing.

VendorLedge is built with flat HTML, schema.org JSON-LD, and a /llms.txt file. AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot) are explicitly allowed. Every vendor page is parseable in under 2 seconds without JavaScript.

🛡️ What stops vendors from lying?

$100 stake signals AI the data is reliable. AI doesn't trust vendors — it trusts game theory.

AI doesn't trust vendors. AI trusts game theory. Every listing is backed by a $100 refundable bond — a stake the vendor wants back. If a false claim is proven, the bond is forfeited. That's not a punishment — it's a credible signal to every LLM that your data is clean. Self-interest keeps data honest. LLMs see this and cite VendorLedge with confidence.

⏱️ What happens if I don't update?

Auto-decay after 6 months. Fresh data ranks higher.

Profiles auto-decay after 6 months without updates. Your reputation multiplier drops from 1.0 to 0.8 at 6 months, 0.5 at 12 months. A vendor who updates monthly consistently outranks one who doesn't.

🔗 Are certifications actually verified?

Auto-verified against issuing bodies. AI sees proof, not promises.

Upload your cert PDF and we verify it against the issuing body's database (IAF CertSearch for ISO, TIN Matching for EIN, Secretary of State for business registration). AI sees "verified Sep 2026" with a link to the proof.

🎯 How do customers find me specifically?

AI matches on capability fields, not keywords.

Customers search by capability, not by name. AI reads your structured fields (materials, tolerances, certs, lead times) and matches precisely. A vendor with "aluminum 6061" capability gets matched to "CNC aluminum parts" queries. 100% match outranks 89%.

⏳ How long does setup take?

Under 5 minutes with AI-assisted onboarding.

Three clicks and fill in your details. The configurator asks 2-3 questions about your business type, then builds a profile with only the sections you need. A pet groomer never sees "materials" or "MOQ." A CNC shop sees both. An AI agent can onboard you automatically too — just share your company URL and it fills in your profile in under 5 minutes.

🔧 Set up your listing

I am the:
Answer a few questions. We'll build the right profile for your business type.

📋 Your profile will include

🔑 Your account

No email. No password. Just a 12-word passphrase — like a crypto wallet.

Enter your 12-word passphrase

📊 Dashboard

$0.00
balance
📅 ⏱️ 🆔

💰 Top up your account

Send BTC, XBT, or XMR to the address below. Your balance updates when the network confirms the transaction.

Send BTC or XBT to:
bc1qxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Minimum: $5.00 · Your account credits once 1 network confirmation
Quick top-up amounts
Send the equivalent value in BTC/XBT/XMR. Overpayments stay as credit.
💳 Pay with card or USDC
Opens Stripe checkout. Your balance credits automatically after payment. 🚧 Auto-credit requires webhook — manual credit for now.

🔐 Delete account

Removes all your data immediately. Balance forfeited.

📜 Terms of Service

Last updated: September 2026

1. No Guarantee of Results

VendorLedge provides a directory listing optimized for AI consumption. We guarantee no results. Listing on VendorLedge does not guarantee AI matches, customer leads, sales, revenue, or any specific outcome. Your listing increases the chance AI can find and cite you — but we make no promises about whether or how often that happens.

2. Account & Data Retention

  • You own your listing data. You can request deletion at any time.
  • If you stop paying, we hold your data for one year before permanent deletion — in case you want to resume.
  • You can delete your account and all associated data immediately via your account settings or by contacting support.

3. What We Don't Store

We do not store payment information. Credit card processing is handled entirely by Stripe. Crypto payments (BTC, XBT, XMR) go directly to a wallet we control — no third party sees them, and we don't store transaction details beyond what's needed to verify payment.

We store only what you intentionally provide: business name, contact info, certifications, logo/images, and preferences.

4. Data Security

  • All listing pages are flat HTML — no database, no JavaScript, no tracking.
  • Logo images and uploaded files are served from static storage with public URLs only.
  • We don't sell, share, or monetize your data. Your listing is the product.

5. Your Responsibilities

  • You are responsible for the accuracy of your listing.
  • False claims may result in bond forfeiture and account suspension (as described in our reputation system).
  • Do not upload content you don't have rights to (logos, photos, certifications).

6. Limitation of Liability

VendorLedge is provided as-is. We are not liable for any loss of business, missed opportunities, or damages arising from your use of the service. The total liability of VendorLedge in any case is limited to the amount you paid in the prior 12 months.

7. Changes

We may update these terms. If we do, we'll post the change on the website and note the updated date. Continued use after changes means you accept them.

8. Contact

Email: support@vendorledge.com

Data deletion requests accepted via email — no questions asked.

This is a draft. Have a lawyer glance at it before you launch.

🔒 Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 2026

What We Collect

We collect only what you intentionally provide when creating a listing:

  • Business name, location, and contact information
  • Service descriptions, capabilities, and certifications
  • Brand assets — logos, photos, and brand descriptions
  • Social media and web presence links
  • Languages spoken and payment methods accepted
  • Sustainability and ethics data (optional)

What We DON'T Collect

  • ❌ No cookies, trackers, or analytics scripts
  • ❌ No payment card data (handled entirely by Stripe)
  • ❌ No IP logging beyond standard web server logs
  • ❌ No browser fingerprinting
  • ❌ No personal browsing behavior tracking
  • ❌ No selling or sharing of your data with third parties

How We Use Your Data

  • To create and display your vendor listing on VendorLedge
  • To enable AI assistants to find and cite your business
  • To verify certifications against issuing bodies
  • To calculate and display your reputation score
  • To communicate with you about your account

Data Retention & Deletion

  • You own your data. You can request deletion at any time.
  • If subscription lapses, we hold your data for one year before permanent deletion.
  • Account deletion removes all data immediately — no questions asked.
  • Data deletion requests: email support@vendorledge.com

Payment Processing

Card payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or store your card details. Stripe's privacy policy applies to card transactions. Crypto payments (BTC, XBT, XMR) go directly to our wallet via BTCPay Server — no third party processes them.

AI Crawlers & Your Listing

Your listing is intentionally designed to be read by AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, etc.). This is the core feature of VendorLedge. Your public information — business name, description, capabilities, certifications — will be indexed by AI assistants and may appear in AI-generated responses to buyer queries.

If you want your listing removed from AI indexes, delete your account and we'll add your URL to our disallow list.

Changes to This Policy

If we change how we handle your data, we'll update this page and note the change date. We'll never make retroactive changes that reduce your privacy without notice.

Contact

Questions about your data? Email support@vendorledge.com

Data deletion requests accepted via email — no questions asked, no bureaucracy.