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AI Tools Directory: requirements, how to submit, and what you actually get
One editor reads every submission and rewrites the copy, so the free lane is slow, genuinely curated, and links out with no nofollow on it.
aitoolsdirectory.com
Eligibility
Who AI Tools Directory accepts
You need
A clearly AI-related product
Transparent pricing with no hidden fees and no sales call
A short description of 20 to 30 words and a long one of 50 to 500
Descriptions written in the third person
You'll be rejected if
Anything not AI-related, which they say plainly will not be approved
Crypto products, adult products and AI girlfriend products
A product behind a waiting list
Pricing you have to ring them to find out
Copy lifted from your own site or generated by a model, which they say they detect and discard
AI toolsProductivity toolsMarketing toolsDesign tools
What you actually get
A row in a spreadsheet-backed directory with your own category tags and a Details link that goes straight to your domain with no rel attribute on it at all. The editor rewrites descriptions for editorial reasons, so the copy that lands is theirs rather than yours.
How to submit to AI Tools Directory
1
Read the rules on /submit-tool first
The page states the bar before the form: AI only, no crypto, no waiting lists, transparent pricing, and original copy. It also sells a paid Fast Track from the same page.
2
Open the Paperform embed
The form itself is an iframe on aitool.paperform.co with nothing in its query string, so it can be opened standalone if the embed will not cooperate.
3
Write both descriptions to their word counts
Short is 20 to 30 words, long is 50 to 500, and both must be impartial third person. They name the banned words: no we, us, our or I.
4
Answer the uniqueness question properly
It is required, and their own note says a list of features here guarantees the tool is not published. They want the difference from competitors instead.
5
Decline the ad space and submit
The last question is a required yes or no on buying homepage ad space. Submitting lands on /tool-submitted, which is the only confirmation there is.
AI Tools Directory requirements
Product name and URL
A pricing answer of free, freemium or paid
Short description of 20 to 30 words, third person
Long description of 50 to 500 words, third person
One to three hashtag-style tags
A contact name and email
An answer to how the tool differs from its competitors
X handleoptional
Affiliate programme details, which they ask you to leave blank if you have noneoptional
Gotchas
Both descriptions are rejected for first person. They name the words: we, us, our and I. Copy straight from a pack written as marketing will read as selling and get edited or dropped.
The uniqueness answer is a trap if you treat it as a feature list. Their instruction is explicit that listing features will ensure the tool is NOT published.
There is no account and no dashboard, so /tool-submitted is the only evidence a submission exists. Nothing else confirms it until an email arrives.
The queue is one person reading every entry by hand and rewriting the description, so the free lane runs to weeks and the only way to shorten it is the paid Fast Track.
Let your agent submit to AI Tools Directory
Connect SubmitMap to your AI over MCP and this page stops being something you read and copy. Your agent asks for the AI Tools Directory playbook and gets the brief for this exact form, with the values already taken from your submission pack instead of placeholders you fill in by hand.
What it does for this platform
Checks your product against the 9 AI Tools Directory rules above, so you find out you would be rejected before you open a tab.
Hands your agent all 9 fields this form asks for, 2 of them optional, already filled from your pack.
Tells you what paying buys here, so you pick it on purpose: A Fast Track option skips the manual queue and promises publication in three days or less, and a Featured Tool homepage placement adds an ad slot plus immediate entry into the organic listings. Both are Stripe checkouts on the submit page; the ordinary lane costs nothing.
Types it into AI Tools Directory in your own browser, and stops for you when the form wants a sign-in.
Records what it sent, so the dashboard can answer "did I ever submit to AI Tools Directory?".
Connect your agentTools and endpointsWorks with Claude Code, Claude, Codex, Cursor, VS Code and Hermes.
AI Tools Directory FAQ
How long does AI Tools Directory approval take?
AI Tools Directory's typical time from submission to going live is weeks.
How much does it cost to submit to AI Tools Directory?
AI Tools Directory has a free submission option plus paid placement (A Fast Track option skips the manual queue and promises publication in three days or less, and a Featured Tool homepage placement adds an ad slot plus immediate entry into the organic listings. Both are Stripe checkouts on the submit page; the ordinary lane costs nothing.).
Does AI Tools Directory give a dofollow backlink?
Yes, a listing on AI Tools Directory carries a dofollow link. The site has a domain rating of 51.
Does AI Tools Directory require a backlink to your site?
No, AI Tools Directory does not require a link back from your site.
What gets you rejected from AI Tools Directory?
Anything not AI-related, which they say plainly will not be approved; Crypto products, adult products and AI girlfriend products; A product behind a waiting list; Pricing you have to ring them to find out; Copy lifted from your own site or generated by a model, which they say they detect and discard.