Terms of service

In these terms the following definitions apply:

• ◊ Kobalt: Kobalt Digital B.V., registered at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under no. 68839383
• ◊ Service: the AEO Expert website (aeo-expert.nl) including the scanner, reports and associated content
• ◊ User: the natural or legal person using the Service
• ◊ Scan: an automated inspection of a URL assessing AI readiness
• ◊ Report: the result of a Scan, consisting of scores, checks and recommendations
• ◊ Kobalt Products: all products, provisions and related work supplied by Kobalt of which the intellectual property rights rest with Kobalt (per art. 1.4 Kobalt General Terms)

For all other definitions, please refer to article 1 of the General Terms and Conditions of Kobalt Digital B.V.

The General Terms and Conditions of Kobalt Digital B.V. (version 1.2, 2 May 2019) apply in full to the use of the Service. This page provides a summary and supplement specific to AEO Expert. In case of conflict, the original Kobalt document prevails.

In accordance with article 2.1 of the Kobalt General Terms, these terms apply to all offers, legal relationships and agreements under which Kobalt delivers products to the User. Applicability of any terms of the User is expressly rejected.

AEO Expert is a free online scanner that assesses the AI readiness of websites. The scanner analyses only the homepage of the provided URL and delivers a report with an AEO score, an Agent Readiness score and improvement recommendations.

Kobalt endeavours to deliver the Service to the best of its ability (per art. 6.1 Kobalt General Terms), but does not guarantee specific availability, accuracy of scores or results. Scan results may vary as AI models and protocols are continuously evolving.

The Service is offered free of charge and without an account. Kobalt reserves the right to modify, suspend or discontinue the Service at any time.

The User shall only use the Service for URLs they are reasonably authorised to scan. Repeatedly scanning third-party sites without a legitimate purpose may result in blocking.

• ◊ No bypassing of rate limits, security measures or technical restrictions (per art. 15.8 Kobalt General Terms)
• ◊ No automated or bulk use of the scanner without prior written consent from Kobalt
• ◊ No use for illegal, discriminatory or misleading purposes
• ◊ No resale or commercial redistribution of scan results without written consent

In case of violation of these terms, Kobalt is entitled to block access to the Service with immediate effect.

In accordance with article 15.1 of the Kobalt General Terms, all intellectual and industrial property rights arising from the Service belong to Kobalt. This includes the scan algorithm, the website, all report templates, the content and the AEO Expert brand.

The User receives a limited, non-exclusive and non-transferable right to view, share and internally use scan reports for their own domains. Anonymised and aggregated scan data may be used by Kobalt for benchmarks, research and product improvement (per art. 9.6 and 15.4 Kobalt General Terms).

It is not permitted to remove or modify any indication of intellectual property rights, trademarks or trade names from the Service (per art. 15.6 Kobalt General Terms).

When performing a scan, Kobalt processes the provided URL and the publicly available data of that page. No personal data from the User is requested or stored, unless the User voluntarily leaves contact details via a CTA.

In accordance with article 9.1 of the Kobalt General Terms, the User is responsible for data that is transmitted. Kobalt processes scan data solely for the purpose of delivering the report and for aggregated analyses.

Scan results are cached for a limited period. Please refer to our privacy policy for full details on data processing and retention periods.

Article 11 of the Kobalt General Terms applies in full to Kobalt's liability. The key provisions:

• ◊ Kobalt's total liability is limited to compensation of direct damage, up to the invoice value of the relevant part of the agreement, with a maximum of \u20AC 250,000 (art. 11.1)
• ◊ Liability for indirect damage, consequential damage, lost profits, missed savings and destruction or loss of data is expressly excluded (art. 11.6)
• ◊ Scan results and recommendations are informational in nature. Kobalt does not guarantee that following recommendations will lead to better visibility in AI systems

As the Service is offered free of charge, Kobalt's liability with respect to the scanner is in any case limited to what is stipulated in this article and article 11 of the Kobalt General Terms.

In accordance with article 17 of the Kobalt General Terms, Kobalt is not liable for the consequences of force majeure, including government measures, international conflicts, labour irregularities and disruptions in businesses or institutions whose services are used.

In case of disruptions to external services (such as hosting, DNS or third-party APIs) on which the scanner depends, the availability of the Service may be temporarily limited.

In accordance with article 19.1 of the Kobalt General Terms, Dutch law applies to all agreements. The Vienna Sales Convention (CISG) is expressly excluded.

Disputes are submitted to the competent Dutch court per article 19.2, unless mandatory law provides otherwise. Kobalt aims to resolve disputes through dialogue first.

Kobalt has the right to amend these terms (per art. 19.3 Kobalt General Terms). Amendments are published on this page with version number and date.

For the complete and binding text of the general terms and conditions, reference is always made to the official document of Kobalt Digital B.V., available at kobaltdigital.nl.

If any provision of these terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full effect. The rights and obligations of the invalidated part shall be determined as closely as possible to the original intent (per art. 19.7 Kobalt General Terms).

Kobalt is entitled to transfer its rights and obligations under this agreement to parent, sister or subsidiary companies, or to a third party in case of merger or acquisition (per art. 19.6 Kobalt General Terms).