Something changed in the last year. AI agents aren't just chatbots anymore - they're operating products. Claude has computer use. Agents navigate UIs, click buttons, fill forms, complete workflows.
Your customers are going to start sending AI agents to do tasks in your product. Some already are.
The problem: your SaaS is probably broken for agents. Not your fault - nobody designed for this. But here's what trips them up:
- Skeleton loaders that look like empty states
- Auto-save that triggers on every keystroke (agents don't know to wait)
- Workspace switchers that change all visible data
- OAuth popups that open in new windows
- MFA flows agents literally cannot complete
- Async processes that take minutes and look stalled
- "Approve" buttons that trigger paid operations with no confirmation
I ran into all of this when I had Claude navigate my own product (BrandyBee). It kept asking "is this broken?" at perfectly normal loading screens.
So I built **operate.txt** - a simple YAML file at yourdomain.com/operate.txt that documents how your product actually works for AI agents. Loading states, irreversible actions, form dependencies, async operations, task flows.
Think of it as product documentation specifically for AI agents operating your product.
I open-sourced the spec with examples: https://github.com/serdem1/operate.txt
The creation process: open your product alongside Claude, tell it to navigate like a first-time user, watch where it hesitates. Those spots become your highest-priority entries. Have Claude draft the file, you correct what it gets wrong.
operate.txt is a competitive advantage today. In 3 years it'll be a baseline expectation. The SaaS products where agents succeed reliably will be the ones customers choose.
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