Launch catalog / Playbook
AI Tools List
Free route ai-directory
Researched from public pages — no submission was run · sources read 2026-09-25. Rules change — recheck the platform's own pages before submitting.
Requirements
- AI tools only, editorially curated ('if it fits our criteria' — criteria are never published)
- Open form, no account: a 7-field embedded Tally form — your name, email, tool name, tool link, category (free text), short description, and additional notes
- No login and no captcha
Prepare before opening the form
- Tool name, URL, category suggestion, short description
- Your name and a contact email
- IMPORTANT: decide in advance whether you run an affiliate program — if you do, the operator historically links YOUR entry to THEIR affiliate URL rather than your domain
Workflow
- Go to https://aitoolslist.io/submit-ai-tool/ (linked from the site's footer/navigation)
- Fill all seven Tally fields — including 'Additional Notes', which looks optional but is REQUIRED: submitting without it fails with a generic '1 question needs your attention' error
- Submit; Tally shows 'Form submitted / Thanks for completing this form!' — no email confirmation and no reference ID is issued
- Wait for the editor to add the tool to a category listicle page (entries get a 'Try it!' outbound button)
- Optional paid route: the Sponsor page offers promotional packages and a full-service AI-tools marketing agency
Watch for
- Affiliate-swap trap (documented by third-party field report): where a submitted tool runs an affiliate program, the operator may publish the entry linking to their own affiliate URL instead of your domain — you may get a 'followed' link that earns THEM commission
- The 'Additional Notes' field is required despite appearing optional — the most common silent form failure
- Criteria for acceptance are never stated — rejection is silent
- Sponsor page reveals the operator also runs a paid marketing agency — expect an upsell pitch
- Listicle format: you land inside a category roundup (e.g. 'Best AI Copywriting Tools'), not a dedicated product page
What counts as live
The tool appears as a named entry with a 'Try it!' button inside one of the category listicle pages on aitoolslist.io
Not verified
- Acceptance criteria (unpublished)
- Review timeline
- Whether the link reliably points to your domain when no affiliate program exists
- Whether you can correct an entry that used the operator's affiliate URL
Sources
- AI Tools List homepage - 'Best AI Tools Rated', listicle-style directory by category ↗
- Submit your AI tool - 'we will try to add it as soon as we can if it fits our criteria' ↗
- SubmitMap field report: 7-field embedded Tally form, no account; operator swaps in their own affiliate URL where a program exists ↗
- Sponsor page - promotional services and AI-tools marketing agency upsell ↗