Where brand guidelines can live, for people and AI agents
A PDF, a website, a guidelines platform, files in each AI tool or a brand layer: how people and AI agents reach each, and what happens when the guide changes.
A finished guide must live in a place where people and AI agents can get it, and it must stay current there. There are five usual places. Most teams use more than one place, and problems start when the places do not agree.
| Where | How people get it | How AI agents get it | When the guide changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A PDF | A shared drive or an email | Someone uploads it into each AI tool | Every copy stays the same until someone replaces it |
| A website or brand portal | A link | Agents that can browse read the pages. They can miss text that needs JavaScript | Change the page one time |
| A guidelines platform, for example Frontify or zeroheight | A link, with access controls | Through the API or MCP server of the platform, if it has one | Change it one time in the platform |
| Files in each AI tool | The tool of each person | The agent in that tool reads its project files and instructions | Update every project |
| A brand layer, for example Rainbrand | Through connected agents, or an API | Over MCP (Model Context Protocol) or a REST API | Edit the brand one time |
Which one to use
| If you | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Work alone, in one AI tool | The project files and instructions of that tool: Claude Projects, ChatGPT Projects, or Cursor rules | One copy in one tool is easy to keep current. Claude and ChatGPT projects work on free accounts, as of 11 November 2026 |
| Keep your guidelines in Frontify or zeroheight, and your agents only need to read them | The MCP server or connector of the platform | The guide is already in one place, and the platform says that agents can get it |
| Have no AI agents that do brand work yet | A dated PDF or web page | People can read it, and the date shows which version is current |
| Are a team that does recurring brand work through agents, in several tools | Rainbrand | One brand, edited in one place, that every connected agent works from, with the guidance and files for each task |
| Run an agency with many client brands | Rainbrand | A separate brand for each client, kept current, so that agents work from the correct brand |
| Build a product that makes work under the brands of customers | The Rainbrand API | Add the brand of each customer, request the guidance for each job, and check the result against the brand |
| Want a check of AI-made work against the brand before it goes out | Review in Rainbrand | It checks colors, typography, logo, and copy, and returns findings that you use to revise |
| Need people to proof and approve work, or a check that runs on finished files in your design tools | The tools that Fine Print compares | It compares brand compliance software. This includes proofing and approval tools |
The rest of this page describes each place.
A PDF
A PDF is the most usual format and the easiest to make. It reads well and prints well. But every copy stays as it was on the day that someone saved it, and that is the problem. Put a date and a version on the first page, so that a reader can tell an old copy from the current one.
A website or brand portal
Most of the guides on this site are web pages. A link always shows the current version, people can search it, and agents that browse can read it. Two things help agents. Keep rules and values in the text of the page. Do not put color codes or rules where they appear only after JavaScript runs.
A guidelines platform
Frontify and zeroheight show guidelines as a site, with downloads and access controls. Frontify guidelines can include logos, colors, typography, imagery, voice, templates, and usage rules. Teams can share them with agencies and suppliers. Frontify has a GraphQL API for accounts with API access. Its guidelines page says that it has an MCP server and an official Claude connector.
zeroheight is mostly for product design systems, but teams also use it for brand guidelines. It has a REST API and an MCP server. As of 11 November 2026, the API is not on its Free or Starter plans. See the zeroheight pricing page.
If your guide is already in one of these platforms, that can be all that your agents need. Readable Guidelines shows what the API of each platform lets code read and write.
Files in each AI tool
With Claude Projects, ChatGPT Projects, and Cursor project rules, you add a guide, files, and instructions that the agent uses in that project. This works well for one person and one tool. Every project holds its own copy, so when the guide changes, you must update each copy. Getting your guidelines to AI agents describes each tool.
A brand layer
A brand layer keeps one brand, edited in one place, that every connected agent and product works from. Rainbrand is the brand layer for agents: it turns a brand’s identity, guidance and assets into shared context that agents and products can use. A team adds its brand from the guide, the website, and the files. Then its agents request what each task needs. One guide for a whole team and Many client brands say when that is worth it.
The Brand Layer Handbook compares the ways to give every AI tool the same current brand, from a file in a repository to a hosted service.