> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wtd2026.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What the data shows when docs meet LLMs

> (and why I am excited for the future)

This is the companion site for Ethan Palm's Write the Docs 2026 [talk](https://www.writethedocs.org/conf/portland/2026/speakers/#speaker-ethan-palm-what-the-data-shows-when-docs-meet-llms-and-why-i-m-excited-for-the-future-ethan-palm).

Data about documentation is hard to get. And when you do get it, you often only have information for a single site.

Mintlify hosts tens of thousands of documentation sites, which gives us platform data to build actionable benchmarks for high quality documentation.

This site (and its associated talk) look specifically at agent-mediated documentation interactions across 17,784 sites.

## The three pillars

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="Discovering" icon="search" href="/discover">
    AI agents are reading your docs right now. They fetch markdown, hit machine-specific endpoints like `/llms.txt`, and call MCP tools. Nearly 50% of content reads on Mintlify sites come from agents, and that rate is growing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reading" icon="paperclip" href="/read">
    Humans use AI assistants embedded in documentation sites to consume content. Looking at 95k requests, we see that most questions are statements and people just ask one question and move along.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Writing" icon="pen" href="/write">
    AI agents generate and maintain documentation. People already use them for directed updates, atuomations, and complex tasks.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Benchmarks from the talk

Three numbers from stage — one per layer. Use these to compare your own data.

| Layer       | Benchmark                              |
| ----------- | -------------------------------------- |
| Discovering | AI readership: **35%**                 |
| Reading     | One-and-done chat completions: **55%** |
| Writing     | Agentic PR merge rate: **55%+**        |
