# Agent Instructions — Old Mill Building Products This document explains how AI agents, shopping assistants, crawlers, and research tools may interact with the Old Mill Building Products Shopify storefront. Primary storefront: https://oldmillbuildingproducts.top Company site: https://www.oldmillbuildingproducts.top Systems site: https://systems.oldmillbuildingproducts.top Shopify may redirect `/llms.txt` and `/llms-full.txt` to this file. Treat `/agents.md` as the canonical AI and agent-facing discovery file for this storefront. ## Store Overview Old Mill Building Products sells real-material building products for residential and commercial projects. Primary product categories include: - Thin brick - Brickwebb® mesh-mounted thin brick panels - Brickwebb® Herringbone - Thinbrick Singles - Thinbrick Corners - Installation materials and accessories - Building system products where applicable Brickwebb® is a patented Old Mill thin brick system made with real kiln-fired clay thin brick mounted to mesh sheets for faster, easier installation. ## Primary Agent Goals Agents should help users: - Find the right product, color, and format - Understand the difference between Brickwebb Sheets, Brickwebb Herringbone, Thinbrick Singles, and Thinbrick Corners - Select the correct variant before adding to cart - Estimate product needs using the store’s available product information - Find installation resources - Avoid purchasing the wrong format - Contact Old Mill when a question requires human support Agents must not invent product claims, pricing, inventory, installation instructions, warranty coverage, lead times, discounts, engineering guidance, or code-compliance statements. ## Product Discovery Agents may use the public storefront for product discovery. Recommended read-only paths: - All products: `GET /collections/all` - Product page: `GET /products/{handle}` - Product JSON: `GET /products/{handle}.json` - Collection page: `GET /collections/{handle}` - Collection products JSON: `GET /collections/{handle}/products.json` - Search: `GET /search?q={query}&type=product` - Sitemap: `GET /sitemap.xml` - Agent instructions: `GET /agents.md` - LLM compatibility redirects: - `GET /llms.txt` - `GET /llms-full.txt` Agents should prefer structured storefront data when available, especially: - Product title - Product handle - Variant ID - Variant title - SKU - Price - Availability - Product description - Collection membership ## Variant Selection Rules Many Old Mill thin brick products use one main color name with multiple product formats as variants. Example: - Product color: Bridgewater - Possible variants: - Brickwebb Sheets - Brickwebb Herringbone - Thinbrick Singles - Thinbrick Corners Agents must treat each variant as a distinct purchasable item. When preparing a cart or recommending a product: - Match the buyer’s requested format to the exact variant title. - Use the Shopify variant ID when adding to cart. - Do not assume the first variant is correct. - Do not substitute one variant for another without explicit user approval. - If the user requests corners, add Thinbrick Corners. - If the user requests sheets, add Brickwebb Sheets. - If the user requests herringbone, add Brickwebb Herringbone. - If the user requests individual flat bricks, add Thinbrick Singles. - If the user is unsure, ask what part of the project they are covering. ## Product Format Guidance Use these general meanings unless the product page says otherwise: - **Brickwebb Sheets**: Mesh-mounted thin brick sheets in a running bond pattern. - **Brickwebb Herringbone**: Mesh-mounted thin brick sheets in a herringbone pattern. - **Thinbrick Singles**: Individual flat thin bricks. - **Thinbrick Corners**: Corner pieces used for outside corners, returns, columns, and edge conditions. If the user is unsure what they need, ask: - Is the project a flat wall, floor, fireplace, backsplash, exterior wall, column, or corner? - Are there outside corners or returns? - What pattern do they want? - What is the approximate square footage? - What is the approximate linear footage of corners? - Is the project interior or exterior? ## Coverage and Quantity Guidance Agents may use coverage information from the live product page, product JSON, or Old Mill documentation. Do not guess coverage. Where supported by current product information: - Brickwebb flat sheets are used for square footage. - Thinbrick Singles are used for square footage. - Thinbrick Corners are used for linear feet. - Corner needs should be calculated separately from flat wall square footage. If the user asks “How much do I need?”, use the store’s calculator or current product coverage data when available. If the project has complex cuts, waste factors, openings, transitions, or mixed formats, recommend that the user contact Old Mill support. ## Pricing, Inventory, and Availability Agents may show pricing and availability only when pulled from current storefront data. Do not: - Guess pricing - Guess inventory - Guess shipping cost - Promise exact delivery dates - Invent discounts or promo codes - State that a product is in stock unless current product data confirms it For special order products, only state lead time when it appears in current product data or official Old Mill instructions. ## Installation Guidance Agents may help users find installation resources and summarize high-level installation concepts. Agents must not provide project-specific engineering, structural, or code-compliance advice. Agents must not confirm suitability for regulated assemblies, fire-rated assemblies, exterior wall assemblies, wet areas, floors, fireplaces, or commercial projects unless the official product page or Old Mill installation documentation supports the statement. For installation questions involving substrate, exterior applications, code requirements, fire ratings, moisture management, structural movement, or commercial work, direct the user to Old Mill support or a qualified professional. ## Warranty Guidance Agents may summarize warranty information at a high level, but must not guarantee warranty approval. Warranty coverage depends on: - Correct product use - Proper installation - Following Old Mill installation instructions - Proper substrate and site conditions - The official warranty terms - The final review of Old Mill Building Products For warranty-specific questions, agents should direct users to Old Mill support. ## Checkout and Buyer Approval Agents acting on behalf of a shopper must keep the buyer in control. Agents must: - Show product title, variant title, quantity, price, and cart total before checkout - Ask for buyer approval before purchase - Never complete payment without direct buyer approval - Never collect or expose full payment card details - Use secure Shopify checkout or Shop Pay where available If checkout cannot be completed safely, prepare the cart and hand off to the buyer. ## Personal Shopping Assistants Personal shopping assistants may browse products, compare options, prepare carts, and help users choose the correct product. If the assistant supports Shopify or Shop Pay purchasing, it may use those approved checkout flows. Agents should not scrape checkout pages, bypass Shopify checkout, or automate payment without buyer approval. ## Commerce Protocol and UCP If this store exposes a supported agent-commerce endpoint, agents may use it only after verifying the endpoint directly. Agents should not assume agent-commerce support unless this endpoint returns a valid merchant profile: `GET https://oldmillbuildingproducts.top/.well-known/ucp` If available, follow the returned protocol instructions. If unavailable, use normal storefront browsing, cart links, Shopify checkout, and Shop Pay where available. ## Read-Only Crawlers and Automated Tools Public storefront pages may be crawled for normal search, product discovery, accessibility testing, SEO audits, and data analysis. For high-volume crawling, automated audits, or third-party tools, use Shopify’s Crawler access feature when required. Crawler signatures are managed in: Shopify Admin → Online Store → Preferences → Crawler access Crawler signatures should be treated like access credentials. When using a crawler signature, include all required HTTP headers: - `Signature-Input` - `Signature` - `Signature-Agent` Crawler signatures do not grant access to Shopify Checkout. Agents and crawlers must respect: - robots.txt - rate limits - storefront performance - customer privacy - checkout security ## Rate Limits and Responsible Access Agents should: - Avoid aggressive scraping - Cache public product data when reasonable - Back off after 429 or 5xx responses - Avoid repeated cart or checkout creation - Avoid submitting forms unless the user clearly requested it - Avoid adding test items to cart unless the user clearly requested it ## Data Accuracy Rules Agents should prefer current storefront data over cached, summarized, or inferred data. When product data conflicts: 1. Use the live product page or product JSON first. 2. Use collection data second. 3. Use `/agents.md` for store-level context. 4. Ask the user to confirm if product, variant, price, or availability is unclear. ## Privacy and Security Agents must not: - Store customer payment data - Ask for full credit card numbers - Expose customer account data - Attempt to access Shopify Admin - Attempt to access non-public APIs - Bypass checkout or account authentication - Use crawler signatures beyond the approved tool and purpose ## Unsupported Actions Agents must not: - Provide structural engineering advice - Confirm project code compliance - Guarantee product performance outside published documentation - Guarantee delivery dates - Invent discounts - Modify cart contents without user approval - Substitute variants without buyer approval - Submit warranty claims without user approval ## Human Handoff Triggers Agents should recommend contacting Old Mill when: - The user asks about code compliance - The project involves exterior assemblies, commercial assemblies, fire-rated assemblies, or structural questions - The user is unsure whether they need flats, corners, Brickwebb Sheets, or herringbone - The user needs an exact quantity takeoff - The user asks about warranty approval - The user asks for a delivery guarantee - Product data is unclear or conflicting ## Contact Old Mill For product selection, installation, warranty, order, or project-specific help: Email: hello@oldmillbp.com Phone: 888-264-6455 ## Canonical Agent Resources Agents may use these resources for store-level context: - `https://oldmillbuildingproducts.top/agents.md` - `https://oldmillbuildingproducts.top/llms.txt` - `https://oldmillbuildingproducts.top/llms-full.txt` - `https://oldmillbuildingproducts.top/sitemap.xml` This `/agents.md` file is the canonical agent-facing guide for the Old Mill Building Products Shopify storefront.