Clarify free ATS checker coverage

PROJECT_STATUS.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # resume-tailor — PROJECT STATUS
 
-Last updated: 2026-07-26
+Last updated: 2026-07-31
 
 ## Why / What
 
@@ -63,6 +63,11 @@ SHA-tagged `workflow_dispatch`.
 
 ## Timeline
 
+- **2026-07-31 — Free ATS checker intent page:** clarified the checker as a
+  private, no-sign-up seven-signal structure pass; documented its scoring,
+  relationship to keyword matching, workflow, and limitations; and synchronized
+  the agent-readable public catalog without changing its local analysis logic.
+
 - **2026-07-29 — First-party changelog shipped:** The Astro public surface now
   owns a same-origin `/changelog` with verified editorial release entries,
   while Roadmap and Source link to the canonical GitHub issues and repository.

public-surfaces.mjs

@@ -119,13 +119,13 @@ export const PUBLIC_SURFACES = [
   {
     id: 'ats-checker',
     path: '/tools/ats-check',
-    title: 'ATS resume checker',
+    title: 'Free ATS resume checker',
     description:
-      'Check resume structure and parseability with local heuristics for sections, contact details, bullets, dates, metrics, and table-like rows.',
+      'Check seven resume structure and formatting signals for free in your browser with no sign-up, upload, or network request.',
     details: [
-      'The score summarizes seven documented formatting and structure checks.',
-      'Findings explain which heuristic passed, warned, or failed.',
-      'The check runs locally and does not upload the resume.',
+      'The documented heuristics cover length, sections, contact details, bullets, dates, quantified outcomes, and table-like rows.',
+      'Every warning and failure is visible; the score is not a prediction from a particular employer ATS.',
+      'The check runs locally and does not upload the resume or require an account.',
     ],
     changeFrequency: 'monthly',
     priority: 0.85,

src/app/tools/ats-check/layout.tsx

@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@ import type { Metadata } from 'next';
 import { ToolSeo } from '@/components/tool-seo';
 
 export const metadata: Metadata = {
-  title: 'Free ATS Resume Checker — Formatting & Parseability Scan',
+  title: 'Free ATS Resume Checker — Private, No Sign-Up | RolePatch',
   description:
-    'Check resume formatting and ATS parseability for free. Find missing sections, contact gaps, table traps, weak bullet density, and missing dates in your browser.',
+    'Check seven resume structure and formatting signals for free in your browser. See every warning and limitation with no sign-up, upload, or network request.',
   alternates: { canonical: 'https://rolepatch.com/tools/ats-check' },
 };
 
@@ -45,29 +45,48 @@ export default function Layout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
         howItWorks={
           <>
             <p>
-              Paste your resume as markdown or plain text and the checker runs seven local
-              heuristics against it — no network call, so your text never leaves the page. It flags
-              a word count outside the 200&ndash;1300 range, missing standard sections (Experience,
-              Education, Skills, Projects), absent contact info (it looks for an email plus a phone
-              number or LinkedIn URL), low bullet density, too few quantified outcomes,
-              pipe-delimited table rows that ATS parsers flatten, and missing dates.
+              Paste plain text or Markdown and the checker runs seven local heuristics: length,
+              standard sections, contact details, bullet density, quantified outcomes, table-like
+              rows, and date coverage. It does not upload a PDF or DOCX and cannot inspect the
+              rendered document.
             </p>
             <p>
-              Each check is marked good, warn, or fail. The score starts at 100 and drops 5 points
-              per warning and 15 per failure, clamped to 0&ndash;100. The findings list tells you
-              exactly which heuristic tripped and why, so you can fix the underlying structure
-              rather than guessing.
+              The score starts at 100 and subtracts 5 points for every warning and 15 points for
+              every failure, clamped to 0&ndash;100. Every deduction remains visible. There is no
+              universal ideal resume length, heading set, bullet density, or ATS threshold, so read
+              the findings instead of treating the score as an employer prediction.
             </p>
+            <h3 className="font-serif text-lg font-semibold text-foreground pt-3">
+              Parseability check or job match?
+            </h3>
             <p>
-              This tool checks parseability and structure only. To measure keyword match against a
-              specific job description, use the{' '}
+              This checker reviews one resume's structure. The{' '}
               <a
                 href="/tools/keywords"
                 className="text-[var(--accent)] underline underline-offset-2"
               >
                 ATS Keyword Checker
-              </a>
-              .
+              </a>{' '}
+              answers a different question by comparing a resume with one job description and
+              reporting matched and missing terms.
+            </p>
+            <h3 className="font-serif text-lg font-semibold text-foreground pt-3">
+              How to use the result
+            </h3>
+            <ol className="list-decimal space-y-2 pl-5">
+              <li>Paste plain text or Markdown from your resume.</li>
+              <li>Read every finding, not only the score.</li>
+              <li>Fix genuine structure problems without inventing achievements or metrics.</li>
+              <li>Run the Keyword Checker against the actual job description.</li>
+              <li>Review the final document visually and as extracted text before applying.</li>
+            </ol>
+            <h3 className="font-serif text-lg font-semibold text-foreground pt-3">
+              What this checker does not do
+            </h3>
+            <p>
+              It does not reproduce a proprietary employer ATS, guarantee an interview, know an
+              employer's ranking rules, judge whether a claim is true, or determine whether the
+              rendered document looks good. Treat it as an inspectable first pass.
             </p>
           </>
         }

src/app/tools/ats-check/page.tsx

@@ -152,11 +152,12 @@ export default function AtsCheckPage() {
       <Link href="/" className="text-xs text-stone-500 hover:underline">
         ← RolePatch
       </Link>
-      <h1 className="mt-3 text-3xl font-bold tracking-tight">ATS check</h1>
+      <h1 className="mt-3 text-3xl font-bold tracking-tight">Free ATS Resume Checker</h1>
       <p className="mt-3 text-sm text-stone-600">
-        Paste your resume as markdown or plain text. Local heuristics flag the things ATS parsers
-        and recruiter skim-readers actually care about. No network call — your text never leaves the
-        page.
+        Paste the text of your resume for an immediate, browser-local check of seven visible
+        structure and formatting signals. No sign-up, file upload, or network request is required.
+        The result is a transparent heuristic report, not a prediction that a particular employer or
+        applicant-tracking system will accept your resume.
       </p>
 
       <textarea