Google shut down Reader in 2013, prompting headlines that declared RSS dead. Those eulogies missed the fact that the protocol kept working, just lost its role as the primary discovery channel to algorithmic feeds. Human users chase the variable‑reward loops social sites provide, but AI agents need deterministic, parseable lists of new content and reliable timestamps without rate limits today.

RSS delivers exactly what agents require: a pull‑based, open feed that lists new items, uses a stable XML schema, imposes no authentication wall, and avoids advertising throttles. Podcast apps—from Spotify to Apple—still pull episodes from RSS, supporting a $25 billion industry that has never been disrupted because the protocol remains free and universally accessible for developers building automation tools today now.

The implication is simple: if you want your articles, newsletters, or regulatory filings to be discovered by monitoring bots, publish an RSS feed. Agents scanning niches will locate a structured source before they can index a platform that limits scraping. Providing a feed ensures consistent visibility across the growing ecosystem of AI‑driven aggregators in the modern content supply chain today.