ai.txt

The ai.txt file is a machine-readable declaration of how AI systems are permitted to use your content for training, inference, summarization, and attribution.

What it is

A plain-text manifest at your site root that AI crawlers and inference systems can fetch to understand your licensing terms. It complements robots.txt (which controls access) by specifying usage rights once the content has been read.

Why it matters

robots.txt answers “can you crawl this?” ai.txt answers “what can you do with what you crawled?” As AI training and inference become regulated, having an explicit, parseable licensing statement at a known location reduces ambiguity for crawler operators and gives you a defensible record of your stated terms.

Directives

Directive	Values	Purpose
`User-Agent`	`*` or specific bot	Which AI systems the rules apply to
`Allow-AI-Training`	`Yes` / `No`	May this content be used to train models?
`Allow-AI-Inference`	`Yes` / `No`	May this content be retrieved at inference time?
`Allow-AI-Summarization`	`Yes` / `No`	May this content be summarized in AI answers?
`Allow-AI-Attribution`	`Required` / `Optional`	Must AI systems cite the source?
`License`	SPDX identifier	The content license (e.g., `CC-BY-4.0`)
`Attribution`	Free text	How you want to be credited
`Contact`	URL or text	Where to direct licensing questions

Example output

# ai.txt - AI Content Licensing
#
# Site: Example
# URL: https://example.com

User-Agent: *
Allow-AI-Training: Yes
Allow-AI-Inference: Yes
Allow-AI-Summarization: Yes
Allow-AI-Attribution: Required

# Content License
License: CC-BY-4.0
Attribution: Example (https://example.com)
Contact: See https://example.com for contact information

How to deploy

Place ai.txt at the root of your site, alongside robots.txt:

https://your-site.com/ai.txt

If your site already has an ai.txt, AEOrank’s generated file is a recommended template — review and merge with your existing terms before replacing.