robots-trust.json Standard

1. Overview

The robots-trust.json standard provides a machine-readable way for websites to declare their AI readiness, content access policies, and AI training permissions. It is placed at a well-known URL and can be read by any AI agent, crawler, or automated system.

The standard is inspired by robots.txt (crawl permissions) and sitemap.xml (page discovery), but designed specifically for the needs of AI systems that need to understand content structure, trust level, and training permissions.

2. Open Protocol — Anyone Can Implement

The Robot Trust Protocol is open and decentralized. Any website can self-publish a robots-trust.json file without registering with any authority. The certificate_issuer field can be:

Minimal self-published certificate

{
  "robot_trust_version": "1.0",
  "site_identity": { "domain": "example.com" },
  "trust_status": {
    "robot_access": "allowed",
    "certificate_issuer": "self",
    "certificate_status": "pending"
  },
  "ai_training": {
    "training_allowed": true,
    "commercial_training_allowed": false
  }
}

This is a valid certificate AI agents can read and respect. Register with Robot Trust Hub to upgrade "self" → "robot-trust.org" and get certificate_status: "verified" with public registry listing.

2. File Placement

The file must be served at the following URL:

https://yourdomain.com/.well-known/robots-trust.json

The /.well-known/ path follows RFC 8615 — the standard for well-known URIs. The file must be served over HTTPS and return Content-Type: application/json.

Optional companion files

3. Full Schema Reference

Top-level fields

site_identity

trust_status

access_points

4. AI Training Permissions

The ai_training section lets website owners explicitly declare whether their content may be used to train AI models — including commercial models like LLMs. This is emerging as a critical signal for AI companies that need to respect content rights.

Example — all training allowed

{
  "ai_training": {
    "training_allowed": true,
    "commercial_training_allowed": true,
    "scraping_allowed": true,
    "attribution_required": false
  }
}

Example — no commercial training

{
  "ai_training": {
    "training_allowed": true,
    "commercial_training_allowed": false,
    "scraping_allowed": true,
    "attribution_required": true
  }
}

5. Complete Example

A complete robots-trust.json file implementing the full specification:

{
  "robot_trust_version": "1.0",

  "site_identity": {
    "site_name": "Acme Corp",
    "domain": "acme.com",
    "owner_type": "company",
    "purpose": "B2B software for logistics automation"
  },

  "trust_status": {
    "robot_access": "allowed",
    "certificate_issuer": "robot-trust.org",
    "certificate_status": "verified",
    "trust_level": "pro",
    "issued": "2026-03-07",
    "expires": "2027-03-07"
  },

  "ai_readability": {
    "machine_readable": true,
    "structured_data_available": true,
    "robot_priority_mode": true
  },

  "access_points": {
    "preferred_entry": "/ai/",
    "robot_safe_endpoints": ["/ai/", "/api/", "/data/"],
    "rate_limit_policy": "ai-friendly"
  },

  "ai_training": {
    "training_allowed": true,
    "commercial_training_allowed": false,
    "scraping_allowed": true,
    "attribution_required": false
  },

  "content_policy": {
    "human_site_available": true,
    "ai_generated_content_allowed": true,
    "automation_interaction_allowed": true
  },

  "capabilities": {
    "supports_ai_navigation": true,
    "supports_ai_generation": true,
    "supports_autonomous_agents": true
  },

  "update": {
    "last_updated": "2026-03-07",
    "expires": "2027-03-07"
  }
}

6. Validation

You can validate any domain's certificate using the Robot Trust verification tool:

The validator checks:

• File is accessible at /.well-known/robots-trust.json
• robot_trust_version field is present
• trust_status.certificate_status is "verified"
• Certificate is not expired
• Domain matches the domain in the certificate

7. Registry & Certification

Any website can self-publish a robots-trust.json without registering. Registration with Robot Trust Hub adds:

• ✅ Verified certificate status
• 📋 Listing in the public registry at robot-trust.org/registry.json
• 🔑 Robot Access Certificate (RAC) token — Pro and above
• ⚡ Auto-generated ai/index.json — Pro and above

9. Badge & Embed

Add a badge to your site or GitHub README to show AI agents and developers that your site implements the Robot Trust Protocol. The badge is live-verified — it turns green automatically when your domain passes verification.

Default badge

<!-- Replace with your domain -->
<a href="https://robot-trust.org/validator.html?domain=example.com">
  <img src="https://robot-trust.org/api/badge?domain=example.com"
       alt="Robot Trust Protocol compatible">
</a>

Flat style

<img src="https://robot-trust.org/api/badge?domain=example.com&style=flat">

Mini badge

<img src="https://robot-trust.org/api/badge?domain=example.com&style=mini">

Markdown (GitHub README)

[![Robot Trust Protocol](https://robot-trust.org/api/badge?domain=example.com)](https://robot-trust.org/validator.html?domain=example.com)