Re: Proposal: AI Domain Data Standard for Authoritative Domain Identity Metadata

I'm concerned that malicious attackers will use this strategy to better
phish users by publishing a domain profile that exactly matches well known
companies. How can we ensure that the information here is actually
trustworthy?

On Wed, Dec 3, 2025 at 4:23 PM dylan larson <dylanl37@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hello WICG community,
>
>
>
> I would like to introduce the AI Domain Data Standard (AIDD) for
> discussion. Its goal is to address a gap in the web ecosystem that is
> becoming more visible as AI systems increasingly act as intermediaries
> between users and websites.
>
>
>
> *Problem*
>
> AI assistants often misidentify or misrepresent domains because there is
> no consistent, machine-readable, domain-controlled source of identity data.
> Today, models rely on scraped pages, inconsistent metadata, third-party
> aggregators, or outdated indexes. There is no canonical place where a
> domain can declare who they are, what they represent, or which resources
> are authoritative.
>
>
>
> *Proposal*
>
> AIDD defines a small, predictable JSON document served from:
>
> • https://<domain>/.well-known/domain-profile.json
> • Optional fallback: _ai.<domain> TXT record containing a base64-encoded
> JSON copy
>
> The format contains required identity fields (name, description, website,
> contact) and optional schema.org-aligned fields such as entity type, logo,
> and JSON-LD. The schema is intentionally minimal to ensure predictable
> consumption by AI systems, agents, crawlers, and other automated clients.
>
>
>
> *Specification (v0.1.1):*
> https://ai-domain-data.org/spec/v0.1
>
>
> *Schema: *https://ai-domain-data.org/spec/schema-v0.1.json
>
>
>
> *Design Principles*
>
> • Self-hosted and vendor-neutral
> • Aligns with schema.org vocabulary
> • Minimal surface area with clear versioning
> • Follows existing web conventions for .well-known/
> • Supports both HTTPS and DNS TXT discovery
>
>
>
> *Early Adoption & Tooling*
>
>    - CLI validator and generator
>    - Resolver SDK
>    - Next.js integration
>    - Jekyll plugin
>    - WordPress plugin (submitted)
>    - Online generator and checker tools
>
>
>
> *Repository:*
> https://github.com/ai-domain-data/spec
> <https://github.com/ai-domain-data/spec?utm_source=chatgpt.com>
>
>
>
> *Questions for the community*
>
>    1. Should this pursue formal standardization (W3C, IETF) or remain a
>    community-driven specification
>    2. Are the discovery mechanisms (.well-known + DNS TXT fallback)
>    appropriate for long-term stability
>    3. What extension patterns are advisable while preserving strict
>    predictability
>    4. Should browsers or other user agents eventually consume this data
>    5. Are there concerns around naming (domain-profile.json) that the
>    group would recommend addressing early
>
>
>
> *Explainer*
>
> A more complete explainer is available here:
> https://ai-domain-data.org/spec/v0.1
>
> I would appreciate any feedback from the WICG community on scope,
> technical direction, and whether this fits the criteria for incubation.
>
> Best regards,
> Dylan Larson
>
>
>