New standards aim to safeguard publisher revenues and create sustainable pathways for content monetization in the AI era
India, August 2025: IAB Tech Lab, the global technical standards-setting body for digital advertising, has announced the formation of the AI Content Monetization Protocols (CoMP) Working Group, an initiative designed to help publishers, brands, and content creators establish clear monetization standards in an AI-first digital ecosystem.
The initiative, initially introduced as the LLM Content Ingest API, has been renamed to reflect its expanded scope — covering not only content ingestion but also traffic management, publisher protection, and AI-driven discovery mechanisms.
“Publishers are experiencing significant traffic declines from AI-powered features like overviews and chatbots, while brands face misrepresentation of their content,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO, IAB Tech Lab. “It’s time to build the technical plumbing for a better path forward.”
Key Focus Areas of CoMP
The CoMP framework will establish protocols across three pillars:
Blocking bot traffic: Providing publishers with effective tools to restrict unwanted scraping.
LLM-friendly discovery: Enabling publishers to participate in AI environments that support marketplace growth.
LLM Ingest API: Offering standardized mechanisms for content ingestion, supporting opt-in monetization models.
These standards will help publishers regain control over how their content is accessed and monetized in AI environments. Models under consideration include pay-per-crawl, aggregation-based monetization, and outcome-driven structures.
Shailley Singh, EVP of Product & COO, IAB Tech Lab, said: “The rise of generative AI created a Wild West for content usage. With CoMP, we’re building the zoning map — giving publishers the tools to protect their IP and unlock new value.”
Industry leaders echoed the importance of this initiative:
Achim Schlosser, VP Global Data Standards, Bertelsmann, emphasized that CoMP will ensure visibility, attribution, and sustainability for publishers.
Jon Roberts, Chief Innovation Officer, People Inc., noted, “The best AI products require the best content. These standards will allow great AI to fund great journalism.”
Katsur added: “While some content deals exist with large publishers, the mid and long tail remain unheard. This framework gives everyone a seat at the table.”
Open Call for Participation
IAB Tech Lab is inviting AI developers — including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Meta, Perplexity, and Grok — as well as publishers, cloud providers, and technology companies of all sizes to actively shape the CoMP framework.
By joining the initiative now, industry stakeholders can help define a sustainable ecosystem that benefits creators, brands, platforms, and end users alike.
About IAB Tech Lab
The IAB Technology Laboratory (Tech Lab) is a global, non-profit consortium that develops foundational technology and standards to support a healthy, sustainable digital media and advertising ecosystem.
