AIPolicy Terminology

Document Identifier: AIPOLICY-TERMS Status: Non-normative Version: 2.0.0-draft.4 Date: 2026-02-27 Editor: Guido Mitschke Repository: https://gitlab.com/aipolicy/web-standard

About This Document#

This document defines the canonical terminology used across the AIPolicy specification, registry, and supplementary documents. Terms defined here carry their stated meanings whenever they appear in project documentation. Where a term has a specific technical meaning that differs from common usage, the definition in this document takes precedence.

This document is non-normative. It does not create conformance requirements. Normative use of these terms is defined in the specification itself.

Terms#

Declaration#

A structured JSON document published by a website operator at a well-known URI. A declaration contains publisher metadata, scope information, and a set of policy status declarations. It is the primary machine-readable artefact defined by the specification.

Where used: Specification, Schema, Validator, Examples.

Example: A JSON file served at https://example.com/.well-known/aipolicy.json containing the publisher's declared policies.

Policy#

A discrete governance signal defined in the AIPolicy Registry. Each policy carries a unique identifier following the pattern AP-x.x, a human-readable statement, a category assignment, and testability criteria. Policies represent specific, well-defined governance requirements or transparency signals that a publisher may declare as required, partial, or observed within a declaration.

Where used: Registry, Specification, Declaration format (policies array).

Example: Policy AP-2.1.

Registry#

The canonical, versioned list of all recognised policies in the AIPolicy standard. The registry is maintained separately from the specification. Each registry version defines the valid policy identifiers, their statements, categories, and related metadata.

Where used: Registry document, Specification, Validator.

Publisher#

The entity responsible for creating and maintaining an AIPolicy Declaration. A publisher is typically the website operator, organisation, or individual controlling the domain on which the declaration is served.

Where used: Specification, Declaration format (publisher object).

Conformance Level#

The degree to which an implementation satisfies the requirements defined in the specification.

• Level 1 (Basic): Valid aipolicy.json at the recognised location.
• Level 2 (Structured): Level 1 plus HTML <link rel="aipolicy"> discovery and schema-valid declaration handling.
• Level 3 (Complete): Level 2 plus /aipolicy.md, /ai-policy, and llms.txt integration.

Where used: Specification, Validator, Badge system.

Scope#

The portion of a web property to which a declaration applies. The specification defines three scope values:

• site — the declaration applies to the entire domain
• section — the declaration applies to a URL path prefix
• page — the declaration applies to a single URL

Where used: Specification, Declaration format.

Extension#

A non-standard field within a declaration that provides additional metadata not defined in the core specification. Extensions must not conflict with current or future standard fields.

Where used: Specification, Declaration format (extensions object).

Validator#

A tool or service that checks whether an AIPolicy Declaration conforms to the specification and its schema. A validator may also assess conformance level, registry compatibility, expiration state, and discovery support.

Where used: Validator documentation, Specification.

Signal#

A machine-readable governance signal published on the web. In the context of the specification, a signal is a specific policy status declaration within a declaration. More broadly, the term refers to any structured data point that expresses a governance-related requirement or transparency signal.

Where used: Specification, Mechanism analysis, Research documents.

Policy Status#

A publisher's stated status for a specific registry policy. Each policy reference within a declaration carries one of three status values:

• required — the publisher requires AI systems to follow this policy
• partial — the publisher requires this policy with stated limitations, exceptions, or transition phases
• observed — the publisher lists this policy for transparency but does not currently require it

Where used: Specification, Declaration format (policies[].status).

Normative#

Text that creates binding conformance requirements. Normative text uses the keywords defined in RFC 2119 / RFC 8174.

Non-Normative#

Text provided for guidance, explanation, or illustration that does not create conformance requirements.

Consumer#

Any system, tool, or entity that reads and processes AIPolicy Declarations. Consumers include AI crawlers, validators, aggregators, browser extensions, and researchers.

Crawler#

An automated system that discovers and retrieves AIPolicy Declarations from the web.

Aggregation#

The process of collecting, indexing, and analysing AIPolicy Declarations from multiple publishers to derive statistical or comparative insights.

Trust Anchor#

Any external mechanism that provides confidence in the authenticity of an AIPolicy Declaration, such as HTTPS, DNS control, or third-party verification.

Adoption Guide#

A non-normative document providing step-by-step instructions for publishers implementing the AIPolicy standard.

Human-Readable Disclosure#

A web page, footer link, or visual badge that communicates AIPolicy participation to human visitors. Human-readable disclosures complement the machine-readable declaration.