Membership Tiers
The specification is free to implement. Membership supports the standard's governance, development, and long-term sustainability.
Community
- Implement the specification
- Participate in working groups
- Submit proposals and feedback
- Access all specification documents
- Use the scanner and validation tools
Founding Member
- Everything in Community
- Steering Committee seat
- Logo on standard website permanently
- "Founding Member" designation forever
- Early access to draft specifications
- Priority implementation support
- Shape the v1.3 specification
- Named in IANA registration
Sustaining Member
- Everything in Community
- Logo on standard website
- Working group chair eligibility
- Vote in Steering Committee elections
- Implementation support
- Conformance certification
Benefits Comparison
| Benefit | Community | Founding | Sustaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Implement the specification | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Working group participation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Submit proposals | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Logo on website | — | ✓ Permanent | ✓ Annual |
| Steering Committee seat | — | ✓ Guaranteed | Elected |
| "Founding Member" designation | — | ✓ Forever | — |
| Early access to drafts | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Priority implementation support | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Named in IANA registration | — | ✓ | — |
| Conformance certification | — | ✓ | ✓ |
Who Should Become a Founding Member?
Founding membership is for organizations that want to shape the standard, not just implement it.
AI Platforms
If your platform consumes web content for AI responses, you need a standard way to get structured, verified data. Stop building scrapers. Read manifests.
Enterprise Technology
Your customers need their web presence to be AI-readable. Building support for /.well-known/ai into your platform gives them that — and you a standard to build on.
CMS & Web Platforms
WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace — the platforms that host millions of websites. Native support for the standard means every site on your platform becomes AI-readable.
Security & Identity
The signing and attestation layer of the standard needs expertise in cryptography, certificate management, and identity verification.
Government & Regulatory
Government agencies and regulatory bodies that want to ensure AI agents accurately represent public institutions and comply with transparency requirements.
Standards Bodies
Organizations like FIDO Alliance, ToIP Foundation, or W3C working groups that see alignment with existing identity, trust, or web standards work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be a member to implement the standard?
No. The specification is CC-BY-4.0 and free to implement by anyone. Membership supports governance and development of the standard, but implementation requires no permission or membership.
What does "founding member" mean exactly?
Founding members are organizations that join during the initial enrollment period, before public launch. They receive permanent recognition on the standard website, a guaranteed Steering Committee seat, and are named in the IANA registration filing. The "Founding Member" designation never expires.
Can my engineers participate without a membership agreement?
Yes. Working group participation is open to anyone, no membership required. This is by design — engineers should be able to contribute before their legal department approves a membership agreement. Many standards organizations lose years of productive contributions because they gate participation behind legal processes.
How does the standard coexist with commercial implementations?
The specification is the commons. Implementations can be commercial. This is identical to how SSL/TLS works (open spec, commercial certificate authorities), or how HTTP works (open spec, commercial web servers). Rootz provides the WordPress plugin and reference implementation. Made in USA Inc. provides enterprise managed services. Others will build their own.
What is the Steering Committee time commitment?
Quarterly meetings plus asynchronous review of specification proposals. The committee votes on specification releases and resolves disputes. Estimated commitment: 2-4 hours per quarter.