CoMP: getting paid when AI crawls your content

Three AI crawlers read your article today. Zero clicks. Zero dollars.

CoMP, Content Monetization Protocols, is Tech Lab’s standard for AI systems to license content first.

AI answers summarize news.example’s reporting, so fewer readers click, and fewer ads load. Publishers could block crawlers, but couldn’t say, here are my terms. CoMP adds that conversation. First, you block unlicensed bots at your CDN, the network that delivers your site. A bot with no deal is refused, and pointed to your licensing page. A bot with a deal states its purpose, gets an access token, and collects clean, machine-readable content. Pricing is yours, per crawl, per use, or by outcome. It went final in April twenty twenty-six. So far, we found no major AI company publicly using it.

Your first step needs no standard. Check your logs for AI crawlers, and decide which to allow.

That’s the explainers. Next series: Segment playbooks.