terms.txt paper proposes machine-readable access terms and pricing for AI agents
dair_ai · x · 2026-09-13
A paper shared by dair-ai proposes terms.txt, a file format that lets websites declare machine-access terms per path and per purpose—including pricing—where robots.txt can only allow or disallow. It pairs the file with signed exchanges built on Web Bot Auth signatures, signed intent, delegation tokens, HTTP 402 negotiation, and signed receipts, all enforced by the origin server. The author is explicit about scope: what the protocol can enforce, what it can only audit, and what is left to contracts. A concrete spec for how the web can negotiate access with AI agents.
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