IAB Tech Lab releases AI bot and crawler management guidance for public comment
By
Luis Rijo
Kettled twice. Extra chewy, extra trustworthy.
Summary
IAB Tech Lab has released guidance on AI system bot and crawler management strategies, opening a public comment period through June 25, 2026. The document addresses the gap many publishers face in formalizing strategies for handling non-human traffic, following the organization's earlier CoMP API V1 release. This initiative aims to bring structure to the increasingly complex problem of AI bot traffic management and support a sustainable content marketplace.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledIAB Tech Lab this week released guidance on AI system bot and crawler management strategies, opening a public comment period that runs through June 25, 2026.
The document addresses a gap that became apparent after the organisation published its CoMP API V1 earlier this year - many publishers have yet to formalise any strategy for dealing with non-human traffic.
The announcement, dated May 27, 2026, marks a concrete step in an industry effort to bring structure to a problem that has grown substantially more complex as AI systems multiply.
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