March 10, 2026 — The IAB Tech Lab released version 1.0 of the Content Monetization Protocol (CoMP), a standardized framework enabling commercial agreements between publishers and AI systems before content crawling or usage.
The protocol addresses publisher traffic declines exceeding 50% from AI-related search reductions by signaling permissions, terms, and payments via a single system compatible with direct licensing or marketplaces. The specification is open for public comment until April 9, 2026, with the full document on GitHub.
Key Features of CoMP
CoMP allows content owners to communicate offerings to AI systems, ensuring terms are in place prior to access. It reduces proprietary integrations, lowers overhead, and supports scalable adoption, assuming publishers maintain blocking via edge compute or CDNs. The v1.0 spec outlines bot permission requests, denial with licensing redirects, or token issuance upon agreement.
“AI systems require chips, power, and information. Information is the only input in that equation that does not yet have a consistent commercial infrastructure around it,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab. “If we expect high-quality content to continue fueling AI-driven products, we need clear terms of engagement and a mechanism that supports compensation, accountability, and long-term sustainability. CoMP is designed to help the industry move in that direction.”
Industry Support and Reactions
Supporters include The Weather Company, People Inc., Bertelsmann, Beeler.Tech, and Mobian. The CoMP Working Group developed the standard.
“The first release of the CoMP API marks an important step toward establishing interoperable, transparent standards for fair value exchange in the AI ecosystem,” stated Achim Schlosser, VP Global Data Standards at Bertelsmann.
News outlets covered the announcement on March 10 and 11, describing IAB Tech Lab proposes new payment protocol for AI systems accessing publisher content. This development aims to establish payment rails for AI usage of online content, potentially transforming how digital publishers monetize their data amid rising AI demands. Coverage appeared in MarTech, Editor & Publisher, and others, echoing the need for fair compensation.
IAB Tech Lab proposes new payment protocol for AI systems accessing publisher content through CoMP, which shifts from unauthorized scraping to structured value exchange. Early X discussions shared links to the news, highlighting payment rails amid traffic drops.
The initiative builds on IAB Tech Lab’s standards work since 2014, focusing on AI impacts via the CoMP Working Group page at iabtechlab.com/standards.