The IPTC has published version 2.0 of its guidelines, providing updated pathways for publishers to opt out from unauthorised content use by AI engines.

Access the updated guidelines here on the IPTC website.

This version addresses the rapidly evolving AI landscape by incorporating two protocols introduced in late 2025:

• Really Simple Licensing (RSL) specification
• Cloudflare’s Content Signals protocol

The new version also includes some formatting changes to make the recommendations easier to understand and implement, and adds a chapter with suggested User Agent IDs to use in robots.txt files.

While the IPTC continues to advocate for a formal global standard through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), these guidelines provide a practical, immediate framework for publishers to protect their rights today.

The IPTC advocates for a usable, practical AI usage protocol to be explicitly acknowledged
by law… we have created this guidance document to show how current
technologies can be used to reserve the rights of content creators.

A Call for Industry Participation

The IPTC has joined the IETF AI Preferences Working Group to ensure the interests of rights holders are represented. This comes at a critical time: as the Open Future Foundation’s January 2026 study highlights, the group faces significant challenges in reaching an agreed position. Without active participation from the media and content industries, there is a risk that the final specification will fail to address the sector’s specific requirements.

In the absence of a formal industry standard, RSL or Content Signals may become de facto solutions. While these proprietary technologies may offer short-term utility for the content industry, the IPTC believes that a formal, open standard is a better long-term outcome. A multi-stakeholder process via an organisation such as the IETF ensures that the needs of all parties — publishers, rights holders, AI developers, tech platforms and civil society — are balanced in a transparent and sustainable way.