Getting Started

To get started and support the adoption of RSL, simply add a pre-defined RSL license template to your robots.txt file.

Step 1: Create a license file

Create a new file called license.xml in your website root directory and add one of the following license templates (or create a custom license):

Example License Template	Example Use
AI training or creating search summaries prohibited	Still evaluating AI licensing approach
AI training requires custom licensing agreement	Large / medium content publisher
AI training requires collective licensing agreement	All content publishers
AI training requires usage reporting and attribution	SaaS, Ecommerce
Use permitted under a Creative Commons (CC) license	Creative Commons works
Use permitted under an open source (OSI) license	Open source software
AI training requires publishing platform custom license	Open source software

Template: AI training or creating search summaries prohibited

This RSL license prohibits using your website content for AI training or generating search AI summaries (e.g., Google AI Overviews, Bing AI Summaries), but permits the use for web search or other applications.

<rsl xmlns="https://rslstandard.org/rsl">
  <content url="/">
    <license>
      <prohibits type="usage">ai-train, ai-include</prohibits>
    </license>
  </content>
</rsl>

Template: AI training requires custom licensing agreement

This RSL license template requires connecting with you through your licensing contact form to obtain permission to use your website content for AI training.

<rsl xmlns="https://rslstandard.org/rsl">
  <content url="/">
    <license>
      <permits type="usage">ai-train</permits>
      <payment type="subscription">
        <custom>https://example.com/contact-form.html</custom>
      </payment>
    </license>
  </content>
</rsl>

Note

Replace https://example.com/contact-form.html with the URL of your license contact form.

Template: AI training requires collective licensing agreement

This RSL license template requires clients that want to use your website content for AI training to obtain a standard license from an RSL License Server.

<rsl xmlns="https://rslstandard.org/rsl">
  <content url="/" server="https://api.rslcollective.org">
    <license>
      <permits type="usage">ai-train</permits>
      <payment type="inference">
        <standard>https://rslcollective.org/license</standard>
      </payment>
    </license>
  </content>
</rsl>

Template: AI training requires usage reporting and attribution

This RSL license permits using your website content for AI training, but requires the application to register with an RSL License Server, share usage and measurement data with you when your content is used, and provide attribution through a visible, functional link back to the original content source.

<rsl xmlns="https://rslstandard.org/rsl">
  <content url="/" server="https://api.rslcollective.org">
    <license>
      <permits type="usage">ai-train</permits>
      <payment type="attribution"/>
    </license>
  </content>
</rsl>

Template: Use permitted under a Creative Commons (CC) license

This RSL license template allows clients to use your website content by complying with the terms of the Creative Commons standard license.

<rsl xmlns="https://rslstandard.org/rsl">
  <content url="/">
    <license>
      <permits type="usage">all</permits>
      <payment type="attribution">
        <standard>https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</standard>
      </payment>
    </license>
  </content>
</rsl>

Template: Use permitted under an open source (OSI) license

This RSL license template allows clients to use your website content by complying with the terms of the MIT open source license. (Or select another OSI license of your choice.)

<rsl xmlns="https://rslstandard.org/rsl">
  <content url="/code/">
    <license>
      <permits type="usage">all</permits>
      <payment type="attribution">
        <standard>https://opensource.org/license/mit</standard>
      </payment>
    </license>
  </content>
</rsl>

Step 2: Update your robots.txt file

Add a link to your license.xml file by adding the following line to your robots.txt file:

  License: https://example.com/license.xml

Note

If your website uses subdomains, each subdomain requires its own robots.txt file, and you must include a link to your license.xml file in each one.

Step 3: Support RSL adoption

Join the RSL community to protect the rights and livelihoods of publishers, writers, artists, and creators in the era of AI.

1. Register your RSL License

Register your RSL license with the nonprofit RSL Collective, or another RSL License Server to enable AI companies to license your content.

2. Share your Support

Protect the open web and livelihoods of creators by sharing your support for the RSL standard on social media:

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