The AI-Era Attribution Blueprint
IAB's framework for classifying sales that AI shaped or completed, deciding who can claim credit for them, and what evidence each claim needs. Names publishers as eligible for a contributory claim when their content shapes an AI answer.
IAB · Association · Framework · Nov 12, 2026
Get it from IAB Free account needed on IAB's site.
Our take
Beeler.Tech's read for publishers. Ours, not the document's words.
IAB just said publishers deserve credit for AI sales. Now prove it.
The framework is simple. Who wanted it, who picked it, who bought it. Every sale gets classified once on those three questions, human or AI. An agent completing the checkout gets nothing for that alone. Credit goes to whoever shaped the choice – and that can include the content the AI read.
The catch: IAB admits you can't prove it yet. Nothing connects "you cited me" to "someone bought something three days later." Per Similarweb data IAB cites, only 8.8% of visits after an AI recommendation come from the AI click. Your influence is real. It's just reported under someone else's name.
The four disclosures IAB wants from AI platforms are your negotiating list. The big one: which sources informed the answer. Source disclosure tied to outcomes is how content gets priced.
No publisher sat on the working group. The publisher case made it in anyway. Imagine what it says when we're in the room.
Where it fits
Published by IAB (www.iab.com). About IAB. Last checked Nov 14, 2026.