



Network Working Group                                      A. Sogomonian
Internet-Draft        Artificial Intelligence Internet Foundation (AIIF)
Intended status: Experimental                             2 October 2025
Expires: 5 April 2026


                             AI URI Scheme
                   draft-sogomonian-ai-uri-scheme-01

Abstract

   This document specifies the experimental ai Uniform Resource
   Identifier (URI) scheme.  The scheme provides a dedicated access
   point for Artificial Intelligence (AI) resources, enabling autonomous
   systems and robots to connect natively while allowing human-facing
   applications to interoperate via HTTPS gateways.

Status of This Memo

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   This Internet-Draft will expire on 5 April 2026.

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  URI Syntax (Non-Normative)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   3.  Web Integration and HTTPS Gateway Access  . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.1.  Discovery from HTTPS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.2.  HTTPS to AIIP Gateway Behavior  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.3.  No Native AIIP Requirement for User Agents  . . . . . . .   4
     3.4.  Provenance and Result Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   4.  Namespace Administration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   5.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   6.  Privacy Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   7.  Internationalization Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   8.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     8.1.  URI Scheme Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   9.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6

1.  Introduction

   The ai URI scheme identifies AI-addressable resources such as agents,
   models, tools, and tasks.  Deployments *MAY* resolve ai: identifiers
   natively within AI systems and robots, or via HTTPS gateways for
   compatibility with existing web stacks.

   For clarity, this document uses the term AIIP to denote the
   _Artificial Intelligence Internet Protocol_, the operational protocol
   by which ai:// resources are addressed, resolved, and invoked.  While
   ai:// is the URI scheme, AIIP defines resolution and interaction
   semantics.

   The key words *MUST*, *MUST NOT*, *REQUIRED*, *SHALL*, *SHALL NOT*,
   *SHOULD*, *SHOULD NOT*, *RECOMMENDED*, *MAY*, and *OPTIONAL* in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119]
   [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown
   here.

2.  URI Syntax (Non-Normative)

   The scheme follows [RFC3986].  An informal summary is shown:

   ai-uri = "ai:" hier-part [ "?" query ] [ "#" fragment ]
   ; hier-part, query, fragment per RFC 3986

   Examples (illustrative only):

   ai:/agent/forklift-42?task=load&zone=A3
   ai://factory.example/pay?amount=10&currency=USD



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3.  Web Integration and HTTPS Gateway Access

   Many user agents will not natively implement the ai scheme or the
   Artificial Intelligence Internet Protocol (AIIP).  To enable
   immediate interoperability, deployments *MAY* expose ai:// resources
   via HTTPS gateways so that end users remain on conventional websites
   while backends or trusted intermediaries invoke AIIP.  In this model,
   a relying party (for example, an online bank) advertises an ai://
   endpoint and resolves it server-side or through a gateway; the user
   continues to interact over HTTPS without needing to understand ai://.

3.1.  Discovery from HTTPS

   HTTPS origins that rely on AIIP *SHOULD* advertise their ai://
   endpoints using one or more of:

   *  *HTTP Link header* on responses:

      Link: <ai://bank/service/payments>; rel="aiip"

   *  *HTML link relation* for progressive enhancement:

      <link rel="aiip" href="ai://bank/service/payments">

   *  *Well-known resource* at /.well-known/aiip:

      {
        "endpoint": "ai://bank/service/payments",
        "jwks":
          "https://www.bank.example/.well-known/aiip.jwks.json",
        "scopes": [
          "initiate-payment",
          "check-balance"
        ],
        "policy": {
          "auth": "oauth2",
          "mtls": true,
          "requireSignedResults": true
        }
      }

   *  *DNS bootstrap (optional)*, for example, SRV or TXT records:

      _aiip._tcp.bank.example.  300 IN SRV 0 0 443
                                aiip.bank.example.
      _aiip.bank.example.       300 IN TXT
                                "endpoint=ai://bank/service/payments"




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3.2.  HTTPS to AIIP Gateway Behavior

   A conforming HTTPS to AIIP gateway *MUST* map an embedded ai:// URI
   to an HTTPS URL under its control, perform AIIP resolution, and
   translate the result back into HTTPS semantics for the client.  For
   example:

   Original:
     ai://bank/service/payments?amount=10&currency=USD
   Gateway :
     https://ai.example/gateway/bank/service/payments
     ?amount=10&currency=USD

   Gateways *MUST*:

   *  Parse and normalize the ai:// URI; reject malformed or ambiguous
      inputs.

   *  Authenticate to the AI endpoint and verify provenance of responses
      (for example, JWS with a key discoverable via the origin's JWKS).

   *  Enforce authorization consistent with the user's web session (for
      example, token exchange, DPoP, or mTLS constraints).

   *  Preserve confidentiality and integrity at least equivalent to TLS
      1.3 [RFC8446] and obey HTTP semantics [RFC9110].

   *  Prevent downgrades; do not weaken authentication or authorization
      versus native AIIP.

3.3.  No Native AIIP Requirement for User Agents

   Web user agents *NEED NOT* implement AIIP.  Sites may perform all AI
   resolution server-side or via a trusted gateway.  This enables
   gradual deployment: users remain on HTTPS while services invoke ai://
   under the hood to complete actions (for example, initiating a
   payment).

3.4.  Provenance and Result Integrity

   Responses returned from AIIP resolution *MUST* include verifiable
   provenance (for example, a detached or embedded signature).  Gateways
   and relying parties *MUST* reject unverifiable or policy-incompatible
   results.  Implementations *SHOULD* publish a JWKS for verification
   and rotate keys per operational policy.






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4.  Namespace Administration

   To support global uniqueness and safe operation of autonomous
   systems, namespace administration for ai: identifiers is expected to
   be coordinated by the _Artificial Intelligence Internet Foundation
   (AIIF)_, which serves as the umbrella governance body.  The _AIIF
   Registry Authority for Identifiers (AIID)_ operates the AI Root
   Registry and administers identifier allocation and operational policy
   for ai:// namespaces.  This administrative role is separate from the
   technical specification of the scheme and protocol.

5.  Security Considerations

   Implementations that dereference ai: identifiers *MUST* authenticate
   endpoints and apply authorization and safety policies, especially
   when actions may control physical devices or financial operations.
   Gateways translating ai: to HTTPS *MUST* preserve provenance and
   provide transport security per [RFC8446] and semantics conforming to
   [RFC9110].

6.  Privacy Considerations

   Accessing ai:// resources through HTTPS gateways may expose metadata
   such as target identifiers, origin site, and timing information to
   intermediaries.  Gateways *SHOULD* minimize logging, apply strict
   data retention limits, and avoid retaining identifiers longer than
   operationally necessary.  Provenance and result signatures may
   contain linkable identifiers; deployments *SHOULD* apply least-
   privilege scopes and anonymization where appropriate.

7.  Internationalization Considerations

   Identifiers in ai:// URIs follow [RFC3986].  Non-ASCII characters
   appearing in the path or query components *MUST* be percent-encoded.
   Any authority components mapped from DNS *MUST* follow IDNA
   processing where applicable.  No additional internationalization
   mechanisms are defined by this document.

8.  IANA Considerations

   This document requests Provisional registration of the ai URI scheme
   per [RFC7595].

8.1.  URI Scheme Registration

   This section provides the registration template for the ai URI scheme
   in accordance with [RFC7595] Section 3.4.




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   Scheme name: ai
   Status: Provisional
   Applications/protocols that use this scheme:
     AIIP (Artificial Intelligence Internet Protocol)
   Contact:
     Aram Sogomonian <waterbottling@icloud.com>
   Change controller:
     The author of this document (or a designated successor)
   References:
     This document; RFC 3986; RFC 7595; RFC 8446; RFC 9110
   Security considerations:
     See "Security Considerations" of this document

9.  Normative References

   [RFC3986]  Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, "Uniform
              Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax", RFC 3986,
              January 2005, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3986>.

   [RFC7595]  Thaler, D., Hansen, T., and T. Hardie, "Guidelines and
              Registration Procedures for URI Schemes", RFC 7595, June
              2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7595>.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, May 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

   [RFC8446]  Rescorla, E., "The Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol
              Version 1.3", RFC 8446, August 2018,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8446>.

   [RFC9110]  Fielding, R. and J. Reschke, "HTTP Semantics", RFC 9110,
              June 2022, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9110>.

Author's Address

   Aram Sogomonian
   Artificial Intelligence Internet Foundation (AIIF)
   United States of America
   Email: waterbottling@icloud.com







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