Verified Publisher: AIContext.gr

What verification proves

Verified Publisher confirms that the claimed organisation controls or officially endorses the AI Context source. It answers: who published this, and do they control the official domain?

Verification is separate from whether a file exists or conforms to the specification. A context can be published and valid without a verified publisher, and a verified publisher does not by itself mean every statement in the file is accurate.

What verification does not prove

That every fact, fee, deadline or contact in the AI Context is current or correct.
That the file passes structural validation against the AI Context Specification (that is validation, not verification).
That an AI tool will follow multi-hop discovery chains when loading context.
That the organisation must operate a citizen-facing assistant or endorses a specific AI vendor.

Verification is a trust signal about publisher identity and domain control, not a warranty on content quality.

Verification methods

AIContext.gr supports several accountless methods. No login, dashboard or customer workspace is required.

1. Official-domain hosting

The organisation hosts AI Context directly at:

https://organisation.gr/.well-known/ai-context

This may be the full AI Context JSON, or an AI Context Discovery file pointing to the actual JSON. Hosting on the official domain is strong evidence of organisational control.

2. DNS TXT verification

The organisation adds a DNS TXT record proving domain control:

Host:  _ai-context.organisation.gr
Type:  TXT
Value: aicontext-verification=aicontext_<token>

AIContext.gr can host the managed context file while DNS on the official domain proves who authorised it. Tokens are generated locally and stored privately; they are not committed to the public repository.

3. Official website backlink

The organisation publishes a visible link from its official website to the AIContext-hosted JSON (for example on a transparency, open-data or AI information page). This demonstrates public endorsement of the hosted context URL.

4. Official email / manual review

Fallback only. An authorised contact from the official domain email can request manual verification after identity checks. Used when automated methods are not yet practical.

Recommended setup

For citizen-facing AI prompts, link directly to the AI Context JSON. Do not rely on AI tools following multi-hop discovery.

Use the municipality's official AI Context for this conversation.

https://aicontext.gr/contexts/municipality-name/context.json

Verified by the municipality's official domain:
https://municipality.gr/.well-known/ai-context

Recommended method order:

Publish the AI Context JSON at a stable URL (on AIContext.gr or the organisation's domain).
Host /.well-known/ai-context on the official domain when possible.
Add DNS TXT verification if the context is managed on AIContext.gr.
Add a visible backlink from the official website.
Request manual review only as a fallback.

AIContext.gr remains an open standard and reference implementation. Verification v0 is the foundation for optional managed publishing, not a SaaS dashboard.

Trust labels

These states are intentionally separate:

Label	Meaning
Published	An AI Context file exists and is reachable at a public URL.
Validated AI Context	The file has passed a validation check against the AI Context Specification (structure, required fields, versioning).
Reference demo	An example implementation designed to conform to the specification. Not a completed validation certificate or verified real publisher.
Verified Publisher	The claimed organisation or domain has been verified as controlling or endorsing the source.
Verified AI Context	Future combined state: validated file + verified publisher. Not fully automated in v0.

This pass implements Verified Publisher v0 only. Automated validation is separate; see the Validator (coming soon).

Validated AI Context, reference demo, and Verified Publisher are independent. The Demo Municipality is a reference demo designed to conform to the specification, not a verified real publisher. A real organisation should show Verified Publisher only after official-domain hosting, DNS TXT, official backlink, official email, or manual verification proof. Neither validation nor verification guarantees factual accuracy.

Verification onboarding checklist

Practical checklist for onboarding the first real publisher. No accounts, dashboard or database required; verification is manual and accountless in v0.

A. Organisation details

Official organisation name
Entity type (municipality, university, hospital, public agency, company, etc.)
Official website / domain
Public contact page URL
Main contact person
Official email address (from the organisation domain)

B. AI Context details

Preferred context URL (stable public link to the JSON)
Hosting: organisation domain or AIContext.gr managed hosting
Context format: full AI Context JSON or AI Context Discovery file
specification_version
Context version
generated_at / last_updated
expires_at, if used

C. Verification method

Choose one or more acceptable methods:

Official-domain hosting: https://<domain>/.well-known/ai-context
DNS TXT record: domain control proof (see format below)
Official website backlink: visible link from the organisation site to the context URL
Official email / manual review: fallback when automated methods are not practical

For DNS TXT verification, the organisation publishes:

Host:
_ai-context.example.gov.gr

Type:
TXT

Value:
aicontext-verification=<token>

Generate tokens locally with node scripts/create-verification-token.mjs --domain example.gov.gr. Store tokens privately; never commit raw tokens to the public repository.

D. Verification status lifecycle

Status	Meaning
Not started	No verification request or proof submitted yet.
Pending	Proof submitted or DNS record published; awaiting check.
Verified	Domain control or official endorsement confirmed.
Failed	Proof did not match or could not be confirmed.
Expired	Previous verification lapsed (e.g. DNS record removed).
Revoked	Verification withdrawn by the organisation or operator.

E. Registry entry

Once verified, the publisher is added manually to the public registry:

/data/verified-publishers.json

Public registry fields:

slug
organisation_name
entity_type
official_domain
context_url
verification_status
verification_method
verified_at
last_checked_at
proof_url
notes

F. What verification means

Verified Publisher confirms control or official endorsement by the claimed organisation.

It does not guarantee that every fact in the AI Context is correct. Content accuracy remains the publisher's responsibility.

G. Recommended first-pilot flow

Collect official domain and contact person.
Prepare or confirm the AI Context URL.
Choose verification method (prefer official-domain hosting or DNS TXT).
Generate DNS token if DNS TXT is used; organisation publishes the record.
Check proof (node scripts/check-dns-verification.mjs or node scripts/check-official-context.mjs).
Add verified publisher entry manually to data/verified-publishers.json.
Schedule a future re-check (DNS, official endpoint, or backlink).

Automation v0

Automation v0 is monitoring-only. It can re-check registry entries, context availability, freshness signals, and proof indicators.

It does not automatically grant or revoke Verified Publisher status. Registry changes remain manual until a future reviewed workflow exists.

Run a local audit from the repository:

node scripts/audit-verified-publishers.mjs
node scripts/audit-verified-publishers.mjs --demo-health
node scripts/audit-verified-publishers.mjs --json

For DNS TXT re-checks, store token hashes privately in .private/verification-records.json (git-ignored). If no private record exists, DNS proof checks are reported as SKIPPED.

Verified Publisher registry

Verified publishers are listed in a static public registry:

/data/verified-publishers.json

Entries are added after verification checks pass. There are no user accounts. Organisations can publish on their own domain without joining the registry; listing is optional transparency for managed or endorsed contexts on AIContext.gr.

To request verification, contact info@aicontext.gr from an official domain address or after completing DNS TXT setup.