How is this different from Google Analytics?

Google Analytics shows you traffic. Shadow shows you traffic, AI bot activity, what AI platforms say about your brand, AND tells you what to do about all of it. It's analytics + AI intelligence + action steps in one tool.

Do I need to install anything?

For basic monitoring (bot detection, AI perception, readiness score) — nope, just enter your URL. For full visitor analytics (clicks, behavior, sessions), add one script tag. One-click integrations for Vercel, Shopify, WordPress, and more.

Will it slow down my site?

No. The script is under 5KB and loads async. Zero impact on page speed or Core Web Vitals. External monitoring has literally no impact — it watches from the outside.

What AI bots does Shadow detect?

All of them. GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, Bytespider, Amazonbot, and dozens more. The Shadow Network means new bots get identified across all users instantly.

What do you mean by "actionable steps"?

Shadow doesn't just show you graphs. It says things like: "ChatGPT has your pricing wrong — add structured data to /pricing to fix it" or "Your bounce rate on /features is 68% — here's why and what to change." Specific, do-it-today recommendations.

Can Shadow block bots?

Shadow is a telescope, not a shield. It shows you who's visiting and what AI says about you. It generates block rules and robots.txt configs you can apply — but it doesn't intercept traffic.

Yes. Shadow never collects PII. IP addresses are hashed after classification. No cookies on your visitors. All Shadow Network data is anonymized. GDPR compliant by design.

TDMRep (Text and Data Mining Reservation Protocol) is a W3C community specification that lets website owners declare whether their content can be used for text and data mining purposes, including AI model training. It provides three implementation methods: HTTP headers, a well-known JSON file, and HTML meta tags.

How is TDMRep different from robots.txt?

robots.txt is a technical convention with no legal standing — crawlers can (and do) ignore it with no legal consequence. TDMRep is explicitly referenced by the EU AI Act and CDSM Directive as a 'machine-readable means' of reserving TDM rights. Under EU law, if you express a TDMRep reservation, AI companies must respect it or face legal liability. robots.txt says 'please don't crawl'; TDMRep says 'I legally reserve my rights.'

Does TDMRep work outside the EU?

The legal backing is strongest in the EU under the CDSM Directive (Article 4) and the EU AI Act. Outside the EU, TDMRep serves as a formal, machine-readable expression of your intent — which can strengthen your position in fair use disputes in the US, or under similar copyright frameworks in the UK, Japan, and elsewhere. It's always better to have an explicit reservation on record than nothing.

Do AI companies actually check TDMRep?

Adoption is growing. The EU AI Act (2024/1689) explicitly requires general-purpose AI model providers to comply with TDM rights reservations expressed in machine-readable form. As enforcement begins, major AI companies operating in or selling to EU markets will need to check TDMRep signals. Early adoption puts you ahead of the compliance curve.

Can I use TDMRep and robots.txt together?

Yes — and you should. robots.txt and TDMRep serve complementary purposes. robots.txt tells crawlers not to access specific paths; TDMRep declares your legal rights over content that has already been accessed. Think of robots.txt as a 'no trespassing' sign and TDMRep as a legally filed property deed. Use both for maximum protection.

Which TDMRep implementation method should I use?

Use the tdmrep.json well-known file for site-wide coverage (simplest). Add HTTP headers if you need per-resource control. Use HTML meta tags for individual pages where you want different policies. For maximum coverage, implement all three — they complement each other and different crawlers may check different signals.

W3C Standard·9 min read

TDMRep: The W3C Protocol That Gives Your AI Opt-Out Legal Teeth

robots.txt is a gentleman's agreement — crawlers can ignore it with zero legal consequence. TDMRep is backed by EU law. Here's how to implement it in under 10 minutes.

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