A standardized, open-source labeling system for AI-generated and AI-assisted content.
Audiences deserve clear signals about how content was made. OpenTentacle Labels gives creators a simple, consistent way to declare AI involvement — from fully human to fully autonomous — across text, images, video, audio, and code.
OTL:<level>-<type>
| Level | Seal | Strip | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
H · Human |
 |
 |
No AI used |
A · Assisted |
 |
 |
AI for mechanical tasks (spell-check, upscaling, autocomplete) |
C · Collaborative |
 |
 |
AI contributed substantially; human directed and edited |
G · Generated |
 |
 |
AI produced the core output; human curated or lightly edited |
X · Autonomous |
 |
 |
Fully AI-generated, minimal human review |
Content types: txt · img · vid · aud · code · mix
Examples: OTL:H-txt · OTL:C-txt · OTL:G-img · OTL:A-aud
Two styles — pick what fits your context:
Seal — audience-facing (articles, video thumbnails, album art):
Strip — shows the Human→AI spectrum (article footers, sidebars):
Use the validator to preview both styles for your specific label.
<meta name="otl:version" content="1" />
<!-- single type -->
<meta name="otl:label" content="OTL:C-txt" />
<!-- compound (multimedia) -->
<meta name="otl:label" content="OTL:H-txt+G-img+C-vid" />Multimedia content often has different AI involvement per component. Use + to express it in a single label — rendered as one compact compound strip where each row shows a content type and its position on the Human→AI spectrum.
| Example | Label | Badge |
|---|---|---|
| Article | OTL:H-txt+G-img |
 |
| Video | OTL:H-vid+C-txt+G-img+A-aud |
 |
| Podcast | OTL:H-aud+A-txt |
 |
| Dev blog | OTL:C-code+H-txt+G-img |
 |
| Social post | OTL:C-txt+G-img |
 |
Use the validator to build and preview your own compound label.
Use space-separated labels only when labeling independent pieces of content on the same page, not components of the same piece.
opententacle-labels/
├── SPEC.md # Human-readable specification
├── spec/
│ ├── taxonomy.md # Full taxonomy with edge cases
│ └── schema.json # JSON Schema for programmatic use
├── badges/
│ ├── svg/seal/ # Seal badges — 30 combinations
│ ├── svg/strip/ # Strip badges — 30 combinations
│ ├── svg/compound/ # Pre-built compound strip examples
│ ├── generate.py # Badge generator script
│ └── README.md
├── metadata/
│ ├── html-meta.md # <meta> tag integration
│ ├── opengraph.md # Open Graph integration
│ └── schema-org.md # Schema.org / JSON-LD integration
└── examples/
├── blog-post.html # Full HTML example
└── README.md
AI tools are now deeply embedded in content creation workflows. Existing disclosure norms are inconsistent, voluntary, and human-language-only — making automated parsing impossible. OpenTentacle Labels provides:
- A clear taxonomy that maps to real-world workflows
- Visual badges readable by humans at a glance
- Machine-readable formats (meta tags, JSON Schema, JSON-LD) for aggregators, search engines, and platforms
- A permissive license (CC0) — use it anywhere, no attribution required
Contributions welcome. See SPEC.md for the current spec. Open an issue to propose taxonomy changes or new content types before submitting a PR.
CC0 1.0 Universal — public domain. No attribution required.