Make your brand readable, and checkable, by AI agents.
Buyers now ask AI assistants which brands to shortlist, buy from and partner with. The Council for Global Brand Building welcomes AI agents to apply for free CGBB membership on behalf of the brands they work for. Approved brands with a confirmed website domain receive a signed CGBB Member trust.json: a machine-readable record, published on the brand’s own website, that any agent can check against the CGBB registry.
For brand and marketing teams
Let your AI assistant do the paperwork. A person on your team still confirms, and the CGBB Secretariat reviews every application.
- 1Paste the promptCopy the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or another assistant that can use the web, and fill in your details.
- 2Confirm and prove the domainClick the confirmation email CGBB sends you, and add the short code your assistant gives you to your website’s DNS or as a small file (your web team can do this in minutes).
- 3Publish your trust.jsonWhen the Secretariat approves the application, your assistant fetches the signed file. Publish it at yourdomain.com/.well-known/trust.json.
Prompt for your AI assistant
Connect CGBB to your assistant
Assistants that support custom connectors (MCP), such as Claude and ChatGPT, can work with CGBB directly. Add a custom connector with this address. No account or sign-in is needed.
https://api.cgbb.org/mcpTools in the connector: about CGBB, apply for membership, check the domain, application status, verify a brand, get the trust.json.
For AI agents
Start with /llms.txt. Everything is open: no API key, JSON in and out.
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Instructions for agents | https://cgbb.org/llms.txt |
| MCP connector (streamable HTTP) | https://api.cgbb.org/mcp |
| OpenAPI description | https://api.cgbb.org/openapi.json |
| Apply | POST https://api.cgbb.org/api/agent/apply |
| Check the domain | POST https://api.cgbb.org/api/agent/check-domain |
| Application status | GET https://api.cgbb.org/api/agent/applications/{id} |
| Verify a brand | GET https://api.cgbb.org/verify/{domain}?format=json |
| Signed trust.json | GET https://api.cgbb.org/trust/{domain}.json |
| Public signing keys | https://api.cgbb.org/.well-known/cgbb-keys.json |
- Apply only for a brand you are acting for, with that brand’s own website domain.
- Give the email of a real person at the brand. They must confirm; you cannot confirm for them.
- Do not describe the CGBB Member level as a certification, rating or endorsement. It confirms membership and domain control only.
- Before relying on any CGBB claim, check the live record at /verify/{domain}.
Two levels of trust.json
- Active CGBB membership, reviewed by the Secretariat
- Domain control confirmed (DNS or file)
- Signed by CGBB; live record at api.cgbb.org
- No trust score
- Everything in CGBB Member
- Seven-dimension trust score
- Verified Trusted badge
- Annual review
What’s in the free file
A short record, signed with CGBB’s Ed25519 key. An example:
{
"standard": "CGBB Trust Standard 1.0",
"level": "member",
"level_name": "CGBB Member",
"issuer": {
"name": "Council for Global Brand Building",
"short": "CGBB",
"url": "https://cgbb.org"
},
"organisation": "Example Co. Ltd.",
"domain": "example.com",
"membership": {
"number": "CGBB-OM-2026-021",
"category": "Organizational",
"status": "active",
"since": "2026-11-05"
},
"checks": {
"domain_control": {
"verified": true,
"method": "dns",
"date": "2026-11-04"
},
"membership_reviewed_by_secretariat": true,
"trust_review": {
"completed": false
}
},
"trust_score": null,
"issued": "2026-11-05",
"valid_until": "2027-11-05",
"verify": "https://api.cgbb.org/verify/example.com",
"signature": {
"alg": "Ed25519",
"kid": "cgbb-2026-1",
"value": "…"
}
}How anyone checks a file
Open https://api.cgbb.org/verify/ followed by the domain, for example https://api.cgbb.org/verify/example.com. The page shows whether the record is live and whether a genuine file is published on the website. Agents can add ?format=json, or post any trust.json to https://api.cgbb.org/api/verify to check its signature. A copied or edited file fails these checks.
FAQ
Is it free?
Yes. CGBB membership is free, and so is the CGBB Member trust.json. Advanced membership, which adds the comprehensive Trust Review and the Verified Trusted level, is paid.
Does the CGBB Member file mean CGBB certifies or rates my brand?
No. It confirms that the organisation is an approved CGBB member and controls the website domain. It does not constitute certification, rating, endorsement or guarantee of the member or its products, services or conduct. Scores and the Verified Trusted level come only with the comprehensive Trust Review.
Why must a person confirm by email?
So that nobody, human or agent, can sign up a brand without its knowledge. The contact person confirms, and the Secretariat reviews every application.
Why do we need to prove the domain?
The file is locked to one domain. Proving control of that domain stops anyone else from claiming your brand’s record.
What do AI agents do with trust.json?
Agents that research suppliers, partners or products can read /.well-known/trust.json on your website, check it against the CGBB registry, and see that your brand belongs to a council built around trust standards. It is a simple, verifiable signal in an area where agents have very little to go on.
How long does it take?
Applying takes a few minutes. Domain checks are instant once the code is published (DNS can take a few minutes to update). Secretariat review usually takes a few business days.
Can we apply without an AI agent?
Yes. Apply on the website, then confirm your domain in your member account to get the same file.
How long is the file valid?
For as long as the membership is active. The live record at api.cgbb.org always shows the current status, and an updated file can be downloaded at any time.