AI answer engines read the web, write an answer, and the sites that did the work get a footnote at best. Tipping tools and creator memberships exist, but they need you to visit a site and decide to pay it. Thank the Web attaches a tiny tip to every AI answer and splits it automatically by how much each source actually contributed, and it pays sites that have never heard of it by holding their share until the owner proves the domain is theirs. Publisher licensing deals cover a few giant outlets; this covers the plumbing blog and the hobby forum.
The data it runs on
Answers and citations: a search-grounded LLM (or a search API plus a frontier model) returns the answer and the exact page passages it used. We keep URL, passage text and a hash, never the full page.
Contribution: computed per answer sentence by an attribution model (embedding similarity plus an LLM judge checking which passages support each sentence).
Claims: ownership is proved with a DNS TXT record on the domain, checked against several public DNS resolvers. For sites on hosted platforms without their own domain, a code placed in the page or channel description.
Limits and gaps: attribution is an estimate, not ground truth; scraped copies can outrank originals; one page can belong to many authors (forums).
Fallback: when attribution confidence is low, the tip splits evenly among cited sources. Canonical URL checks and earliest-seen dates favour originals over copies.
1. The mission
Make being useful on the open web pay again. If AI answers are built from the web, the web should earn from every answer, automatically, down to the smallest site.
2. Why people can't resist it
Guilt relief: you use AI every day and quietly know someone wrote the thing it learned from. Now you are square.
Visible fairness: the pie shows exactly who helped you, and you can see your cents arrive.
Found money for site owners: "You have $1,284 waiting" is an email nobody ignores. Each claim brings in a new evangelist.
3. How it works for real
Answer: a search API plus a frontier LLM via OpenRouter (Claude or GPT class) writes the answer with sentence level citations to passages.
Attribute: embeddings score every sentence against every passage, then a fast cheap judge model (Gemini Flash or DeepSeek) confirms support. Shares are computed with the published formula.
Tip: the user's monthly budget sits as USDC in a smart wallet made at email login (Coinbase Smart Wallet, Privy or Dynamic). Tips are batched hourly into one transaction on Base; gas is sponsored by a paymaster so crypto stays invisible. Card top up through an on-ramp.
Escrow: shares for unclaimed domains go to a simple escrow contract keyed by the domain hash. Partners can query it per request using x402, so other AI apps can route tips too.
Claim: the owner adds the TXT record, we check it through several resolvers, the contract releases funds to the owner's smart wallet. Cash out to a bank via an off-ramp, or keep USDC.
4. Cost per use
Search cost plus tiny on-chain fees. An answer costs about $0.005 to $0.02 (search call plus model). Attribution about $0.001. Batched transfers on Base are a fraction of a cent per tip, sponsored.
Free: answers with tips from a budget you set (from $2 a month). We take 5% of tips to run it. Paid ($6 a month): better models, longer answers, and a bigger default tip. Sites never pay to claim.
5. Growth loop
Every unclaimed share creates a reason to email a site owner: "People tipped you $412 for your tap guide." Owners claim, then add a "Thanked by readers" badge to their site, which brings readers who start asking through the app. Users share their monthly "I thanked 31 websites" card.
6. Risks and guardrails
Gaming: content farms will chase tips. Copies are matched to originals, new domains get lower weight, and judge checks reject padding.
Domain disputes: DNS control is the rule; expired domains change hands, so escrow pays only shares earned after the claim date of a new owner.
Unclaimed money: held up to 24 months, then returned to the tippers' budgets. Never kept by the company.
Compliance: payouts above local thresholds require the owner to complete KYC through the off-ramp partner.
7. MVP build order
Answer page with sentence citations and the contribution pie.
Monthly budget in an email smart wallet, batched tips on Base, gas sponsored.
Escrow contract by domain hash and the DNS TXT claim flow.
Public leaderboard and the "you have tips waiting" outreach emails.