Proposed Symbol: AI Generated Content Sign
This page documents a proposed private-use Unicode symbol designed to mark content that was created wholly or substantially by an artificial intelligence system. The symbol places the letters AI inside a circle, analogous in spirit to the copyright sign © (U+00A9).
Symbol Specification
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Code point | U+E0A9 |
| Name | AI GENERATED CONTENT SIGN |
| Glyph | Capital letters AI inside a circle |
| Intended meaning | Marks content that was created wholly or substantially by an AI system |
| Status | Not an officially encoded Unicode character. Private-use proposal for closed or controlled environments. |
| Unicode area | BMP Private Use Area (U+E000–U+F8FF) |
Why U+E0A9
- Mnemonic link:
U+E0A9echoesU+00A9(the copyright sign ©), making it easy to remember. - Private Use Area: Located in the BMP Private Use Area (
U+E000–U+F8FF), which is reserved for private agreements between parties. - Custom font mapping: Suitable for embedding in a website, PDF, or publishing workflow via a custom font or SVG fallback.
Recommended Semantics
Use the sign to indicate one of these states:
- Content fully generated by AI.
- Content substantially generated by AI and then lightly edited by a human.
Suggested Placement
- At the end of an article title.
- In image captions.
- In metadata panels.
- Next to author / provenance information.
- In footer or colophon for fully AI-generated works.
Plain-Text Fallbacks
When the custom font or SVG glyph is unavailable, use one of these fallbacks:
| Fallback | Context |
|---|---|
(AI) | Shortest inline marker for plain text |
[AI-generated] | Bracketed label for metadata fields |
AI-generated | Descriptive label for captions and notes |
HTML Implementation
Using the private-use code point (requires custom font)
<span class="ai-sign" aria-label="AI-generated content"></span>Using inline SVG (no custom font needed)
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="18" height="18"
viewBox="0 0 512 512" role="img"
aria-label="AI-generated content sign">
<circle cx="256" cy="256" r="214"
fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="28"/>
<text x="256" y="287" text-anchor="middle"
font-family="sans-serif" font-size="176"
font-weight="700" letter-spacing="-10"
fill="currentColor">AI</text>
</svg>Accessibility: Always include role="img" and aria-label="AI-generated content sign" on the SVG element so that screen readers announce the symbol correctly.
Comparison with Existing Unicode Symbols
| Symbol | Code Point | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| © | U+00A9 | COPYRIGHT SIGN | Indicates copyright ownership |
| ® | U+00AE | REGISTERED SIGN | Indicates a registered trademark |
| ™ | U+2122 | TRADE MARK SIGN | Indicates an unregistered trademark |
| ℗ | U+2117 | SOUND RECORDING COPYRIGHT | Copyright in a sound recording (phonogram) |
| Ⓐ | U+24B6 | CIRCLED LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A | Enclosed letter, no legal meaning |
U+E0A9 |
AI GENERATED CONTENT SIGN (proposed) | Provenance mark for AI-generated content |
Design Rationale
Visual Logic
The circle-plus-letters motif directly mirrors the familiar © copyright sign. This visual analogy is intentional: just as © tells readers about authorship rights, the proposed sign tells readers about authorship provenance (human vs. machine).
Private Use Area
The Unicode Private Use Area allows organisations to assign meaning to code points without conflicting with the official Unicode standard. Code point U+E0A9 will display correctly only where the same glyph mapping is installed or embedded. For interoperability, the SVG approach or plain-text fallbacks should be preferred.
Use on This Website
The CSO brand logo in the site navigation uses this sign as an inline SVG. The letters "AI" are enclosed in a circle, visually embedded between the letters C and SO to form the CAISO name while simultaneously displaying the AI-generated content sign.