# Developer Overview

**Yuba - The Open Standard for AI-Native Business Discovery**

## Overview

Yuba is an open, platform-agnostic specification for representing business data optimized for AI platforms. It enables AI systems to discover, understand, and reference businesses.

## Why Yuba?

Traditional business data formats (Google Business Profile, Yelp API, schema.org) were designed for web search and human browsing. Yuba is purpose-built for the AI-native era where:

* **AI systems discover businesses**, not search engines
* **Structured data enables discovery**, not scraped pages
* **AI visibility matters**, not just click-through
* **Trust signals matter more** than SEO optimization

## Design Principles

1. **Standard-Agnostic**: Works with MCP, ChatGPT Plugins, custom APIs
2. **AI-Optimized**: Structured for LLM understanding and reasoning
3. **Privacy-First**: Built-in PII sanitization and consent management
4. **Business-Controlled**: Operators own and control their data
5. **Trust-Enabled**: Verification, reviews, and fraud detection built-in
6. **Analytics-Rich**: Captures citations and API calls (see [analytics capabilities](https://github.com/gugga7/aeo/blob/main/docs/ANALYTICS_CAPABILITIES.md))

## Schema Components

### Core Entities

* **Business Profile**: Identity, services, media, exclusive content
* **Availability**: Real-time booking slots, capacity, pricing
* **Reviews & Trust**: Ratings, responses, verification status
* **Analytics Events**: Impressions, citations, intent progression

### Protocol Definitions

* **MCP Tools**: Standardized tool catalog for Model Context Protocol
* **REST API**: OpenAPI specification for HTTP integrations
* **Webhooks**: Event-driven notifications
* **Data Export**: Portable data formats

### Trust & Safety

* **Verification Schema**: Identity verification, business legitimacy
* **Fraud Detection**: Risk scoring, anomaly detection
* **Content Moderation**: Automated and human review workflows

### Analytics & Intelligence

* **Upstream Metrics**: Pre-click visibility, zero-click exposure
* **Attribution**: Multi-touch journey tracking
* **Intent Progression**: Awareness → Consideration → Conversion
* **Competitive Benchmarking**: Category-level insights

## Quick Start

```typescript
import { AIDPSchema, validateProfile } from '@aidp/schema';

const businessProfile: AIDPSchema.BusinessProfile = {
  id: "biz_123",
  name: "Artisan Coffee Roasters",
  category: "coffee_shop",
  location: {
    address: "123 Main St",
    city: "Portland",
    coordinates: { lat: 45.5231, lng: -122.6765 }
  },
  aiOptimization: {
    boostSignals: ["specialty_coffee", "local_roasting"],
    exclusiveContent: "We roast single-origin beans daily..."
  }
};

const validation = validateProfile(businessProfile);
```

## Adoption

Yuba is an open standard available for:

* **Yuba Platform**: Reference implementation (this repository)
* AI platforms, tourism boards, and local business tools

**Note**: Yuba is in early access. We're actively working with early adopters to refine the standard.

## Governance

Yuba is maintained as an open standard with community input. See [GOVERNANCE.md](https://amistan.gitbook.io/aidp-docs/aidp-schema-open-standard/governance) for contribution guidelines.

## Documentation

* [Core Schema Specification](https://amistan.gitbook.io/aidp-docs/aidp-schema-open-standard/core-specification)
* [MCP Tool Catalog](https://amistan.gitbook.io/aidp-docs/aidp-schema-open-standard/mcp-tools)
* [Migration Guides](https://amistan.gitbook.io/aidp-docs/aidp-schema-open-standard/migrations)
* [Integration Examples](https://amistan.gitbook.io/aidp-docs/for-developers/examples)
* [Validation Libraries](https://amistan.gitbook.io/aidp-docs/aidp-schema-open-standard/validation)

## License

Yuba is released under MIT License. See [LICENSE](https://amistan.gitbook.io/aidp-docs/resources/license) for details.

***

**Version**: 1.0.0\
**Status**: Early Access\
**Last Updated**: December 2025