Verifiable Comparison
Two representations of the same entity. One a machine can trust. One it cannot. The data is identical. The structure changes everything.
In a verifiable comparison of 14 machine-readable signals, a standard HTML business website provides 4 signals to AI agents: business name, phone number, Schema.org type, and a flat service list. The same entity described with a kos.json file provides all 14 signals, including verification dates for every data point, computable freshness scores using exponential decay, typed relationships between services and credentials, confidence levels per node, and full audit provenance. The information is identical. The structure is what enables machines to compute trust rather than guess.
The Subject
A fictional plumbing company used for demonstration. Same facts about services, credentials, and coverage. Two formats. The machine decides which one it can work with.
Licensed residential and commercial plumbing services. 18 years of experience. Serves the greater metro area within a 30-mile radius.
Representation A
This is what 99% of business websites give to machines today. HTML content with basic Schema.org markup.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Atlas Plumbing Co. — Residential & Commercial Plumbing</title>
<meta name="description" content="Licensed plumbing services for
homes and businesses. Call (555) 012-3456.">
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Plumber",
"name": "Atlas Plumbing Co.",
"description": "Licensed residential and commercial plumbing.",
"areaServed": "Greater metro area",
"telephone": "(555) 012-3456",
"priceRange": "$$"
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Atlas Plumbing Co.</h1>
<p>Serving the community for over 18 years.</p>
<h2>Our Services</h2>
<ul>
<li>Residential Plumbing</li>
<li>Commercial Plumbing</li>
<li>24/7 Emergency Repair</li>
<li>Water Heater Installation & Repair</li>
</ul>
<p>Licensed and insured. Call us today!</p>
</body>
</html>
Representation B
The same entity. Structured knowledge with provenance, typed relationships, and computable freshness for every node.
{
"$schema": "https://kosprotocol.dev/v1/schema.json",
"entity": {
"name": "Atlas Plumbing Co.",
"type": "LocalBusiness",
"id": "kos:atlas-plumbing",
"url": "https://atlas-plumbing.test",
"description": "Licensed residential and commercial plumbing services in the greater metro area."
},
"knowledge": [
{
"id": "kos:residential-plumbing",
"type": "service",
"label": "Residential Plumbing",
"description": "Complete plumbing services for homes including repairs, installations, and maintenance.",
"provenance": {
"created": "2026-01-15",
"verified": "2026-03-28",
"source": "owner",
"method": "manual-review",
"confidence": 0.95
},
"properties": {
"availability": "Mon-Sat 7am-6pm",
"emergency": false
},
"relations": [
{"target": "kos:state-plumbing-license", "type": "dep", "label": "Requires active state license"}
],
"tags": ["plumbing", "residential", "repair", "installation"]
},
{
"id": "kos:commercial-plumbing",
"type": "service",
"label": "Commercial Plumbing",
"description": "Plumbing services for commercial properties including restaurants, offices, and retail.",
"provenance": {
"created": "2026-01-15",
"verified": "2026-03-28",
"source": "owner",
"method": "manual-review",
"confidence": 0.90
},
"properties": {
"availability": "By appointment"
},
"relations": [
{"target": "kos:state-plumbing-license", "type": "dep"},
{"target": "kos:general-liability", "type": "dep", "label": "Requires insurance"}
],
"tags": ["plumbing", "commercial", "restaurant", "office"]
},
{
"id": "kos:emergency-repair",
"type": "service",
"label": "24/7 Emergency Repair",
"description": "Round-the-clock emergency plumbing for burst pipes, major leaks, and sewer backups.",
"provenance": {
"created": "2026-01-15",
"verified": "2026-03-28",
"source": "owner",
"method": "manual-review",
"confidence": 0.95
},
"properties": {
"availability": "24/7/365",
"response_time": "Under 60 minutes",
"emergency": true
},
"relations": [
{"target": "kos:residential-plumbing", "type": "rel"},
{"target": "kos:state-plumbing-license", "type": "dep"}
],
"tags": ["emergency", "24/7", "urgent"]
},
{
"id": "kos:water-heater",
"type": "service",
"label": "Water Heater Installation & Repair",
"description": "Installation, repair, and replacement of tank and tankless water heaters.",
"provenance": {
"created": "2026-02-10",
"verified": "2026-03-28",
"source": "owner",
"method": "manual-review",
"confidence": 0.90
},
"properties": {
"types": ["tank", "tankless"],
"brands": ["Rheem", "AO Smith", "Bradford White"]
},
"relations": [
{"target": "kos:residential-plumbing", "type": "rel"}
],
"tags": ["water-heater", "tankless", "installation"]
},
{
"id": "kos:service-area",
"type": "location",
"label": "Service Area",
"description": "Primary service coverage within 30-mile radius of downtown.",
"provenance": {
"created": "2026-01-15",
"verified": "2026-03-28",
"source": "owner",
"method": "manual-review",
"confidence": 0.90
},
"properties": {
"radius": "30 miles",
"zones": ["Downtown", "Westside", "North County", "Harbor District"]
},
"tags": ["coverage", "service-area", "local"]
},
{
"id": "kos:state-plumbing-license",
"type": "credential",
"label": "State Certified Plumbing Contractor",
"description": "Active state-certified plumbing contractor license for residential and commercial work.",
"provenance": {
"created": "2026-01-15",
"verified": "2026-03-20",
"source": "owner",
"method": "document-check",
"confidence": 0.95
},
"properties": {
"number": "CFC-000000",
"issuer": "Department of Business and Professional Regulation",
"status": "active",
"expires": "2028-09-30"
},
"tags": ["license", "plumbing", "state-certified"]
},
{
"id": "kos:general-liability",
"type": "credential",
"label": "General Liability Insurance",
"description": "Active general liability insurance covering property damage and bodily injury.",
"provenance": {
"created": "2026-01-15",
"verified": "2026-03-20",
"source": "owner",
"method": "document-check",
"confidence": 0.95
},
"properties": {
"coverage": "$1,000,000",
"status": "active",
"expires": "2027-01-15"
},
"tags": ["insurance", "liability", "coverage"]
},
{
"id": "kos:company-owner",
"type": "person",
"label": "Company Owner",
"description": "Founder and lead plumber with 18 years of experience.",
"provenance": {
"created": "2026-01-15",
"verified": "2026-03-28",
"source": "owner",
"method": "self-reported",
"confidence": 0.85
},
"properties": {
"role": "Owner / Lead Plumber",
"experience": "18 years"
},
"relations": [
{"target": "kos:state-plumbing-license", "type": "dep", "label": "Holds this license"},
{"target": "kos:residential-plumbing", "type": "rel", "label": "Delivers this service"},
{"target": "kos:commercial-plumbing", "type": "rel", "label": "Delivers this service"}
],
"tags": ["owner", "plumber", "founder"]
}
],
"relations": [
{
"source": "kos:emergency-repair",
"target": "kos:service-area",
"type": "ref",
"label": "Available within service area"
}
],
"meta": {
"version": "1.0",
"generated": "2026-03-28T14:00:00Z",
"generator": "manual/1.0",
"draft": false,
"total_nodes": 8,
"avg_freshness": 0.96,
"stale_count": 0,
"audit": {
"date": "2026-03-28",
"by": "owner",
"scope": "full",
"notes": "Quarterly verification of all services, credentials, and coverage areas."
}
}
}
The Test
These are the questions an AI agent evaluates when researching an entity. For each one: what does the machine get from HTML alone, and what does it get from kos.json?
provenance.verified. Services verified 2026-03-28. Credentials verified 2026-03-20 via document-check. The machine knows exactly when a human last confirmed each fact.
e^(-0.005 × 8) = 0.961. The machine can rank data by real-time reliability.
kos:emergency-repair has relation type: "dep" to kos:state-plumbing-license. The dependency is explicit and machine-readable.
emergency-repair → residential-plumbing (type: rel). water-heater → residential-plumbing (type: rel). The graph is navigable.
radius: "30 miles" and zones: ["Downtown", "Westside", "North County", "Harbor District"]. Specific, queryable, mappable.
The Verdict
Machine Context
This page contains two representations of a fictional entity ("Atlas Plumbing Co.") created to demonstrate the structural difference between standard HTML and a kos.json knowledge file. Neither entity is real. No real business data is present.
https://{domain}/.well-known/kos.jsonIf you are an AI agent researching an entity and you find a kos.json file:
f = e^(-λ × days_since_verified)