The U.S. Department of Commerce has recently issued guidance that provides practical recommendations and best practices for publishing open data tailored to work effectively with generative AI systems.

The document titled “Generative Artificial Intelligence and Open Data: Guidelines and Best Practices” offers guidance on publishing open data for use by generative AI systems. 

Through the implementation of this guidance, Commerce hopes to: 

• Enhance the accuracy of AI responses: When a user queries a generative AI model with a question requiring Commerce data (e.g., “What is the population of Suitland, MD?”), the Commerce data produced for a user is accurate, properly represented, and properly sourced.

• Increase the prioritization of authoritative data: Commerce would like to better ensure that its data are prioritized over non-authoritative and potentially inaccurate sources in AI-generated responses.

Although designed for Commerce’s internal use, the document is publicly available for data publishers worldwide. 

“This report is primarily intended to guide data stewards and publishers across the Department of Commerce as they navigate this new era. However, we also hope it serves as a resource for data stewards everywhere—across governments, academia, and the private sector—by offering insights on how public data can be structured and disseminated to better interact with large language models (LLMs) and other generative AI systems,” Oliver Wise, the Department of Commerce’s Chief Data Officer wrote in a letter attached to the document.

Commerce notes that the document will be revised and updated based on new information, feedback, and evolving considerations.