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Secure Web Gateway Integration

Integrate AI Tool Categories Into Your Secure Web Gateway

Add a dedicated AI Tools URL category to Zscaler, Netskope, iboss, or any SWG with custom URL categories. Our API-driven feed delivers 16,024+ domains across 18 categories — updated daily, no manual list management.

16,024+AI Domains
18Categories
RESTAPI Format
DailyUpdates
Download Sample Feed View Pricing
The Challenge

Why Built-In SWG URL Categories Cannot Keep Up With AI Tools

SWG platforms classify web traffic into URL categories for policy enforcement and visibility. When it comes to AI tools, most vendors added a single monolithic "Generative AI" or "AI/ML" category in late 2023 — and it falls short in three critical ways.

Shallow Coverage Leading SWG vendors classify fewer than 800 AI-tool domains. The actual landscape spans 16,024+ domains across 18 distinct functional categories — leaving thousands of niche and emerging tools unblocked.
Insufficient Granularity A single "AI Tools" category cannot distinguish between an AI code assistant engineering needs and an AI writing tool compliance wants blocked. Per-department policies are impossible.
Slow Update Velocity New AI tools launch daily. SWG vendor classification pipelines take weeks to months to evaluate and publish new domains. During that lag, employees access unclassified tools freely.

The Solution

Custom URL category populated by our AI-tool feed — 16,024+ domains across 18 categories
Delivered via REST API in SWG-compatible formats, updated daily
Consume through your SWG's custom URL category mechanism

Coverage Comparison

16,024+
Our AI domain feed
<800
Typical SWG built-in
18
Granular categories
24hr
Classification cycle
Custom URL Categories

Configuring Custom AI Tool Categories on Major SWG Platforms

The workflow is the same across vendors: create a custom category, populate it with domains from our feed, and reference that category in your web policy rules. The differences are in how each platform ingests external lists and refreshes them.

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

1
Create a Custom URL Category Name it "AI Tools - Blocked" in ZIA via the Admin Portal or ZIA API. Each custom category supports up to 25,000 URLs.
2
Push Domains via the ZIA API Use the /urlCategories endpoint to push domain entries from our feed. Create multiple categories to segment by AI-tool type.
3
Authenticate with OAuth 2.0 Generate API keys under Administration > API Key Management. Use them to authenticate and interact with the category endpoints.
4
Reference in URL Filtering Policies Once populated, reference the custom category in your policy rules exactly like any built-in Zscaler category.
# Zscaler ZIA API: Create and populate a custom AI Tools URL category
# Step 1: Authenticate and obtain session token

curl -X POST "https://zsapi.zscaler.net/api/v1/authenticatedSession" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "apiKey": "YOUR_ZIA_API_KEY",
    "username": "[email protected]",
    "password": "YOUR_PASSWORD",
    "timestamp": "1720483200000"
  }'

# Step 2: Fetch AI tool domains from our feed
curl -s "https://feeds.aitoolsblocklist.com/v1/domains?format=json&key=YOUR_API_KEY" \
  | jq '[.domains[].domain]' > /tmp/ai_domains.json

# Step 3: Create custom URL category with AI tool domains
curl -X POST "https://zsapi.zscaler.net/api/v1/urlCategories" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Cookie: JSESSIONID=SESSION_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "configuredName": "AI Tools - Blocked",
    "superCategory": "USER_DEFINED",
    "customCategory": true,
    "type": "URL_CATEGORY",
    "urls": ["chatgpt.com","openai.com","claude.ai","anthropic.com",
             "gemini.google.com","midjourney.com","runway.com",
             "character.ai","perplexity.ai","jasper.ai"],
    "dbCategorizedUrls": [],
    "description": "AI tool domains from AI Tools Blocklist feed"
  }'

# Step 4: Activate changes
curl -X POST "https://zsapi.zscaler.net/api/v1/status/activate" \
  -H "Cookie: JSESSIONID=SESSION_TOKEN"

Netskope

Custom URL Lists Create custom URL categories under Policies > Web > URL List. Upload via CSV or automate with the REST API v2.
API Authentication Token-based auth via tokens generated under Settings > Tools > REST API v2. Use the /api/v2/policy/urllist endpoint to manage lists inline with Real-time Protection policies.
Combine with CCI Scores While Netskope's Cloud Confidence Index rates apps on enterprise readiness, our feed classifies by function. Create policies like "block all AI image generators regardless of CCI score" or "allow AI code assistants only if CCI exceeds 60."

iboss

Custom Category Creation Navigate to Web Security > URL Categories > Custom Categories. Supports bulk domain import via text file upload and API-driven management with bearer token auth.
Inline Evaluation & Precedence iboss evaluates custom categories inline alongside built-in classifications. A domain can match both — policy action is determined by rule precedence, with custom categories evaluated first.

Zscaler ZIA

Custom URL categories via API with up to 25,000 URLs per category. Supports automated sync via cron or orchestration tools. Native policy integration with URL filtering, Cloud Firewall, and DLP engines. Multi-tenant support through ZIA sub-clouds.

Netskope

URL lists via REST API v2 with inline evaluation in Real-time Protection policies. Combine with CCI scores for risk-aware AI blocking. Supports granular per-app policies and adaptive access controls based on user behavior and device posture.

iboss

Custom categories via API and bulk import. Inline evaluation alongside built-in categories with configurable precedence. Policy group association for per-department blocking. Supports both cloud-proxy and ZTNA deployment modes.

SSL Inspection

SSL/TLS Inspection for AI Tool Traffic: Visibility Beyond SNI

All major AI tools communicate over HTTPS. Without SSL inspection, your SWG sees only the destination domain in the TLS SNI field and DNS queries — enough for basic domain-level blocking, but not for advanced controls.

SSL inspection becomes essential for three use cases that most organizations eventually require.

1
Path-Level Granularity Some AI services share a domain with non-AI functionality (e.g., app.vendor.com/ai-assistant vs. app.vendor.com). Without SSL inspection, blocking the domain blocks the entire application. With decryption, your SWG examines the URL path and applies different actions per resource.
2
DLP Content Inspection When employees paste source code, financial data, or customer records into AI chatbots, the content travels inside encrypted HTTPS POST requests. With inspection, the DLP engine examines the request body in real time and blocks requests containing sensitive data patterns.
3
Response Inspection Some organizations want to log or analyze AI tool responses — for example, detecting AI-generated code imported into production repositories or AI content published on the organization's behalf. This requires full SSL decryption in both directions.

SSL Inspection: Platform-Specific Considerations

Zscaler ZIA
SSL inspection enabled per-policy rule for traffic via ZCC or GRE/IPSec tunnel.
Decryption CA managed centrally, pushed to endpoints via ZCC or MDM.
Certificate-pinned AI apps need bypass rules under SSL Inspection Policy > SSL Inspection Bypass.
Netskope
SSL/TLS handled by the Netskope Client. Per-tenant root CA must be trusted by endpoints.
Steer AI-tool domains through Netskope cloud for inspection. Supports TLS 1.3 natively.
iboss
Configured per policy group under Web Security > SSL > Decrypt Policy.
Selective decryption by URL category — inspect only AI-tool traffic for governance.

SNI-Only Inspection

Sufficient for domain-level blocking. No certificate deployment required. Zero performance impact. Covers the majority of AI-tool blocking use cases where you want to block entire domains. Works with both cloud-proxy and DNS-based enforcement modes. Our domain feed is optimized for SNI matching patterns.

Full SSL Decryption

Required for URL-path-level policies, DLP content inspection, and response analysis. Requires trusted CA certificate on managed endpoints. Adds latency proportional to traffic volume. Necessary for detecting data exfiltration to AI tools. Some certificate-pinned AI apps may require bypass rules.

Cloud App Control & Inline DLP

Inline DLP for AI Uploads: Preventing Data Exfiltration Through AI Tools

Many organizations need a nuanced approach: allow employees to use approved AI tools while preventing sensitive data uploads. Inline DLP integrated with your SWG makes this possible.

How Inline DLP Works with AI Categories

1
Identify AI-Tool Traffic Your SWG detects a request to a domain in the AI-tools custom category.
2
Decrypt via SSL Inspection SSL inspection decrypts the HTTPS traffic to expose the request body.
3
Inspect Request Body The DLP engine inspects the text payload — chat messages, file uploads, or API calls — for sensitive data patterns.
4
Block & Alert If content matches DLP patterns (credit cards, SSNs, proprietary code, custom dictionaries), the request is blocked and the security team is alerted.

Real-World Policy Examples

Engineering uses AI coding assistants freely, but DLP blocks requests containing proprietary source code fingerprints
Marketing uses AI writing tools for brainstorming, but DLP blocks customer names, revenue figures, or confidential launch materials
All departments can browse AI-tool marketing pages, but POST requests submitting prompts are blocked for restricted groups
# Automation script: Sync AI tool domains to Zscaler ZIA custom category
# Run daily via cron to keep the SWG category current

#!/bin/bash
ZIA_CLOUD="zsapi.zscaler.net"
API_KEY="YOUR_ZIA_API_KEY"
FEED_KEY="YOUR_BLOCKLIST_API_KEY"
CATEGORY_ID="CUSTOM_01"

# Authenticate to ZIA
SESSION=$(curl -s -X POST "https://$ZIA_CLOUD/api/v1/authenticatedSession" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"apiKey\":\"$API_KEY\",\"username\":\"[email protected]\",
      \"password\":\"$SVC_PASSWORD\",\"timestamp\":\"$(date +%s)000\"}" \
  | jq -r '.cookies[0]')

# Fetch current AI tool domains from our feed (JSON format)
DOMAINS=$(curl -s "https://feeds.aitoolsblocklist.com/v1/domains?format=json&key=$FEED_KEY" \
  | jq '[.domains[].domain]')

# Count domains for logging
COUNT=$(echo $DOMAINS | jq 'length')
echo "Syncing $COUNT AI tool domains to ZIA category $CATEGORY_ID"

# Update the custom URL category with current domains
curl -s -X PUT "https://$ZIA_CLOUD/api/v1/urlCategories/$CATEGORY_ID" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Cookie: JSESSIONID=$SESSION" \
  -d "{\"configuredName\":\"AI Tools - Blocked\",
      \"urls\":$DOMAINS,
      \"description\":\"Auto-synced from AI Tools Blocklist - $(date -I)\"}"

# Activate the configuration change
curl -s -X POST "https://$ZIA_CLOUD/api/v1/status/activate" \
  -H "Cookie: JSESSIONID=$SESSION"

echo "ZIA sync complete: $COUNT domains pushed at $(date)"

Cloud App Control: Beyond Simple URL Blocking

Modern SWG platforms have evolved into full CASBs, enabling activity-level controls beyond allow-or-block. With our AI-tool categorization, you can apply granular cloud app controls per activity type.

Netskope: Activity-Level Controls Real-time Protection policies apply different actions based on activity type: browse, upload, download, post, share, or edit. Craft policies like "allow browsing AI tools for research, block all uploads and posts."
Zscaler: Cloud Firewall + DLP Scoping Cloud Firewall rules and DLP policies can be scoped to your custom AI-tools URL category for targeted enforcement.
iboss: CASB Module The CASB module identifies application-specific activities and applies policy per action type, enabling per-activity control over AI tools.

DLP Pattern Matching

Inspect HTTP POST bodies to AI-tool domains for sensitive data patterns:

Credit card numbers (PCI DSS) & SSNs (PII)
Health records (HIPAA) & financial data (SOX)
Source code (proprietary IP)
Custom regex — project codes, customer identifiers

Document Fingerprinting

Exact data match (EDM) and document fingerprinting for sensitive content:

Register board presentations, product specs, M&A materials
Detects content copied into AI chatbot prompts
Works even if text is paraphrased or partially modified
Real-Time Classification

Real-Time Domain Classification: API Integration for SWG Vendors

Instead of importing a static list, SWG vendors can query our classification API inline as they process web requests. The result is instant classification — transparent to end users and always current.

Inline Lookup Flow User navigates to an unknown domain → SWG queries our API → receives instant classification (or "not AI") → caches the result → applies policy. All within milliseconds.
Native Vendor Integration SWG vendors integrate our API alongside their own URL database. Customers see "AI Code Assistant," "AI Image Generator," or "AI Writing Tool" as native categories — the classification comes from our feed, enforcement uses the vendor's existing framework.
Individual & Batch Queries Individual lookups return in under 50ms (ideal for inline evaluation). Batch queries accept up to 1,000 domains and return in under 500ms (ideal for cache pre-population). JSON and protobuf formats supported.
# Real-time domain classification API — single lookup
curl -s "https://api.aitoolsblocklist.com/v1/classify?domain=midjourney.com&key=YOUR_API_KEY"

# Response (JSON):
{
  "domain": "midjourney.com",
  "is_ai_tool": true,
  "category": "image-visual",
  "category_name": "AI Image & Visual Tools",
  "risk_score": 78,
  "first_seen": "2022-07-12",
  "last_verified": "2026-07-09",
  "confidence": 0.97
}

# Batch classification — up to 1,000 domains per request
curl -s -X POST "https://api.aitoolsblocklist.com/v1/classify/batch" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "domains": ["chatgpt.com", "notion.so", "midjourney.com",
                "github.com", "copilot.microsoft.com", "unknown-startup.ai"],
    "include_metadata": true
  }'

# Response includes classification for each domain:
{
  "results": [
    {"domain": "chatgpt.com", "is_ai_tool": true, "category": "text-language", "risk_score": 72},
    {"domain": "notion.so", "is_ai_tool": true, "category": "productivity-workspace", "risk_score": 45},
    {"domain": "midjourney.com", "is_ai_tool": true, "category": "image-visual", "risk_score": 78},
    {"domain": "github.com", "is_ai_tool": false, "category": null, "risk_score": 0},
    {"domain": "copilot.microsoft.com", "is_ai_tool": true, "category": "code-development", "risk_score": 55},
    {"domain": "unknown-startup.ai", "is_ai_tool": true, "category": "text-language", "risk_score": 85}
  ],
  "query_time_ms": 42,
  "total": 6,
  "ai_tools_found": 5
}

API Response Fields for Vendor Integration

FieldPurposeVendor Use Case
risk_score (0–100)Quantifies data-exfiltration risk per AI toolEnables risk-based policy decisions
confidenceClassification engine certainty levelRoute low-confidence results to human review; enforce high-confidence immediately
last_verifiedTimestamp of last verificationManage cache TTLs — cache aggressively if verified within 24h; re-query if stale

Sub-50ms Latency

Individual domain lookups return in under 50ms from our globally distributed API endpoints. Edge caching reduces repeat lookups to under 5ms. Designed for inline SWG evaluation without perceptible user impact.

JSON & Protobuf

JSON for ease of integration and debugging. Protobuf for high-throughput production deployments where serialization overhead matters. Both formats return identical classification data with the same API contract.

Batch Queries

Submit up to 1,000 domains per batch request for cache warm-up, scheduled sync, or bulk analysis. Results in under 500ms. Ideal for SWG vendors pre-populating classification caches during off-peak maintenance windows.

Architecture

Deployment Architecture: Feed Ingestion, Caching, and Policy Enforcement

A production SWG integration follows a four-layer architecture. Understanding each layer helps security architects design a deployment that is both performant and resilient.

1
Feed Ingestion Layer Pulls updated domain classifications from our API and transforms them into SWG-compatible formats. Runs as a scheduled task — cron job, Lambda function, or SOAR playbook (Tines, Cortex XSOAR, Torq).
2
Caching Layer For SWGs with custom URL categories (Zscaler, Netskope, iboss), the cache is the category itself — maintained in memory and evaluated inline. For real-time API integration, use Redis, Memcached, or an in-process hash map. Set TTLs to 24 hours for recently verified domains and 4 hours for older ones.
3
Policy Evaluation Layer Where classification meets enforcement. The policy engine checks the destination against the AI-tools category and determines the action based on configured rules.
4
Action Enforcement Five possible enforcement actions, configured per policy rule.
ActionBehavior
BlockDeny the request and serve a block page
AllowPermit the request without restriction
CautionDisplay a warning interstitial the user must acknowledge
IsolateRoute through Remote Browser Isolation — AI tool renders in a sandbox with copy-paste and uploads disabled
Log-OnlyPermit the request but generate a log entry for monitoring

Remote Browser Isolation for AI Tools

Instead of blocking or allowing unrestricted access, RBI lets employees interact with AI tools in a sandboxed environment. The AI tool renders on a remote server — only pixels stream to the user's browser.

Copy-paste from the corporate clipboard into the isolated session can be disabled
File uploads can be blocked while downloads are scanned before reaching the endpoint
All three major SWGs support RBI: Zscaler Cloud Browser Isolation, Netskope RBI, and iboss Browser Isolation

Automated Feed Sync

Daily syncs via cron, serverless functions, or SOAR playbooks
Change deltas — push only added or removed domains
Reduces API calls and minimizes activation window
Built-in retry logic with alerting on 24-hour sync failures

Multi-Tenant Deployments

Tenant-specific AI-tool category subscriptions and exception lists
Sub-account auth — manage all tenant feeds from one master account
Full tenant isolation with per-tenant usage tracking
Granular Categories

18-Category Taxonomy: Granular AI Tool Policies for Every Department

A single "AI Tools" category is insufficient for enterprise policies. Engineering needs code assistants, marketing needs image generators, and legal needs everything blocked. Our 18-category taxonomy enables precisely this granularity.

Per-Platform Setup

PlatformApproachPer-Department Scoping
Zscaler ZIACreate up to 18 custom URL categories, one per category-specific feed endpointSeparate URL filtering rules per user group referencing different category sets
NetskopeCreate multiple URL lists, each in distinct Real-time Protection policiesScope via SCIM group mapping to different user groups
ibossCreate multiple custom categories per AI-tool typeAssociate with policy groups aligned to organizational structure

Full Category Taxonomy

Text & Language Models
Code & Development Assistants
Image & Visual Generators
Audio & Voice Tools
Video Generators
Data & Analytics Platforms
Search & Research Tools
Productivity & Workspace Tools
Chatbots & Conversational AI
Automation & Agent Platforms
Healthcare AI
Legal AI
Finance AI
Education AI
Marketing AI
Cybersecurity AI
Design & Creative Tools
AI Infrastructure & Model Platforms

Each category is maintained independently, with new domains classified within 24 hours of discovery.

Engineering Policy

Allow "code-development" and "data-analytics" categories. Block all others. Apply DLP inspection to allowed categories to prevent proprietary code uploads.

Marketing Policy

Allow "image-visual" and "marketing-ai" categories. Block "text-language" to prevent unvetted AI-generated copy. Isolate allowed tools via RBI.

Legal & Finance Policy

Block all 18 categories. Log all access attempts. Alert compliance officers on repeated attempts. Zero tolerance for AI-tool usage in regulated functions.

Ready to Integrate AI Categories Into Your SWG?

Download the sample feed to test custom URL category creation on your platform. Or tell us your SWG platform and deployment model, and we will provide a ready-to-integrate feed package within 24 hours.

Download Free Sample Feed View Plans

Request SWG Integration Details

Tell us your SWG platform, deployment model, and category requirements. We will provide a custom integration package within 24 hours.