Tag wrangling is the process by which tags on AO3 are connected and made more easily filterable by adding them to the autocompletes for tags when creating works or bookmarks and when searching and filtering for works. When you tag a work with a tag that has never been used before, a tag wrangler must review it and evaluate what to do with it. A tag wrangler will look at the tag and consider if it means the same thing as an existing “canonical,” also called a common tag, and connect the two if so. If the tag does not mean the same thing as an existing canonical tag, they will attach it to the related fandom or to “No Fandom” if it’s not specific to an individual media. Eventually, if multiple users tag the same concept enough times, the tag may be made into a canonical so that it appears in the autocomplete.

Tag wranglers follow agreed-upon Wrangling Guidelines to decide what tags should be made canonicals and how they should be formatted. To learn more about what tag wranglers do, refer to the Work Description. To read about the process of tag wrangling in more detail, check out the life cycle of a tag.