Been running a 34t NW on my XT cranks for a while now, no problems. Just went to install the 32t version and noticed that the chain seems to (very lightly) touch the spider tabs.

Do I need to space the chainring away from the spider tabs or are others running it like this with no problems?

Shouldn’t have to. Mine was fine.

If it’s the double chainset then the chain will contact the spider tabs slightly. Doesn’t on a triple as it’s intended to run with a 32T ring from stock.

Just get some 2mm chainring spacers – this should prevent the contact and improve the chainline as the chain line is wider on the double compared to the triple.

If its a double as said above a 32t chainring will normally just catch, link below shows how you can chamfer the edge to allow clearance.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0230/9291/files/XT_m785_and_SLX_m665_Double_Compatibility_v4.pdf