A growing share of visits to websites now comes through AI assistants that read pages on someone’s behalf. A person asks an assistant to compare suppliers, find opening hours or summarise a service, and the assistant visits the page instead of them. Trend reports this year recommend designing content so these agents can understand it: semantic HTML, consistent labels and clear structure. The encouraging part is that almost everything that helps agents is simply good web practice, and it helps human visitors too.
A new kind of visitor
Agents do not see a page the way people do. They do not admire a hero animation or notice a clever layout. They read the underlying structure and text, and try to work out what the page is about and what can be done there.
If key information is buried in images, spread across interactions or phrased inconsistently, an agent may misunderstand it, and the person relying on that agent receives a poor answer about your business.
Structure matters again
Real headings that describe their sections, lists that are real lists, tables for tabular data, and buttons that are real buttons all help an agent understand a page. They also help screen readers and search engines.
This is a return to fundamentals that many sites drifted away from as visual frameworks made it easy to build everything from generic containers.
Most of what helps AI agents is simply good web practice.
Consistent names for things
If pricing is called “Plans” on one page, “Packages” on another and “Options” in the footer, people and agents both get confused. Choose one name for each idea and use it everywhere: in navigation, headings, buttons and URLs.
Consistency also improves internal search, analytics and support conversations, because everyone refers to the same thing in the same way.
Make key facts easy to find
Put the important facts in plain, visible text near the top of the relevant page: what you offer, who it is for, where you operate, what it costs if you publish prices, and how to get in touch.
Facts hidden inside images, animations or downloadable files are hard for agents to read and often hard for people too.
Clear, honest actions
Agents increasingly try to help people act, not just read. Forms with clear labels, predictable steps and helpful error messages are easier for both agents and people to complete.
Avoid deceptive patterns. Hidden costs or confusing opt-outs are bad for people and, increasingly, they are flagged by the tools people use to navigate the web.
An example: a services page
A typical agency services page might show large images with service names inside them and descriptions that appear only on hover. An assistant reading that page may not find the services at all.
The same page with each service as a real heading, a short plain description underneath, and a clear link to learn more is easier for an agent to summarise accurately, and easier for people to scan.
Checking how agents see you
Ask an AI assistant to summarise your website, list your services or find how to contact you. Compare the answers with reality. Where they are wrong or vague, look at how that information is presented on the page.
Repeat this after changes. It is a simple, practical way to see your site through a new kind of visitor’s eyes.
Where to start
Review your most important pages as text only. If the main message, offer and next step are clear without any visual design, you are in good shape for both agents and people. If not, start there.
Quick wins
- Use real headings, lists, tables and buttons.
- Give each idea one consistent name across the site.
- Keep key facts in plain, visible text.
- Review important pages as text only.
