# AI agents and your website

> Browser agents read a site through screenshots, raw HTML and the accessibility tree. Google's web.dev guidance is to keep actions visible and semantic: real buttons and links, labelled inputs, no transparent overlays, elements larger than 8 square pixels and a stable layout. The same work helps human visitors.

- URL: https://geo.casa/implementation/ai-agents/
- Concept · Officially documented
- Reviewed: 2026-10-25

## What AI agents are

> **Officially documented:**
> "AI agents are autonomous systems that can perform tasks on behalf of people, such as booking a reservation or comparing product specifications." Browser agents may read a website by analysing screenshots, inspecting the DOM and interpreting the accessibility tree.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide)

Google presents this as optional: worth reviewing "if this is something that's relevant to your business and you have extra time".

## How agents see a page

> **Officially documented:**
> "Agents can view your website in 3 primary ways: screenshots, raw HTML, and the accessibility tree." Modern agents combine them. The DOM and accessibility tree give a structured list of interactive elements. Agents cross-reference that list with a visual rendering for layout and grouping.
>
> Sources: [web.dev (Google): Build agent-friendly websites](https://web.dev/articles/ai-agent-site-ux)

## Practices

> **Officially documented:**
> The web.dev guide recommends:
>
> - Avoid ghost elements: transparent overlays that hide interactive elements.
> - Use semantic HTML: `<button>` and `<a>` over modified `<div>` and `<span>`. Otherwise add the right `role` and `tabindex`, and link `<label>` to inputs with `for`.
> - Make interactive elements visible and "larger than 8 square pixels".
> - Keep the layout stable, so actions stay in predictable places.
>
> Sources: [web.dev (Google): Build agent-friendly websites](https://web.dev/articles/ai-agent-site-ux)

> **Officially documented:**
> "Everything we suggest to make a site 'agent-ready' also makes sites better for humans."
>
> Sources: [web.dev (Google): Build agent-friendly websites](https://web.dev/articles/ai-agent-site-ux)

## Not established

- Whether agent-friendliness affects how often AI search chooses or cites a site. These practices are about agents completing tasks on a site.
- Emerging protocols such as WebMCP and the Universal Commerce Protocol are proposals or early-stage; behaviour may change.

## How this wiki does it

Pages are server-rendered semantic HTML with real links and buttons. They pass an automated WCAG 2.1 AA audit, which checks the same accessibility tree an agent reads.

## Sources

- [Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide)
- [web.dev (Google): Build agent-friendly websites](https://web.dev/articles/ai-agent-site-ux)