To put it simply, the agentic web is a layer of the web where AI agents discover and read websites on behalf of humans. It exists alongside the human web and is measured separately. In web history, it is generally known that three classes of visitors appear on a website. This includes humans, crawlers, and robots that run scripts. Believe it or not, agents are actually a fourth class. They are sent by a human with tasks and function automatically on the user’s behalf, performing various actions, whether it’s checking visibility, filling out a form, or comparing prices. Agents actually read websites much like a crawler and act on them the same way an online user does.
How is the Agentic Web Different Than AI Search and AEO/GEO?
Compared with AI search and AEO, the agentic web is practically adjacent. People are often confused by it, but each one addresses a different question about the web.
What is AI Search?
AI search is intended for search products and is powered by large language models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, and more. This topic is a consumer product that retrieves and synthesizes data. In comparison, the agentic web is much broader, encompassing AI search agents that visit websites, as well as transactional, booking, research, and other agents. Overall, AI search is only one subset of agentic web activity.
What are AEO and GEO?
AEO and GEO are abbreviations for Answer Engine Optimization and Generative Engine Optimization. These two are SEO-adjacent aspects of content optimization that allow AI search to cite it. These two are specific practices that lie within the broader context of the agentic web.
What is AXO?
AXO is abbreviated for Agent Experience Optimization. It is a term that is nowadays in active use but also contested. When it comes to functionality, it is built to enhance websites, making them legible and translatable for agents.
Is Your Website Ready for the Agentic Web?
As we’ve discussed previously, the agentic web is a portion of the web where AI agents interact on websites on behalf of humans. As no surprise, it is, in fact, real and authentic enough to appear in conversion data, and the infrastructure is shipping faster than most websites can adapt to. When it comes to building for it, machine-first architecture is a framework with four pillars: Identity, Structure, Content, and Interaction. It’s safe to say that the agentic web shift is approaching quickly!
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