What is the agentic web?
The agentic web refers to the emerging layer of protocols and infrastructure that enable AI agents to interact with websites autonomously. Rather than humans browsing pages, AI agents use standards like NLWeb, MCP Protocol, and WebMCP to query, retrieve, and act on website data programmatically.
What is the difference between NLWeb and MCP Protocol?
NLWeb is Microsoft's open protocol that lets websites be queried in natural language by AI agents, turning any site into a conversational data source. MCP Protocol (Model Context Protocol) is Anthropic's open standard for connecting AI agents to external tools, data sources, and services. NLWeb focuses on natural language querying of web content, while MCP provides a broader framework for tool and data access.
How does agent-first web design differ from traditional web design?
Agent-first web design prioritizes AI agents as a primary audience alongside humans. This means providing structured data, API endpoints, and machine-readable content so AI agents can efficiently access and process information. Traditional web design focuses solely on human visitors through visual layouts and interactive elements.