Websites Built for AI Readers, Not Just Human Visitors
Websites have traditionally been designed for human readers. Content hierarchy, navigation, and visual cues were all optimised for how people scan, read, and decide. In 2026, that audience has expanded. Websites are now being read, parsed, summarised, and interpreted by AI systems before humans ever see them. This shift is quietly reshaping how websites are structured and evaluated. Designing for AI readers is no longer optional. It directly affects discoverability, credibility, and how information is represented across platforms. AI Is Now an Intermediary Search engines, AI assistants, and content summarisation tools increasingly act as intermediaries between websites and users. Instead of sending users directly to a page, these systems extract, rewrite, and present information in their own interfaces. This means the first “reader” of a website is often not human. It is a machine deciding what the site contains, how reliable it is, and whether it should be surfaced at all. Websi...