# How do you make a website that AI assistants can read? URL: https://goudbeek.com/en/notes/website-readable-by-ai-assistants Language: en Last updated: 2026-09-24 Provider: Goudbeek — Almere, the Netherlands — samgoudbeek2007@gmail.com > AI assistants such as ChatGPT read your website differently from a visitor. See how server-side rendering, real headings, schema.org and an FAQ help them. 24 September 2026 6 min read [Sam Goudbeek](https://goudbeek.com/en/about) Web design AI assistants such as ChatGPT read your website differently from a visitor. See how server-side rendering, real headings, schema.org and an FAQ help them. You make a website readable for AI assistants by putting its key information in the HTML the server sends, as plain text, with real headings, a clear opening paragraph, structured data and a visible FAQ. At Goudbeek in Almere we build sites this way, so people, search engines and assistants like ChatGPT all read the same content. It sounds technical, but most of it is simply part of [a well-built custom website](https://goudbeek.com/en/webdesign). What helps an assistant usually helps a visitor in a hurry too. ## Why does this matter now? Some of your customers no longer rely on a list of links alone. They ask ChatGPT or Perplexity, or read the AI Overview that Google shows above the results for some searches. Those assistants read pages, summarise them and sometimes name the source. If your answer sits clearly on your site, there is something to read and quote. If it is buried in an image or in text that only appears through a script, the assistant is more likely to reach for someone else's page. Picture an installation company that fits heat pumps. Someone asks an assistant what is involved in putting a heat pump into an older house. If the company has a page that answers exactly that in plain language, it is a usable source. If the explanation only lives in a downloadable brochure, that page is missing and the answer is harder to find and quote. ## Why should the text come from the server? Many modern sites build the page in the browser, with JavaScript. Whoever requests it first receives an almost empty HTML document, plus a script that fills in the content afterwards. Google can run JavaScript, but does so in a separate step after fetching the page. Not every crawler or assistant does. Some only read the HTML the server returns, and see little more than a menu and a loading screen. Server-side rendering solves this: the server sends the full text straight away. Buttons, animations and forms can still use JavaScript afterwards, but the content no longer depends on it. You can check this yourself. Open your site, choose 'view page source' and search for a sentence from your most important copy. If it is not there, a crawler that does not run JavaScript will not see it either. ## Why do real headings and the first paragraph matter so much? Search engines and assistants often work with separate passages of a page, and headings show where each topic starts and ends. A real heading is an h2 or h3 in the code, not just large bold text. Keep it tidy: one h1 per page, and no skipped levels. Write headings as the question a customer would ask. 'What does boiler maintenance cost?' tells a reader more than 'Rates'. Put the answer straight into the first paragraph underneath, in a few sentences that still make sense on their own. Picture an accounting firm with a page about bookkeeping for freelancers. If it opens with 'Welcome, we are happy to help', there is nothing to quote. If it opens with one sentence on what the firm handles for freelancers, for whom and in which region, there is. ## What is structured data, and what does it do? Structured data is a small block of code in the page that describes, in fixed terms, what is on it: this is an organisation, this is a service, this is an article by this author. The vocabulary lives at schema.org and is used by the major search engines. For a visitor nothing changes. For a machine there is less guesswork: it does not have to work out whether 'Almere' is where you are based or just a word that happens to appear in a sentence. Picture a web shop that marks up the name, price and stock status of each product. Those details are then visible on the page and also available in a fixed form a machine can read unambiguously. One rule matters: only mark up what is visible on the page. Questions and answers tucked into the code that no visitor can see go against Google's guidelines and do nothing for your credibility. ## Why put a visible FAQ on the page? An FAQ looks a lot like how people talk to an assistant: a question, with a short answer underneath. Put it on the page where people can see it. A collapsible block is fine, as long as the text is in the HTML and not fetched only after a click. Write every answer so it holds up without the rest of the page. Not 'see above', but the name of the service, the place and what it involves. If the honest answer is 'it depends', say what it depends on. ## What are llms.txt and markdown versions? llms.txt is a proposal for a simple text file at the root of your site. Written in markdown, it briefly says who you are and lists links to your most important pages. A language model gets a clean map of the site in one fetch, without menus, cookie banners or layout. The same proposal describes markdown versions of pages: the same content at the same address with .md appended. It is a proposal, not an official standard, and not every assistant uses it. But if your site is already built from tidy, structured content, it is little extra work. Our own site, goudbeek.com, has an llms.txt, markdown versions of its pages and structured data, so you can see there what it looks like. While you are at it, look at your robots.txt. That is where you state which crawlers may read your site, including those run by AI services, and well-behaved crawlers respect it. Allowing or blocking them is a choice; what matters is that you make it on purpose. ## Does speed matter? Yes, for two reasons. Programs that fetch pages do not wait forever; a page that loads slowly or needs heavy scripts first risks being read only in part. And someone who clicks through from an assistant wants to see straight away what was promised. Speed mostly comes from leaving things out and keeping things up to date: images in the right format, no scripts nobody uses, and hosting that is properly maintained. With [managed hosting for your website](https://goudbeek.com/en/hosting) that upkeep is simply part of the job. ## What can nobody promise you? No one can guarantee that ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google will mention your business. Which sources an assistant picks is up to the assistant, and it differs by service, by model and sometimes by question. What you do control is clearing the obstacles: readable text, clear answers, and facts about your business that are the same everywhere. It is the same groundwork you need for ordinary search results. So be wary of anyone selling 'a mention in ChatGPT' as an outcome. They are promising something that is not theirs to give. ## How does Goudbeek approach this? We do not start with the technology but with the questions. What do your customers want to know before they call or order, and where does that answer live today? Then we pick the simplest thing that works. Often that is a fast, server-rendered site with good headings and an FAQ, and no extra tools. We first build one working prototype with your real copy, so you can see how it reads before everything is finished. If you also want [a chatbot for your website](https://goudbeek.com/en/solutions/chatbots), we put in writing which sources it may use and which questions wait for a person. After a short intake we agree a fixed price. The site can then run on our managed hosting from €39 a month, and your domain, code and content stay yours. Read more about [web design and custom websites in Almere](https://goudbeek.com/en/webdesign), or [request a quote](https://goudbeek.com/en/pricing). ## Sources 1. [llmstxt.org — The /llms.txt file proposal llmstxt.org](https://llmstxt.org/) 2. [Schema.org — FAQPage schema.org](https://schema.org/FAQPage) 3. [Google Search Central — Understand JavaScript SEO basics developers.google.com](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/javascript/javascript-seo-basics) 4. [Google Search Central — General structured data guidelines developers.google.com](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/sd-policies) ## Frequently asked questions ### Can an AI assistant read a website built in JavaScript? Whether an AI assistant can read a website built in JavaScript depends on the assistant and on how the site is built. Google runs JavaScript, but in a separate step after fetching the page. Not every other crawler or assistant does; some only read the HTML the server sends back. If your text only appears once scripts have loaded, those readers may see very little. With server-side rendering the text is there immediately, for everyone. ### What exactly is llms.txt? llms.txt is a proposal for a markdown file at the root of a website. It gives a short description of the organisation and a list of links to its most important pages, optionally pointing to markdown versions of them. It is not an official standard and not every AI assistant uses it, but it is little extra work when your site is built from structured content. ### Can Goudbeek guarantee that my business will appear in ChatGPT or Google? No, Goudbeek cannot guarantee that your business will appear in ChatGPT or Google. Which sources an AI assistant or search engine cites is decided by that service, and it varies by model and by question. What we do is make sure the technology does not stand in the way: text that comes straight from the server, real headings, structured data that matches the page, and a visible FAQ. Anyone promising a mention is promising something outside their control. ### Do I need a new website to be readable by AI assistants? You do not always need a new website to be readable by AI assistants. Better headings, a clear opening paragraph, a visible FAQ and structured data often make a difference on their own. If your content only appears after JavaScript has loaded, rebuilding is sometimes the simplest route. A quick look at your current site usually shows which way it goes. There is more on this on our page about [custom websites and web design](https://goudbeek.com/en/webdesign). ### What does a website that AI assistants can read cost? The price of a website that AI assistants can read depends on the number of pages, how much copy already exists, and whether integrations or a chatbot are part of it. Readability for assistants is not a separate module; it comes from how the site is built. At Goudbeek we agree a fixed price after a short intake, and hosting starts at €39 a month. More on [what sets the price of a website](https://goudbeek.com/en/notes/website-cost-factors), or [request a quote](https://goudbeek.com/en/pricing). ### Should I let AI crawlers in through robots.txt? Whether you let AI crawlers in through robots.txt is your choice. There you state per crawler whether it may read your site, and well-behaved crawlers respect that. Some services use separate crawlers for training models and for finding answers, so you can treat those differently. Block a crawler and it should no longer fetch your pages. Some services do not apply the same rules to fetches a user starts from inside an assistant. So decide on purpose, not by accident. About the author: Sam Goudbeek Sam Goudbeek is the founder of Goudbeek in Almere, which improves business processes with AI and software. [More about Sam and Goudbeek](https://goudbeek.com/en/about) ## Further reading Where this article meets the work. - [Web design](https://goudbeek.com/en/webdesign): Sites designed from a blank page: fast, findable and yours to edit. - [Managed hosting](https://goudbeek.com/en/hosting): Fast, secured and kept online, from €39 a month. [All articles](https://goudbeek.com/en/notes) ## More from the knowledge base ### [What does a website cost? What sets the price](https://goudbeek.com/en/notes/website-cost-factors) What does a website cost? The price depends on pages, custom design, copy, languages, integrations, editing and hosting. How to compare quotes and save money. 24 Sept 2026 6 min read ### [Chatbot or AI agent: which one does your business need?](https://goudbeek.com/en/notes/chatbot-or-ai-agent) A chatbot answers questions; an AI agent does work. How to tell which one your business needs, what both require, and when it makes sense to combine them. 24 Sept 2026 6 min read