Is your website ready for AI agents?

1. Make the right public pages reachable

Open the homepage, your main service pages and your contact page without signing in. Confirm each real page returns HTTP 200 over HTTPS. A page that has moved should redirect to its replacement; a page that does not exist should return HTTP 404.

Review robots.txt and hosting protections together. A permissive robots file cannot overcome a firewall challenge. Keep admin pages, private customer data and authenticated actions protected.

• Include canonical public URLs in an XML sitemap.
• Link service pages from visible navigation, rather than leaving them orphaned.
• Treat search crawler access and training crawler access as separate settings.

2. Explain the business in readable words

Put the verified business name, what you sell, who you serve and where you work in visible HTML. Do not rely on a hero photo, a PDF menu or text inside an image to carry the whole explanation.

For a service business, write one useful page for each genuinely distinct service. Describe the job, the area served, constraints, how quotes work and the next step. Do not mass-produce near-identical city pages.

• Use one descriptive main heading and specific section headings.
• Keep hours, phone numbers, service areas and prices consistent with your real operations.
• Provide text alternatives for meaningful images and menus.

3. Connect the facts with structured data

Use the schema type that describes the actual business. Add its real name, canonical URL and available verified details. Match the data to the visible page; do not invent ratings, an office address or opening hours.

Structured data helps express identity. It does not replace useful content or guarantee an AI recommendation. Validate the JSON and confirm it is present in the page response.

4. Make a customer action easy to complete

Use a visible link or button labelled for the actual task: request a quote, book an appointment, order online or call the business. Give form fields proper labels and show clear validation and success states.

Test the complete destination on a phone and with a keyboard. Check for broken links, surprise login requirements and unclear confirmation. The free scanner finds action links; a person or browser agent must still test completion.

• Use real links and buttons rather than clickable generic containers.
• Keep important controls in stable, predictable positions.
• Require appropriate customer confirmation before a purchase or other sensitive action.

5. Measure the result

Save the original scan and record the changes you actually publish. Run another scan to confirm the observable signals, then verify your important pages in Search Console and measure customer actions in analytics.

Passing the checklist is a stronger foundation, not proof that every assistant can use your website. Check the journeys that matter to your customers regularly.