Understanding NLWeb: The Future of SEO and Agentic Web Integration
Discover how NLWeb leverages structured data for natural language interactions.
1Introduction to NLWeb
NLWeb, or Natural Language Web, is an open-source project developed by Microsoft, launched in spring 2025. It aims to enhance websites by enabling natural language interactions using structured data. This technology leverages the ASK protocol to connect with websites, making them more accessible to agents and users alike.
2Role of Structured Data
Structured data, including schema markup, heading tags, HTML lists, and product feeds, plays a crucial role in NLWeb. It taps into these elements to provide coherent answers to complex queries. This reduces AI hallucinations by grounding responses in actual website content, ensuring accuracy and relevance.
3ASK Protocol Functionality
The ASK protocol is central to NLWeb, enabling it to access various parts of a website’s structured data. When a user asks a question, NLWeb uses this protocol to pull relevant information from schema markup, RSS feeds, sitemaps, and custom databases, ensuring a comprehensive and accurate response.
4Integration with LLMs
NLWeb integrates with Large Language Models (LLMs) to process and understand complex queries. It uses LLMs to interpret user questions and generate responses based on structured data. Additionally, it employs tools like the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to enhance interactivity and interoperability.
5Enterprise Adoption
Currently, the agentic web is predominantly used by large enterprises like Mastercard, Stripe, and Walmart. NLWeb democratizes this technology, allowing any website to become compatible with agents through a single setup, making it accessible beyond just enterprise-level companies.
6Open-Source Collaboration
NLWeb is an open-source project hosted on GitHub, where developers can access documentation and contribute recommendations. R.V. Guha, the inventor of Schema.org and RSS, leads this initiative, fostering collaboration and innovation within the developer community.
7Wix Integration
Wix offers an NLWeb integration, enabling users to make their websites interoperable with NLWeb by simply ticking a button. This feature is available for premium websites with custom domains, streamlining the process for Wix users to adopt this advanced technology.
8SEO Benefits
NLWeb enhances SEO by utilizing existing structured data like schema markup and heading tags. This ensures that websites are better prepared for the agentic web, maximizing the value of previous SEO efforts and improving overall website performance in the new digital era.
9Future of NLWeb
As more websites adopt NLWeb, its value and utility will increase across the web. This technology represents a significant step forward in making websites more interactive and accessible, paving the way for a more integrated and intelligent web experience.
Original article: Moz Blog — Understanding NLWeb: The Future of SEO and Agentic Web Integration