The Future of the Website: Interface Bundles and Verifiable Home Bases

LinkJoost de ValkOpinion

Joost de Valk explores the evolution of websites in the age of AI agents. Rather than disappearing, websites are shifting from human-only HTML pages into canonical systems of record. They must serve as interface bundles—including protocols like MCP—that allow automated agents to read data and take actions, while verifiable authenticity remains the only lasting competitive moat.

Key points

  1. Optimising for multiple surfaces: Google is no longer the sole critical target; engines like ChatGPT search repeatedly shift data sources between Bing and Google without notice.
  2. Avoid parallel websites: Repeating the mistakes of m-dot or AMP leads to drift and failure; architectures must rely on a single source of truth rendered into multiple formats.
  3. Websites as interface bundles: Beyond human-facing HTML, sites need machine interfaces such as MCP servers or CLI tools so agents can book slots or place orders directly.
  4. Conversions leaving the site: Decisions increasingly take place inside chat interfaces, turning the website into the authoritative backend that feeds recommendations.
  5. Authenticity as the sole moat: Because AI can generate generic content infinitely, agents will cross-reference real-world claims, people, and external footprints to verify legitimacy.

Why it matters

Organisations and web developers must adapt their digital presence from merely displaying pages to exposing structured, actionable interfaces for autonomous agents. Businesses relying on generic content or closed systems risk vanishing from AI-driven decision funnels.

Analysis

De Valk provides a grounded perspective on the transition from traditional SEO to agentic discovery. By framing the website as an interface bundle rather than declaring it obsolete, he highlights the operational necessity of protocols like MCP. His emphasis on verifiable authenticity as technical infrastructure correctly identifies that standing out against synthetic content requires cross-referenced real-world proof.

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Summary generated by AI (Gemini 3.8 Flash, 27 September 2026). It may contain errors – the original source is authoritative.

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