What is NLWeb (Natural Language Web)?

Natural language is quickly becoming the default way people interact with online tools. Instead of typing a few keywords, users now ask full questions, give detailed instructions, and are starting to expect clear, conversational answers. So, how can you make sure your content provides the answer to their question? Or better yet, how can you make it possible for them to interact with your website in a similar way? That’s where Microsoft’s NLWeb comes in. 

Meet NLWeb, Microsoft’s new open project

NLWeb, short for Natural Language Web, is an open project recently launched by Microsoft. The aim of this project is to bring conversational interfaces directly to websites, rather than users having to use an external chatbot that’s in control of what’s shown. Instead of relying on traditional navigation or search bars, NLWeb is designed to allow users to ask questions and explore content in a more personal, conversational way. 

At its core, NLWeb connects website content to AI-powered tools. It enables AI to understand what a website is about, what information it contains, and how that information should be interpreted for the purpose of returning personalized results. With this project, Microsoft is moving toward a more interoperable, standards-based, and open web that allows everyone to prepare their website for the future of search.  

This project was initiated and realized by R.V. Guha, CVP and Technical Fellow at Microsoft. Guha is one of the creators of widely used web standards such as RSS and Schema.org.  

How NLWeb works

NLWeb works by combining structured data, standardized APIs and AI models capable of understanding natural language. Every NLWeb instance acts as a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, which makes your content discoverable for all the agents operating in the MCP ecosystem. This makes it easy for these agents to find your website.  

Using structured data, website owners then present their content in a machine-readable way. AI applications can then consume this data and answer user questions accurately by matching them to the most relevant information. The result is a conversational experience powered by existing content, either directly on a website or through using an online search tool. A conversational interface for both human users and AI agents collecting information. 

An important thing to note is that NLWeb is an open project. It’s not a closed ecosystem, meaning that Microsoft wants to make it accessible to everyone. The idea is to make it easy for any website owner to create an intelligent, natural language experience for their site, while also preparing their content to interact with and be discovered by other online agents, such as AI tools and search engines.  

How does natural language work? 

Natural language simply refers to the way we speak and write. This means using full sentences that allow room for intent, context and nuance. More than keywords or short commands, natural language reflects how people think and what they are looking for exactly. 

To give you an example: a focus keyphrase might be running shoes trail. But using natural language, the request would look more like this: What are the best running shoes for trail running in wet conditions? 

Natural language in AI tools 

Modern AI tools are designed to understand this kind of input. The large language models behind these tools can analyze intent and context to generate responses that fulfill the given request. This is why conversational interfaces feel more intuitive than traditional search or forms. 

Tools like AI chat assistants, voice search, and even traditional search engines rely heavily on natural language understanding and users have quickly adapted to it. 

The current state of search 

The way people find information online is changing fast. A change that is heavily influenced by the use of AI-powered tools. We now expect personalized answers instead of a list of results to sort through ourselves. AI chatbots also give us the option to follow up on our original search query, which turns search into a conversation instead of a series of clicks. 

Research from McKinsey & Company shows that AI adoption and natural language interfaces are becoming mainstream, with 50% of consumers already using AI-driven tools for information discovery. The majority even say it’s the top digital source they use to make buying decisions. As these habits continue to grow, websites that aren’t optimized for natural language risk becoming invisible in AI-generated answers. 

Why this is interesting for you 

The shift to natural language isn’t just a technical trend. As discussed above, it directly impacts your online visibility and competitive position. 

If users ask an AI system for information, only a handful of sources will be referenced in the response. This is because, like search engines, AI platforms also need to be able to read the information on your website. Being one of those sources can be the difference between being discovered or being overlooked. 

NLWeb collaborates with Yoast 

With NLWeb, you are communicating your website’s content clearly and in a standardized way. That means your brand, products, or expertise can appear in AI-powered answers instead of your competitors. To help as many website owners as possible benefit from this shift, Yoast is collaborating with NLWeb.   

The best part? If you’re a user of any of our Yoast plans designed for WordPress, you’re well ahead here. Yoast’s integration with NLWeb will roll out in phases, starting with functionality that helps our users using WordPress express their content in ways AI systems can interpret accurately, without any additional setup required. So sit tight and let us help you prepare your website for the new world of search! 

NLWeb aims to make your content understandable not just for people, but for the AI systems that are increasingly relevant to your website’s discovery. 

Read more: Yoast collaborates with Microsoft to help AI understand Open Web »