Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced the launch of NLWeb, an open-source project designed to streamline the integration of AI-powered chatbots into websites. The initiative, unveiled at Build 2025, aims to empower web developers to easily create conversational interfaces for their users.
NLWeb enables websites to offer a simple text field and submission button interface, requiring only a few lines of code, the developer’s preferred AI model, and their proprietary data. This technology opens up possibilities for various applications, such as allowing online retailers to build chatbots that assist customers in selecting apparel for specific occasions, or enabling cooking websites to create bots that suggest recipe pairings.
Web pages implementing NLWeb have the option to make their content discoverable and accessible to AI platforms that support the MCP (Model Connection Protocol), Anthropic’s standard for connecting AI models to underlying data systems.
In provided press materials, Microsoft stated, “[W]e believe [NLWeb] can play a similar role to HTML for the agentic web. [It] allows users to interact directly with web content in a rich, semantic manner.”
While Microsoft did not explicitly confirm its origins, the technology behind NLWeb may have connections to developments from OpenAI, a close collaborator of Microsoft. Industry reports previously indicated OpenAI’s work on similar technology aimed at bringing conversational AI features to brand websites.
The launch of NLWeb signifies Microsoft’s commitment to democratizing access to AI capabilities for web developers, paving the way for more interactive and intelligent online experiences. The open-source nature of the project encourages community contribution and further innovation in the realm of web-based conversational AI.
