> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://learn.orbexa.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# AI-SEO vs traditional SEO: key differences

> Search engine crawlers and AI agent crawlers work in fundamentally different ways — understand the key differences and what they mean for SEO.

# AI-SEO vs Traditional SEO

## 1.1 Two Crawlers, Two Paradigms

**Traditional search engine crawlers** (Googlebot, Bingbot) work like this:

1. Crawl HTML pages
2. Analyze keywords and link structure
3. Build an index
4. Rank results using algorithms like PageRank
5. Return a list of links when users search

**AI agent crawlers** (ChatGPT-User, Claude-Web, etc.) work like this:

1. Read structured data (Schema.org, JSON-LD)
2. Read llms.txt for a site overview
3. Evaluate trust signals (the same signals measured by OTR score dimensions)
4. Understand product information semantically (not keyword matching)
5. Directly answer user questions or execute purchases

**Core differences**:

|                     | Traditional SEO                         | AI-SEO                                   |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Optimization target | Keywords + links                        | Structured data + trust signals          |
| Ranking basis       | PageRank + content relevance            | Data quality + trust score               |
| What users see      | 10 blue links                           | Direct answers or recommendations        |
| Conversion path     | Click → Browse → Add to cart → Checkout | AI recommendation → Confirm → Auto-order |
| Content format      | Human-readable articles                 | Machine-readable structured data         |

## 1.2 How AI Evaluates an E-Commerce Site

When an AI agent visits your website, it checks the following (in priority order):

**Layer 1: Basic Accessibility**

* Is the SSL certificate valid?
* Does robots.txt allow AI crawlers?
* How fast does the page load?

**Layer 2: Structured Data**

* Does it have Schema.org Product markup?
* Is the markup format correct? Are fields complete?
* Is there an llms.txt?
* Is there a Sitemap?

**Layer 3: Trust Signals**

* Is DNS security configuration complete?
* Is the business identity verifiable?
* What is the quality of policy pages?
* What is the site's track record?

These three layers correspond to the S, D, and T dimensions of OTR. AI agents may not directly call the OTR API, but they evaluate similar signals.

## 1.3 AI-SEO Maturity Model

Where does your site stand?

| Level       | Status                | Typical Profile                                       |
| ----------- | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| **Level 0** | Completely invisible  | No structured data, robots.txt blocks AI crawlers     |
| **Level 1** | Basic discoverability | Has SSL, robots.txt allows AI, has basic Sitemap      |
| **Level 2** | Data-readable         | Has Schema.org Product markup, has llms.txt           |
| **Level 3** | Trust-verifiable      | OTR score 50+, DNSSEC + DMARC fully configured        |
| **Level 4** | Protocol-interactive  | Supports UCP/ACP/MCP, AI agents can transact directly |

Most e-commerce sites are at Level 0-1. Reaching Level 2 already puts you ahead of 90% of competitors.

## Self-Assessment: What Level Are You?

* [ ] Visit `yourdomain.com/robots.txt` — are AI crawlers allowed?
* [ ] On a product page, open DevTools and search for `application/ld+json` — is there Schema.org markup?
* [ ] Visit `yourdomain.com/llms.txt` — does it exist?
* [ ] Check [orbexa.io/verify](https://orbexa.io/verify) — what is your trust score?

***

**Next chapter**: [Technical Infrastructure](/en/book-6/ch2-technical-infrastructure) — Complete configuration guide for SSL, DNSSEC, DMARC/SPF/DKIM