Microsoft's NLWeb: A Decentralized Approach to AI-Powered Web Interactions?
Ramanathan V. Guha, a Microsoft technical fellow, introduces NLWeb, an open protocol aiming to revolutionize web interaction through natural language. Unlike existing solutions reliant on large language models like ChatGPT, NLWeb empowers website and app developers to easily integrate custom, data-driven conversational AI features. With minimal coding, developers can create efficient, personalized chatbots that remember user preferences (e.g., dietary restrictions on a food website). Guha argues NLWeb is cost-effective and holds immense potential, but its success hinges on industry adoption and avoiding the web's historical trend towards centralization. The protocol's future depends on whether companies like Meta and Google will support it, as well as the potential for truly agentic AI functionality.