Overlay

Anything that covers the page, such as a cookie banner, newsletter pop-up or chat window. If an agent can't close it, the journey ends there. See cookie banners and pop-ups.

Why it matters

Pop-ups and banners end more agent journeys than almost anything else, because an agent that can't close one can't reach the page underneath. In our study of 255 online stores, 38% showed one that covered much of the page on arrival, and 24% had no clearly labelled button to close it. Give every overlay a clearly named close button, and keep it clear of buy and checkout buttons.

Read the guide Cookie banners and pop-ups that trap AI agents How cookie banners, sign-up pop-ups and chat widgets block AI agents, what AgentScore checks, and how to design overlays agents can dismiss. Read it

More terms in finding the way

• Accessibility tree The structured view of a page that screen readers and many browser agents use: its headings, links, buttons and form fields, with their names.
• Accessible name The name a button, link or field has in the accessibility tree, from its text, label or aria-label.
• Landmarks Labels for the main regions of a page, such as header, navigation, main content and footer, that let agents skip straight to what they need.
• WCAG The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the standard for making sites usable by people with disabilities.

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