FAQ

AWAS FAQ

What is AWAS?

AWAS (AI-readable Web Action Standard) is an open specification that lets websites expose their actions (like search, book, purchase) in a machine-readable way so AI agents can interact reliably.

Why should I use AWAS?

• Improves reliability of AI automation over brittle scraping
• Reduces support load by guiding agents to supported flows
• Enables new integrations without custom APIs
• Backward compatible with your existing site

Is AWAS an API replacement?

No. It complements your UI and APIs. You can map existing forms and endpoints into a simple manifest so agents follow intended paths.

Where is the manifest hosted?

At /.well-known/ai-actions.json on your domain. It should be publicly readable and cached (e.g., 1 hour).

Do I need to change my HTML?

Not necessarily. You can start by documenting actions. Adding data-awas-* attributes makes selectors more stable and discoverable.

How does authentication work?

Your site controls auth. Declare authentication globally and per action (e.g., OAuth2 scopes, API keys, session). Agents must authenticate just like users or API clients.

Is it secure?

Yes—AWAS itself is declarative. Security depends on your enforcement of auth, rate limiting, validation, and permissions. See Security Practices.

How do rate limits work?

Specify global and per-action limits in the manifest. Enforce them server-side (e.g., 429 with Retry-After).

What about privacy and PII?

Only include parameters you need. Mark sensitive fields with x-sensitive: true, redact logs, and set data retention policies.

How do I version changes?

Use semantic versioning in the manifest and avoid breaking changes. Deprecate with x-deprecated and provide migration notes.

Does AWAS support pagination?

Yes. Use result.pagination with selectors and/or parameters like page or cursor.

How do agents find elements on the page?

Via CSS selectors in your manifest and optional data-awas-* attributes in HTML. Keep selectors stable.

Can I use OpenAPI instead?

OpenAPI documents APIs. AWAS documents web actions and DOM selectors. They are complementary; you can reference OpenAPI in x-links.

What browsers/agents support AWAS?

Any agent can support it—it’s just JSON + HTML conventions. Community libraries are listed in Developer Resources.

How do I test my setup?

• Validate JSON against schema
• Run headless tests to exercise each action
• Verify selectors and result extraction

Does AWAS work with SPAs?

Yes. Use stable data attributes, and document dynamic containers and pagination behaviors. Consider exposing fetch endpoints as actions.

Can I restrict which agents use AWAS?

Yes. Require auth, use allowlists/denylists, and enforce scopes. You may rate-limit unknown user agents.

How does AWAS handle errors?

Return standard HTTP status codes. Provide machine-readable error objects with codes and remediation guidance.