Research Report · v2026.1

The Agent Readiness Index 2026

Name: The Agent Readiness Index 2026
Creator: Are We Agent Ready?
License: https://areweagentready.com/methodology

How prepared are major brand websites for a world where AI agents search, compare, decide, and act on behalf of customers?

The Agent Readiness Index 2026 benchmarks 100 major customer-facing brand websites across 10 industries. Each is scored 0–100 across six dimensions, classified into a readiness band, and assessed against the kind of task a real AI agent would attempt on behalf of a customer.

The next competitive advantage is not just being found by AI. It is being usable by AI.

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Index Average

51.4

/ 100

Dimension averages

AI Discoverability65.7

Answer Engine Readiness59.1

Agent Usability74.2

Trust & Verification51.1

Content Worthiness40.7

Machine Readiness17.6

01 · Executive Summary

Key findings

Across 100 customer-facing brand websites, the data shows a clear story: most major brands are not yet ready for the agentic web.

FINDING 01

Only 3% of websites qualified as Agent-Ready

3 of 100 brands scored 80 or above. Most major brand websites are not yet ready for AI agents.

FINDING 02

The average Agent Readiness Index score across 100 brand websites was 51.4/100

Distribution: 3 Agent-Ready, 40 Emerging, 35 At Risk, 22 Agent-Invisible.

FINDING 03

The strongest-performing industry was Consumer Packaged Goods

Average score: 60.9/100. Top strength: Agent Usability.

FINDING 04

The weakest-performing industry was Travel & Hospitality

Average score: 22.0/100. Biggest gap: Trust & Verification.

FINDING 05

The lowest-scoring dimension was Machine Readiness

Average across all brands: 17.6/100. The single biggest gap between human-readable and agent-readable websites.

FINDING 06

15 brand websites actively block AI agents at the WAF

15 of 100 sites returned HTTP 403 to ChatGPT-class agents. Every dollar of agent-driven discovery currently bypasses them.

02 · Methodology

Six dimensions of agent readiness

Each website is scanned with a deterministic checker plus an LLM-assisted layer. Scores are normalized to 0–100 across every dimension. We test the website where a real customer (or agent acting on their behalf) would go.

DIM 01

AI Discoverability

Can AI systems find the right pages? Robots.txt, sitemaps, indexability, and crawl accessibility.

DIM 02

Answer Engine Readiness

Can AI answer engines understand and cite the brand accurately? Clear entities, FAQs, structured explanations.

DIM 03

Agent Usability

Can an agent actually complete realistic customer tasks? Pricing, comparison, support, conversion paths.

DIM 04

Trust & Verification

Can an agent trust the information? Ownership, dates, attribution, contact, policy quality.

DIM 05

Content Worthiness

Is content worth being indexed and cited — clear, specific, current, trustworthy?

DIM 06

Machine Readiness

Is the site structured for machine readability? Schema, llms.txt, MCP, agent-skills, feeds.

80–100

Agent-Ready

60–79

Emerging Readiness

40–59

At Risk

0–39

Agent-Invisible

03 · Industry Benchmarks

Performance by industry

10 industries ranked by average Agent Readiness score. Click any card to see the brands inside.

04 · Brand Rankings

All 100 brands

Sortable, filterable rankings across every brand and dimension. Click a row to open the brand's detail view.

#	Brand	Industry	Score	Band	Disc	AEO	Use	Trust	Cnt	Mach
1	Oreo https://www.oreo.com	Consumer Packaged Goods	86	Agent-Ready	91	84	100	64	81	96
2	Heinz https://www.heinz.com	Consumer Packaged Goods	82	Agent-Ready	100	60	100	84	81	64
3	Huggies https://www.huggies.com	Consumer Packaged Goods	81	Agent-Ready	85	84	100	68	66	82
4	Teladoc Health https://www.teladochealth.com	Healthcare, Pharmacy & Insurance	77	Emerging Readiness	88	81	100	90	66	35
5	IBM https://www.ibm.com	B2B, Industrial & Enterprise Services	76	Emerging Readiness	91	82	100	97	81	4
6	Samsung https://www.samsung.com/us	Technology & Electronics	76	Emerging Readiness	96	91	100	74	66	27
7	UnitedHealthcare https://www.uhc.com	Healthcare, Pharmacy & Insurance	75	Emerging Readiness	88	94	100	83	26	57
8	AT&T https://www.att.com	Telecom, Media & Entertainment	73	Emerging Readiness	88	68	100	68	81	33
9	Cheerios https://www.cheerios.com	Consumer Packaged Goods	73	Emerging Readiness	91	59	100	74	81	33
10	Humana https://www.humana.com	Healthcare, Pharmacy & Insurance	73	Emerging Readiness	88	85	100	69	66	31
11	Chick-fil-A https://www.chick-fil-a.com	Restaurants, Food Service & Delivery	72	Emerging Readiness	88	84	100	94	8	55
12	Venmo https://venmo.com	Financial Services & Payments	72	Emerging Readiness	88	88	100	68	26	60
13	Volkswagen USA https://www.vw.com	Automotive & Mobility	72	Emerging Readiness	88	76	100	86	66	14
14	Uber Eats https://www.ubereats.com	Restaurants, Food Service & Delivery	71	Emerging Readiness	74	75	100	57	81	40
15	Cleveland Clinic https://my.clevelandclinic.org	Healthcare, Pharmacy & Insurance	70	Emerging Readiness	88	77	100	87	66	5
16	Walmart https://www.walmart.com	Retail & Marketplaces	70	Emerging Readiness	74	72	100	57	81	35
17	Discover https://www.discover.com	Financial Services & Payments	69	Emerging Readiness	88	78	100	94	26	27
18	Siemens https://www.siemens.com	B2B, Industrial & Enterprise Services	69	Emerging Readiness	90	76	100	67	76	5
19	T-Mobile https://www.t-mobile.com	Telecom, Media & Entertainment	69	Emerging Readiness	96	76	100	72	66	2
20	Cisco https://www.cisco.com	B2B, Industrial & Enterprise Services	68	Emerging Readiness	96	84	100	76	26	23
21	Dell https://www.dell.com	Technology & Electronics	68	Emerging Readiness	85	51	100	72	66	34
22	Toyota https://www.toyota.com	Automotive & Mobility	68	Emerging Readiness	88	71	100	72	66	10
23	Capital One https://www.capitalone.com	Financial Services & Payments	67	Emerging Readiness	88	72	100	75	29	37
24	IKEA https://www.ikea.com/us/en	Retail & Marketplaces	67	Emerging Readiness	88	87	100	68	26	34
25	The Home Depot https://www.homedepot.com	Retail & Marketplaces	66	Emerging Readiness	79	55	100	49	81	31
26	Wells Fargo https://www.wellsfargo.com	Financial Services & Payments	65	Emerging Readiness	88	94	100	74	8	26
27	eBay https://www.ebay.com	Retail & Marketplaces	65	Emerging Readiness	96	84	100	67	26	17
28	BMW USA https://www.bmwusa.com	Automotive & Mobility	64	Emerging Readiness	22	83	100	67	81	33
29	Chase https://www.chase.com	Financial Services & Payments	64	Emerging Readiness	88	87	100	80	26	5
30	HP https://www.hp.com	Technology & Electronics	64	Emerging Readiness	88	66	100	57	66	6
31	Mercedes-Benz USA https://www.mbusa.com	Automotive & Mobility	64	Emerging Readiness	88	83	100	81	26	3
32	Microsoft https://www.microsoft.com	Technology & Electronics	64	Emerging Readiness	88	87	100	58	26	23
33	Colgate https://www.colgate.com	Consumer Packaged Goods	63	Emerging Readiness	91	69	100	58	29	34
34	Instacart https://www.instacart.com	Restaurants, Food Service & Delivery	63	Emerging Readiness	67	87	100	67	29	26
35	Pampers https://www.pampers.com	Consumer Packaged Goods	63	Emerging Readiness	96	83	100	73	26	2
36	American Express https://www.americanexpress.com	Financial Services & Payments	62	Emerging Readiness	79	43	100	85	66	2
37	Max https://www.max.com	Telecom, Media & Entertainment	62	Emerging Readiness	55	84	100	64	26	41
38	Uber https://www.uber.com	Automotive & Mobility	62	Emerging Readiness	88	72	100	78	29	7
39	Disney+ https://www.disneyplus.com	Telecom, Media & Entertainment	61	Emerging Readiness	88	61	100	44	66	9
40	Lenovo https://www.lenovo.com/us/en	Technology & Electronics	61	Emerging Readiness	88	72	100	78	26	2
41	Kaiser Permanente https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org	Healthcare, Pharmacy & Insurance	60	Emerging Readiness	79	66	100	83	26	9
42	Starbucks https://www.starbucks.com	Restaurants, Food Service & Delivery	60	Emerging Readiness	79	31	100	75	66	6
43	Verizon https://www.verizon.com	Telecom, Media & Entertainment	60	Emerging Readiness	88	87	100	75	8	2
44	Bank of America https://www.bankofamerica.com	Financial Services & Payments	59	At Risk	88	52	100	73	4	40
45	3M https://www.3m.com	B2B, Industrial & Enterprise Services	58	At Risk	22	81	100	60	81	6
46	NVIDIA https://www.nvidia.com	Technology & Electronics	58	At Risk	96	86	35	61	66	2
47	SAP https://www.sap.com	B2B, Industrial & Enterprise Services	58	At Risk	88	34	100	59	66	2
48	Taco Bell https://www.tacobell.com	Restaurants, Food Service & Delivery	58	At Risk	49	68	100	65	66	2
49	Walgreens https://www.walgreens.com	Healthcare, Pharmacy & Insurance	58	At Risk	88	81	100	65	8	6
50	Airbnb https://www.airbnb.com	Travel & Hospitality	57	At Risk	85	69	100	49	4	36
51	Apple https://www.apple.com	Technology & Electronics	57	At Risk	88	69	100	50	8	26
52	Cigna Healthcare https://www.cigna.com	Healthcare, Pharmacy & Insurance	57	At Risk	88	76	100	68	8	3
53	Ford https://www.ford.com	Automotive & Mobility	57	At Risk	88	76	35	69	66	6
54	Hyundai https://www.hyundaiusa.com	Automotive & Mobility	57	At Risk	88	76	100	51	26	3
55	McDonald's https://www.mcdonalds.com	Restaurants, Food Service & Delivery	56	At Risk	79	73	100	72	8	5
56	PayPal https://www.paypal.com	Financial Services & Payments	56	At Risk	79	73	35	62	26	61
57	Schneider Electric https://www.se.com/us/en	B2B, Industrial & Enterprise Services	56	At Risk	88	71	100	50	26	2
58	ServiceNow https://www.servicenow.com	B2B, Industrial & Enterprise Services	56	At Risk	8	55	100	65	66	40
59	Subway https://www.subway.com	Restaurants, Food Service & Delivery	56	At Risk	88	64	100	53	26	3
60	Target https://www.target.com	Retail & Marketplaces	56	At Risk	88	75	100	57	8	9
61	Netflix https://www.netflix.com	Telecom, Media & Entertainment	55	At Risk	96	75	100	42	4	15
62	Tide https://tide.com	Consumer Packaged Goods	55	At Risk	50	74	100	72	29	6
63	Salesforce https://www.salesforce.com	B2B, Industrial & Enterprise Services	54	At Risk	88	81	35	90	8	24
64	YouTube https://www.youtube.com	Telecom, Media & Entertainment	53	At Risk	79	27	100	42	66	3
65	Costco https://www.costco.com	Retail & Marketplaces	52	At Risk	22	70	100	55	66	2
66	Best Buy https://www.bestbuy.com	Retail & Marketplaces	51	At Risk	77	47	100	11	66	6
67	Nespresso https://www.nespresso.com/us	Consumer Packaged Goods	51	At Risk	88	16	100	35	66	2
68	Spectrum https://www.spectrum.com	Telecom, Media & Entertainment	51	At Risk	22	81	100	75	8	22
69	Domino's https://www.dominos.com	Restaurants, Food Service & Delivery	50	At Risk	91	65	100	27	4	11
70	Chevrolet https://www.chevrolet.com	Automotive & Mobility	49	At Risk	38	73	35	60	81	6
71	Honda https://www.honda.com	Automotive & Mobility	49	At Risk	22	59	100	75	26	10
72	Adobe https://www.adobe.com	Technology & Electronics	48	At Risk	91	68	35	58	29	9
73	Gatorade https://www.gatorade.com	Consumer Packaged Goods	47	At Risk	8	55	100	51	66	2
74	Chipotle https://www.chipotle.com	Restaurants, Food Service & Delivery	44	At Risk	22	78	100	46	8	13
75	Delta Air Lines https://www.delta.com	Travel & Hospitality	42	At Risk	66	47	35	34	66	2
76	Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org	Healthcare, Pharmacy & Insurance	42	At Risk	22	84	100	35	8	2
77	Spotify https://www.spotify.com	Telecom, Media & Entertainment	42	At Risk	66	36	35	38	66	9
78	Citi https://www.citi.com	Financial Services & Payments	40	At Risk	81	17	35	11	81	15
79	Booking.com https://www.booking.com	Travel & Hospitality	38	Agent-Invisible	57	39	35	4	81	13
80	Google https://www.google.com	Technology & Electronics	38	Agent-Invisible	66	27	35	17	81	4
81	Xfinity https://www.xfinity.com	Telecom, Media & Entertainment	38	Agent-Invisible	79	62	35	34	8	9
82	Amazon https://www.amazon.com	Retail & Marketplaces	33	Agent-Invisible	56	10	35	4	81	13
83	Lowe's https://www.lowes.com	Retail & Marketplaces	29	Agent-Invisible	10	31	35	6	81	13
84	CVS Pharmacy https://www.cvs.com	Healthcare, Pharmacy & Insurance	20	Agent-Invisible	72	13	0	3	20	9
85	Oracle https://www.oracle.com	B2B, Industrial & Enterprise Services	19	Agent-Invisible WAF	43	35	0	9	20	6
86	Marriott https://www.marriott.com	Travel & Hospitality	17	Agent-Invisible WAF	36	35	0	3	20	10
87	SoFi https://www.sofi.com	Financial Services & Payments	16	Agent-Invisible WAF	36	24	0	3	20	12
88	United Airlines https://www.united.com	Travel & Hospitality	14	Agent-Invisible	5	22	35	4	4	13
89	Expedia https://www.expedia.com	Travel & Hospitality	13	Agent-Invisible WAF	29	13	0	1	20	13
90	Hilton https://www.hilton.com	Travel & Hospitality	12	Agent-Invisible WAF	36	13	0	3	20	3
91	American Airlines https://www.aa.com	Travel & Hospitality	11	Agent-Invisible WAF	22	13	0	1	20	13
92	Etsy https://www.etsy.com	Retail & Marketplaces	11	Agent-Invisible WAF	20	13	0	1	20	13
93	DoorDash https://www.doordash.com	Restaurants, Food Service & Delivery	8	Agent-Invisible WAF	3	13	0	1	20	13
94	Dove https://www.dove.com	Consumer Packaged Goods	8	Agent-Invisible WAF	3	13	0	1	20	13
95	Hyatt https://www.hyatt.com	Travel & Hospitality	8	Agent-Invisible WAF	3	13	0	1	20	13
96	IHG Hotels & Resorts https://www.ihg.com	Travel & Hospitality	8	Agent-Invisible WAF	3	13	0	1	20	13
97	Sony https://www.sony.com	Technology & Electronics	8	Agent-Invisible WAF	3	13	0	1	20	13
98	Tesla https://www.tesla.com	Automotive & Mobility	8	Agent-Invisible WAF	3	13	0	1	20	13
99	Caterpillar https://www.cat.com	B2B, Industrial & Enterprise Services	0	Agent-Invisible WAF	0	0	0	0	0	0
100	GoodRx https://www.goodrx.com	Healthcare, Pharmacy & Insurance	0	Agent-Invisible WAF	0	0	0	0	0	0

05 · Top Readiness Gaps

Where major brand websites fail AI agents

Eight patterns repeat across industries — the same failures that prevent ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and emerging agents from completing real customer tasks.

GAP 01

Websites are visible but not usable by agents

A site can show up in a search result yet still block a copilot from completing the task. We see this most in commerce and travel: navigation works for humans, but every key action requires a JS-rendered modal.

GAP 02

Content exists but is not trustworthy enough to cite

FAQs without authors. Missing `dateModified`. No `sameAs` linking the brand to its Wikipedia/Crunchbase identity. Answer engines treat these pages as a coin-flip.

GAP 03

Structured data is shallow or inconsistent

Schema.org coverage is patchy: a Product on the PDP, but no `Offers`, no `aggregateRating`, no `breadcrumb`. Agents can't extract decisive facts.

GAP 04

Task information is buried in PDFs, tabs, or dynamic components

Pricing pages locked behind 'Contact us'. Cancellation policies hidden 3 clicks deep. Critical numbers rendered as background images.

GAP 05

FAQs are generic and don't support decision-making

Most FAQs read like marketing copy. AI answer engines need specific, machine-extractable claims: numbers, dates, eligibility criteria, comparison statements.

GAP 06

Policies, pricing, and availability are difficult for agents to interpret

Variable prices behind dropdowns. Inventory data rendered via JS without server-side state. Region-conditional pricing without machine-readable hints.

GAP 07

Websites are optimized for pages, not customer decisions

Each page reads as standalone marketing. There's no semantic map of what the brand actually offers — no llms.txt, no agent-skills index, no consolidated answers file.

GAP 08

Machine-readable protocols and feeds are missing

Almost no brand has an MCP server card. Almost none publish `/.well-known/agent-skills`. Few have a product feed accessible without partner credentials.

Is your website ready for AI agents?

AI agents are becoming the new decision layer between customers and brands. The brands that win will not only be visible to AI. They will be understandable, trustworthy, and usable by AI.

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