A recent column in Search Engine Journal looked at an important question for developers content creators and marketers. The question was whether advanced algorithms and large language models or LLMs can read JavaScript to access content that is not visible in a page’s HTML code.
Websites increasingly use JavaScript to load content dynamically. This has raised concerns about whether search engines can see all the information on a page. The column explained how search engines and AI tools try to understand web content to answer user queries.
Many traditional search engine crawlers use rendering engines that can parse JavaScript to find content after a page fully loads. However the way pages are rendered can vary by operating system. Some AI answer tools do not read JavaScript the same way search engine crawlers do. This can make them miss or misunderstand content hidden inside scripts.
The column also highlighted best practices for developers and SEO specialists. To make sure both humans and AI systems can access important information the recommended practices include:
- Serving server rendered or pre rendered pages when possible
- Using structured data and semantic HTML to highlight key content
- Avoiding placing important text or links inside scripts that are not needed for user interaction
Digital marketing experts say that developers need to understand that AI and LLMs do not interpret all pages in the same way. Making key content easily available without complex scripts can improve search engine results and AI generated summaries and answers.
Although AI understanding of web content is still developing the column reminds developers to focus on simple site design. Clear and accessible content benefits both human users and intelligent systems.
