DOM-native execution emerges as superior architecture for AI agents, eliminating need for parallel API maintenance

Four website AI agent architectures compared: RAG bots, API-tool agents (WebMCP), code-writing sandboxes (Cloudflare Agent Lee), and DOM-native execution

Three of the four architectures require maintaining separate engineering surfaces alongside existing systems

DOM-native execution leverages existing browser infrastructure including live state, user authentication, and permission systems already built into the DOM

The DOM approach eliminates architectural duplication by allowing agents to interact directly with websites as users would, rather than through specialized APIs