Interlink Declares an End to HTML for Humans, Switching to Markdown for AI—The World's First (Company Research) AI-First Site

Interlink Co., Ltd. (Toshima-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Tadashi Yokoyama; hereinafter 'Interlink'), a company providing specialized (and somewhat niche) services for advanced users, launched its corporate website (https://www.interlink.or.jp/) as an 'AI-First Homepage' on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. The company has abolished the traditional structure centered on HTML files for humans and, with very few exceptions, deleted its HTML files. By migrating all pages to Markdown files (.md), the company has realized a corporate website that is easily readable directly by generative AI and AI agents.

[Background and Purpose] In recent years, with the spread of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and others, opportunities for users to delegate information gathering to AI have increased. In response to these changes, Interlink has fundamentally reviewed its entire corporate website to create an information structure that is easily and accurately read by AI.

Interlink is an ISP that has provided internet connection services since 1995. It has consistently challenged industry norms, such as the abolition of telephone support in 2006, the closure of its office and transition to a full remote work system in 2020, and the introduction of a four-day workweek. This AI-First homepage is a new challenge in that same vein: 'We stopped making homepages for humans.'

[Features of the AI-First Homepage] In the AI-First homepage launched today, with the exception of a very small number of forms and member-only pages, all HTML files have been abolished and fully migrated to Markdown files (.md). Concurrently, an 'llms.txt' file—a guide for AI agents—has been installed, and a JSON API that provides service information in a machine-readable format has been released. For humans, a Markdown viewer is provided as a single HTML file; when viewed through this viewer, the site is displayed as follows.

While it was possible to make www.interlink.or.jp easy for humans to see by including a viewer, that would be 'for humans.' By placing .md files, which AI reads by default, at the core, the human viewer is treated strictly as an option.

Interlink believes that in the future, browsers themselves will be equipped with the ability to display .md files. At that time, our top page will naturally become easy to view. In other words, a browser that displays our homepage beautifully will serve as a marker for an .md-compatible browser.

It should be noted that we were, of course, concerned about a significant drop in SEO rankings due to the elimination of HTML files. We decided to take this step despite being aware of that risk.

[A World-First Initiative (Company Research)] As far as Interlink has confirmed, the initiative to almost entirely abolish HTML files on a corporate site and restructure the whole site around Markdown is a world-first attempt. While the introduction of llms.txt is spreading, Interlink has gone beyond that to fundamentally redesign the site's file structure itself to match the AI era.

llms.txt is a new site guide file for AI agents proposed by Jeremy Howard (Answer.AI) in 2024. Its adoption is progressing, mainly among overseas tech companies such as Anthropic, Cloudflare, Stripe, and Vercel. Building on this trend, Interlink is taking it a step further by restructuring the entire corporate site's file composition on a Markdown basis.

[Comment from Representative Director Tadashi Yokoyama] Many companies focus on 'using AI well.' Interlink's vector is the exact opposite. We have gone all-in on 'being used well by AI.' We are not just creating an environment where it is easy for humans to work, but also an environment where it is easy for AI to work. In the near future, humans will stop working. This is a decision made with that era in mind.

In an age where AI agents search for, compare, and cite information, corporate websites should also be designed with that premise in mind. This initiative is not merely a site renovation, but an adaptation to the next-generation web standard. We aim for the Interlink site to be recognized as a high-quality source from which AI agents can cite information accurately and without stress.

[Benefits for Humans, Not Just for AI] The AI-First transition is not just for AI. Due to the lightweight structure that eliminates excessive decoration, we expect improvements in page loading speeds, and information such as pricing and specifications will become easier to grasp clearly, centered on text and tables. Additionally, through the JSON API, it will be easier to link with comparison sites and external systems.

[Scope of Implementation on April 1] As of April 1, we are implementing the following: - Conversion of the entire corporate site to Markdown - Installation of llms.txt / robots.txt - Release of JSON API - Provision of an MD viewer - Publication of press releases and declaration statements

On the other hand, functions that cannot be expressed in .md files, or those that assume human operation—such as FAQs, member-only 'My Menu' pages, application forms, and maintenance/outage information—have been excluded or set aside for future consideration due to their scope of impact and high importance. We plan to proceed with gradual expansion while balancing topicality and safety.

[Interlink Co., Ltd. Official Website] https://www.interlink.or.jp/index.md

[Company Overview] Interlink Co., Ltd. A long-established ISP in its 31st year, having started services in 1995 during the dawn of the internet in Japan. It began its domain name registration business in 2000 and was certified as the 8th ICANN-accredited registrar in Japan in October 2006. In January 2014, it began accepting registrations for the first Japanese new gTLD, '.minna' (everyone), as a registrar partner for Google in Japan, and began operating the new gTLDs '.moe' and '.earth' that same year. In October 2015, the number of domains handled exceeded 1,000, the largest in Japan. The company conducts the 'Otaku Senryu Awards' and, as a social contribution activity, carries out the 'Red Feather Community Chest' fundraising in the virtual world of Second Life every year. It is also actively involved in supporting venture companies through the Femto Growth One and Femto Growth Three investment limited partnerships. On June 1, 2020, it closed its head office and transitioned to a nomad work (telework + WeWork) system. It has been piloting a four-day workweek since May 16, 2022. https://www.interlink.or.jp/new/2022/0510.html