MX Books — Machine Experience by Tom Cranstoun

MX: Machine Experience

Making the web work for AI agents and everyone else.

The web is no longer consumed only by people. AI agents are becoming a new consumption layer for enterprise digital platforms — interpreting, transforming, comparing and acting on information on behalf of users, teams and systems.

That changes what “quality” means. Not just user experience.

AI agents are visiting your site right now.

When they succeed, they build computational trust and return — recommending you more confidently each time. When they fail, they route around you permanently — no analytics warning, no second chance, no angry email explaining what went wrong.

The invisible users are here

AI agents don’t click, don’t scroll, and don’t forgive ambiguity. They parse your HTML, evaluate your metadata, and make decisions in milliseconds. If your content isn’t structured for them, they move on.

Now you can see them

Machine Experience makes the invisible visible. Understand how agents interpret your pages, where they succeed, and where they fail — before your competitors do.

Now they can see you

MX gives you the language, principles, and patterns to design digital systems that machines can read, trust, and act on — reliably, safely, and consistently.

The MX Book Series

Three books. One discipline. From introduction to full specification.

MX: The Intro book cover

MX: The Intro

The starter guide to building a web that works for AI agents and everyone else.

Free — Advance Preview

ISBN: 978-1-067638-41-2

Download Free
MX: The Handbook book cover

MX: The Handbook

Everything you need to design the web for AI agents — and everyone else.

£35.00

ISBN: 978-1-067638-40-5

Buy Now
MX: The Protocols book cover

MX: The Protocols

The formal patterns and field-level specifications for an AI-readable web.

Available 1 July 2026

What You Will Learn

The MX Framework

How to structure HTML, metadata, and Schema.org so every AI agent can read your content without executing JavaScript. The served HTML is the product.

The Five-Stage Journey

Discovery, citation, comparison, pricing, and purchase confidence. Each stage has explicit patterns that determine whether an AI agent recommends you or routes around you.

Governance & Compliance

Content lifecycle metadata, AI agent permissions, data sovereignty, and the MX governance layer that sits on top of established standards.

Implementation Patterns

Practical code patterns for semantic HTML, Schema.org JSON-LD, accessibility, llms.txt, robots.txt, and the full metadata stack.

Enterprise Platforms

How to apply MX to content management systems, e-commerce platforms, and digital experience platforms.

Measuring Success

How to audit your site against MX principles, benchmark against competitors, and measure the business impact of machine-readable content.

Machine Experience (MX)

MX is the discipline of designing digital systems so that machines can read, trust, and act — reliably, safely and consistently — across channels, devices and emerging agent platforms.

The invisible users are here. Now you can see them. Now you know how to make sure they can see you.

Get the Books
MX: The Intro — 3D perspective view

The Author

Tom Cranstoun — The Machine Experience Authority

Tom Cranstoun

Tom Cranstoun has shaped the technology industry for over 40 years, building products and systems used by millions. A long-standing member of the CMS Experts community, he has worked with organisations including Nissan, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover and Twitter/X. He speaks at CMS conferences worldwide on the intersection of content management and AI agent compatibility.

In 2024, his CMS Critic article identifying the "AI tipping point" reframed the conversation: designing for machines is now as important as designing for humans.

MX: The Handbook develops the full framework for teams building the next generation of enterprise digital platforms. MX: The Protocols provides the formal specifications.

Get in Touch