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Intermediate Time: 12 min
Step 6 of 8

Rendering: SSR vs CSR for AI crawlers

Rendering decisions should be based on the response a crawler actually receives, not on what appears after a browser finishes hydrating. Compare crawler capabilities and test the initial HTML before deciding whether client rendering is sufficient or server-rendered output is needed.

Core reading

  1. SSR vs CSR for AI Crawlers
    Wiki · coming soon
  2. JavaScript & AI Crawlers
    Wiki · coming soon
  3. Core Web Vitals (LCP/INP/CLS)
    Wiki

Self-check

  • Which AI crawlers execute JavaScript, and which see only the initial HTML?
  • How do you choose between SSR, SSG, dynamic rendering, and edge SSR for AI-facing pages?
  • Do INP / LCP / CLS actually affect AI citation, or only Google AI Overviews?