What is Headless browser?

A real browser (like Chrome) running without a visible window, controlled by code.

Headless browsers execute JavaScript, so they see pages the way visitors do. They cost far more CPU and bandwidth than plain HTTP requests, so they're used only when a page needs them.

Related terms

• Web scraping: Automatically collecting publicly available data from websites.
• MCP (Model Context Protocol): An open protocol that lets AI assistants call external tools and data sources.
• GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): Optimizing content so AI assistants find, trust and cite it.