Between Two COO's with Michael Koenig Linda Tong, Webflow CEO, on the new web, AI-powered ops, and how they run Webflow
Jul 8, 2025
Linda Tong, CEO of Webflow and a former leader at Google and the NFL, shares her journey of balancing hands-on coding with executive leadership. She delves into how AI is transforming web development and why embracing a culture of innovation is crucial. Linda discusses the concept of Answer Engine Optimization and its implications for operational efficiency. She also recounts her team's resilience during the SVB banking crisis and highlights the importance of celebrating all ideas, even the bad ones, in fostering creativity.
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AI Accelerates Development and Ops
- AI massively accelerates product development and operations by automating code generation and complex tasks.
- It unlocks new capabilities like multivariate testing at scale, previously impossible manually.
Dual Web Design for Humans & AI
- Websites must be optimized differently for humans and AI agents, meaning two versions may be needed.
- Current design and indexing practices do not efficiently serve AI agents, prompting new standards.
Optimize Strategy for AEO
- Determine your website’s primary goal (traffic, conversions) to optimize content for AI search effectively.
- Focus on quality, fresh content and community engagement over volume to rank well in Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).