> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cogniagent.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reading web pages

> Hand your AI coworker a link and it reads the whole page properly — pricing tables, documentation, articles — then works from what's actually there.

Hand it a link and it reads the page properly.

## What it does

Search finds pages. This reads them. Give your coworker a web address — or let it follow one it found — and it opens the page and pulls out the actual content: the text, the tables, the numbers. Navigation, ads and cookie banners don't come with it.

That means it works from what the page really says, not from a summary of a summary.

## When you'd use it

* Paste a competitor's pricing page and ask for a comparison against yours
* Give it a documentation link and ask it to follow the setup
* Drop a news article in chat and ask for the three numbers that matter
* Read a public job posting to draft a tailored outreach note
* Pull the details out of a supplier's spec page into a table
* Check what a page actually claims before you quote it

## Turning it on

Open your coworker, choose **Capabilities**, and find **Read web pages** in the Built-in tools list. It's on by default.

> **Read web pages** — Open a link and read its content as clean text.

<Frame caption="Reading web pages sits directly under Web search — most research jobs want both.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/glorium/JBtd_griZWPnHu68/images/cowork/capabilities/reading-web-pages/01-switch-row.webp?fit=max&auto=format&n=JBtd_griZWPnHu68&q=85&s=3f2f4cdb5ef7d9d569e090f38637049b" alt="The Read web pages row on the Capabilities tab, switched on" width="1216" height="132" data-path="images/cowork/capabilities/reading-web-pages/01-switch-row.webp" />
</Frame>

## Good to know

<Tip>
  This reads pages that are open to anyone. Pages behind a sign-in, or ones that need clicking through a few screens first, need [the live browser](/cowork/capabilities/live-browser) instead.
</Tip>

<Note>
  Pair it with [Web search](/cowork/capabilities/web-search). Search finds the five pages worth looking at; this reads them. On its own it's still useful whenever you already have the link.
</Note>

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I just paste a link into the chat?" icon="paste">
    Yes. Paste the link, say what you want from it, and your coworker opens it. You don't need any special phrasing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What about a page that's mostly a table or a chart?" icon="table">
    Tables come through as tables, so your coworker can work with the numbers. A chart that's just an image is a picture — it can describe it, but the underlying figures aren't there to read.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does it work on PDFs and documents online?" icon="file-pdf">
    For documents you already have, upload them instead and your coworker reads them directly — see [Attaching and mentioning files](/cowork/files/attaching-and-mentioning).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why did it say it couldn't read a page?" icon="ban">
    Some sites block automated readers outright, and some hide everything behind a sign-in. Both are cases for [the live browser](/cowork/capabilities/live-browser).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Web search" icon="globe" href="/cowork/capabilities/web-search">
    Finding the pages worth reading.
  </Card>

  <Card title="The live browser" icon="window-maximize" href="/cowork/capabilities/live-browser">
    When a page needs signing in to.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Attaching files" icon="paperclip" href="/cowork/files/attaching-and-mentioning">
    Give it a document instead of a link.
  </Card>

  <Card title="All capabilities" icon="toolbox" href="/cowork/capabilities/overview">
    Back to the full list.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>
