The Future of Websites for Microsoft VARs and ISVs: Why AI Changes Everything
- David Foreman
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Let's be honest, many Partner websites are still stuck in 2015. They're basically digital business cards that say "Hey, we exist!" and then ask people to fill out a form or call us. But here's the thing: your prospects aren't browsing websites the same way anymore, and if you're not paying attention, you're missing out on some serious opportunities.
The Numbers Don't Lie (And They're Pretty Wild)
Traffic from AI chat interfaces like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity is exploding. We're talking about 123% growth in referral traffic from generative AI between September 2024 and February 2025 alone. Sure, the absolute numbers are still small compared to Google. AI chatbots only accounted for about 2.96% of total search visits in March 2025, but that growth rate is 165 times faster than traditional organic search.
What does this mean for you? Your prospects are already using AI to research solutions, ask questions, and make decisions. If your website isn't ready for this shift, you're invisible to a rapidly growing segment of your market.
Time to Ditch the "Contact Us for a Demo" Mentality
Here's what I see happening: buyers today don't want to jump through hoops to get basic information. They want answers, and they want them now. This is where AI gets really interesting for Microsoft partners.
Instead of making people guess what you do or forcing them to sit through a sales call just to understand your offering, your website should be the demo. Think about it—with tools like Microsoft Copilot and Azure AI, you can create chatbots that actually understand your solutions and can walk prospects through scenarios in real-time.
Start Small, Win Big
You don't need to rebuild your entire site overnight. Here are some quick wins that'll get you moving in the right direction:
Get a smart chatbot running. Use your existing knowledge base to power a bot that can answer the questions you get asked every single day. No more "someone will get back to you within 24 hours."
Use your analytics data. Look at your most popular pages and add some personalization. Maybe a targeted pop-up with relevant case studies or a quick assessment tool.
Connect everything to Dynamics 365. This one's huge. When someone fills out a form or downloads a resource, that activity should flow right into your CRM so your sales team knows exactly what that prospect cares about.
These aren't massive projects, but they'll start changing how prospects experience your
brand.
Your Website Should Be Part of Your Sales Team
This is where things get really exciting. With AI-assisted development, features that used to cost tens of thousands of dollars and take months to build are now totally doable for most partners.
Think about adding:
Conversational AI that sounds like your brand (not some generic robot)
Interactive product comparison tools
Custom ROI calculators for your solutions
Quick needs assessments that route prospects to the right resources
The best part? Because AI is helping with the development, these features are way more affordable and easier to maintain than they used to be.
Making Sure Your Site Plays Nice with AI
If you want AI tools to find and recommend your content, you need to structure things properly. Here's your checklist:
Content Structure Basics:
Use proper heading tags (H1, H2, H3) so AI can understand your page hierarchy
Write clear, concise paragraphs—think FAQ style
Add schema markup (it's easier than it sounds, and it helps AI understand what your content is about)
Make sure your metadata is consistent and descriptive
Keep It Searchable:
Test your internal site search. If your own search doesn't work well, AI won't either
Update your XML sitemap and check for robots.txt errors
Use Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to catch crawl issues
Consolidate or eliminate thin content pages that don't add value
Make It Linkable:
Use descriptive anchor text for your links
Create content hubs around your main service areas
Fix broken links and orphaned pages
Set up canonical tags where needed
AI-Friendly Content:
Don't bury important information in images or PDFs
Use bullets, tables, and callouts to structure information clearly
Create comprehensive FAQ sections
Follow accessibility standards (WCAG). What's good for accessibility is usually good for AI
Test Drive Your AI Readiness
Want to know how you're doing right now? Try searching for your company name or specific products in Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or Google Gemini. What comes up? How accurate is the information? Can the AI actually help someone understand what you do?
If you're not happy with the results, that's your starting point.
What You Should Do This Week
Audit your current setup. Go through the checklist above and see where you stand. Focus on content structure and searchability first.
Connect the dots with Dynamics 365. If your website isn't talking to your CRM, you're flying blind. Fix this connection and start tracking how web behavior translates to sales opportunities.
Start experimenting. Try out some AI tools. Maybe a simple chatbot or a personalization engine. See what works for your audience.
Think beyond lead forms. Instead of just capturing contact info, think about how you can provide value during the website visit itself.
The Bottom Line
AI isn't just another tech trend that'll fade away. It's fundamentally changing how people find and evaluate solutions. The Microsoft partners who figure this out first are going to have a significant advantage in lead generation and sales cycle compression.
Your website should be working as hard as your best sales rep. With the AI tools available today, especially within the Microsoft ecosystem, there's no reason it can't be.
What About Copilot Integrations?
Since we're all in the Microsoft world, let's talk about what Copilot integrations actually look like:
Dynamics 365 Sales Copilot can summarize opportunities, suggest next steps, and even draft follow-up emails. You can extend this to pull insights from your website forms and visitor behavior.
Power Virtual Agents + Copilot Studio lets you build conversational AI bots for your website, and Copilot helps improve the conversation flows automatically.
SharePoint Copilot can help generate and personalize content dynamically if your resource hub runs on SharePoint.
Embedded Copilot Widgets are starting to become available as plugins that can live directly on your website or customer portal.
The key is thinking about how these tools can work together to create a seamless experience from website visit to closed deal.
Ready to get started? Pick one area and make it happen. Your future self (and your sales team) will thank you.
Group blog members can schedule an SEO brainstorming call anytime, we love to talk about AI. Book a call here.
by David Foreman, ERP/CRM Software Blog Co-Founder, Interactive Limited
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