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TTFB by Navigation AI impact

TTFB by Navigation AI impact without noise

Vasil Dachev avatar
Written by Vasil Dachev
Updated over 2 weeks ago


What is TTFB by Navigation AI impact

TTFB by Navigation AI impact breaks down Time to First Byte (TTFB) split by whether the page was delivered via a standard or an AI-optimized navigation.

TTFB generally reflects backend responsiveness, but Navigation AI can indirectly affect it — especially when prerendering removes cold starts or when speculative preconnects warm up the server path.

This lens is useful for understanding how AI-assisted routes affect the initial server handshake and how that contributes to the overall perceived speed.

Type

Description

Standard navigation

A typical page load (e.g. link click or hard reload) with no AI enhancements

Optimized navigation

A prerendered or AI-predicted page load using Navigation AI


Healthy TTFB by Navigation AI impact sample


Should you worry

If both Standard and Optimized navigations have fast TTFB values, you’re in good shape. Navigation AI may still improve the rest of the load path, but server-side latency isn’t the issue.

Unhealthy TTFB by Navigation AI impact sample

When Standard navigations show higher TTFB:

  • Cold cache or connection states are slowing down the backend

  • DNS, TLS, or routing latency is hurting first-byte timing

  • AI preconnects and prerendering give Optimized pages a noticeable edge

If Optimized navigations somehow show slower TTFB:

  • There may be misconfigured prerender routes or prediction gaps

  • Navigation AI might be attempting prerenders but getting blocked (e.g. by cookies or auth)

Resolving unhealthy TTFB by Navigation AI impact

Go-to action plan to resolve an unhealthy TTFB by Navigation AI impact:

  1. Ask Uxi to analyze your TTFB by Navigation AI impact values and suggest improvements.

  2. Use Filters to isolate slow sessions by page, region, or route.

  3. Simulate TTFB of the suspected lens to see if fixing it will resolve the TTFB by Navigation AI impact. If yes, this is where the resolution focus should be.

  4. Use an automated optimization tool like Navigation AI to improve your TTFB by Navigation AI impact values.

  5. Once you’ve improved TTFB, set an alert to be the first to know if it starts worsening again.

Try it yourself

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