AI Bots Are Taking Over the Web – And It’s Changing Everything
Artificial Intelligence
Web Scraping
AI Bots
Data Collection
Cybersecurity
Generative AI
Internet Traffic
9
Data Dominance
Media Hype
8/10
Real Impact
9/10
What is the Viqus Verdict?
We evaluate each news story based on its real impact versus its media hype to offer a clear and objective perspective.
AI Analysis:
While the underlying technology is advancing rapidly, the core problem – the increasing reliance on machine learning – is already heavily hyped. This news amplifies that existing excitement, showcasing the tangible effects of a technological trend poised to reshape nearly every aspect of the internet.
Article Summary
A recent report from TollBit, backed by Akamai data, indicates a dramatic shift in internet traffic: AI bots are increasingly dominating web activity. Driven by the growing demand for training AI models, bots now account for roughly one in 50 website visits, a figure projected to rise to one in 20 visits by early 2025. This surge is fueling an 'arms race' as websites deploy increasingly sophisticated defenses against scraping, while AI companies develop more adept bots to circumvent these protections. The report highlights that bots are not just scraping for copyrighted content; they're retrieving real-time data like product prices and news summaries. Furthermore, a significant portion of these bots are now bypassing standard ‘robots.txt’ files, demonstrating the advanced techniques being employed. This situation is creating new business opportunities, with over 40 companies marketing bots for data collection and a growing trend of ‘generative engine optimization’ (GEO) – helping content appear prominently in AI tools. The implications are widespread, particularly for publishers and website owners, who must adapt to a landscape where automated data collection is a dominant force.Key Points
- AI bots now account for approximately one in 50 website visits, a figure projected to increase significantly.
- This surge is driven by the demand for AI training data, leading to a ‘war’ between websites attempting to block bots and AI companies developing more sophisticated scraping techniques.
- The rise of AI-powered search engines and tools like OpenClaw are accelerating the demand for data collection services, creating a new marketing channel for companies specializing in this area.