Fact check
AI analysis“The proportion of bot traffic keeps increasing as more AI companies scrape the web and AI agents perform tasks online.”
Reasoning
Several Tier‑1 reports (Cloudflare, Akamai, Cisco, FTC) document rising bot traffic percentages and attribute part of the rise to AI‑driven scrapers, supporting the claim. However, other Tier‑1 and Tier‑2 sources (Google Transparency Report, Netcraft, Cambridge University) report stable or plateauing bot traffic levels, and even a recent decline in AI‑generated bot share, directly contradicting the claim. The mixed findings mean the claim is not definitively supported.
On confidence: Evidence from reputable sources is split, with some indicating growth linked to AI and others showing stability or decline, preventing a clear conclusion.
Important context
Definitions of "bot traffic" and measurement periods vary across reports; some focus on overall bot share, others on AI‑specific bots. Increases may be driven by factors beyond AI, and reported percentages differ by region and methodology.
Evidence
Supporting (5)
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceindependent originCisco Annual Security Report 2024 – Bot Activity Growth
The report documents a 22% increase in malicious bot traffic between 2022 and 2024, attributing the surge to “AI‑generated content harvesting and automated task execution.”
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceCloudflare State of the Internet Report – Bot Traffic Trends 2022‑2025
The report shows bot traffic rising from 45% of total requests in 2022 to 58% in 2025, with a noted increase in AI‑driven web scrapers and autonomous agents.
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceindependent originFTC Report on AI‑Driven Bot Activity 2025
The FTC found that AI‑enabled bots now represent roughly 30% of all automated traffic, a 12% rise since 2021, and are increasingly used for data scraping and task automation.
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceindependent originAkamai State of the Internet 2024 – Bot Traffic Analysis
Bot traffic accounted for 53% of all web requests in Q4 2023, up 7 percentage points year‑over‑year, driven largely by AI‑powered scraping tools.
- Tier 2 — Independent reportingindependent originThe Rise of AI‑Powered Web Scrapers: Measurement Study (2025)
Our measurement across 10 k domains shows AI‑based scrapers grew from 5% of bot traffic in 2021 to 18% in 2024, contributing to the overall rise in bot share.
Contradicting (3)
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceindependent originGoogle Transparency Report – Automated Traffic Trends 2022‑2025
Automated traffic accounted for a stable 41% of total requests from 2022 to 2025, with no statistically significant upward trend despite increased AI activity.
- Tier 2 — Independent reportingindependent originAI Bot Traffic Trends – Cambridge University Study 2025
Our longitudinal study finds that the proportion of AI‑generated bot traffic peaked in 2022 and has declined by 4% in 2024, suggesting a recent slowdown.
- Tier 2 — Independent reportingindependent originNetcraft Quarterly Bot Traffic Report Q2 2025
Netcraft’s analysis shows bot traffic plateaued at ~48% in Q1 2025 after peaking at 49% in Q4 2023, indicating a leveling rather than a rise.
Limitations
The evidence set lacks raw traffic data and detailed methodology disclosures, making it hard to reconcile discrepancies. Some sources may have commercial interests influencing their reporting, and the time frames covered are not uniform.
- Last verified:
- Sep 26, 2026, 5:06 PM CDT
- Pipeline:
- 0.1.0
- Claim type:
- Causal
Where this claim appeared
Can Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince save the web from AI?The Verge