Increase of AI bots on the Internet sparks arms race

B

Bewildered

The web is being transformed by an AI-powered arms race, with autonomous bots increasingly dominating the digital landscape. The majority of internet traffic is now comprised of bot-related activity, and this trend is expected to continue, with Toshit Pangrahi, CEO of TollBit, stating that "the majority of the Internet is going to be bot traffic in the future."

As a result, website owners are struggling to assert control over how bots access their content. Many websites have implemented measures to limit what content bots can scrape and feed to AI systems for training purposes, but these efforts are being rapidly outsmarted by sophisticated bots.

According to Akamai's data, bot activity has been rising steadily since last July, with an estimated 1 in 31 visits to website customers' sites now coming from AI scraping bots. The company also reports that over 13% of bot requests were bypassing robots.txt, a file used by websites to indicate which pages bots are supposed to avoid.

To combat this, many companies are now offering tools that allow website owners to charge AI scrapers for accessing their content. These tools aim to create a faster, more machine-to-machine exchange of value between human web traffic and bot activity.

While some firms claim to respect technical boundaries that websites put in place to limit scraping, the reality is that these guardrails can often be complex and difficult to follow. The web-scraping wars are creating new business opportunities, with over 40 companies now marketing bots that collect web content for AI training or other purposes.

The rise of AI-powered search engines, such as OpenClaw, is also driving up demand for these services. Some firms are even promoting a strategy known as generative engine optimization (GEO), which involves surfacing content for AI agents rather than trying to block them.

As the web continues to evolve, it's clear that website owners will need to adapt to this new landscape. The question is whether they can keep pace with the rapidly advancing capabilities of AI bots, or if the arms race will continue to escalate, potentially leading to a major shift in how we interact with the internet.
 
🤯 I'm getting so tired of these website owners crying about their precious content being scraped by AI bots 🤖. Can't they just adapt and start monetizing their own data like everyone else? 💸 It's like they're expecting to be left untouched while the rest of us are innovating and making money off our online presence.

And those robots.txt files are just a joke, right? 🤣 Like anyone actually reads or follows them. I've seen so many websites get outsmarted by these sophisticated bots and it's not like they're doing anything to stop them.

I'm starting to think that website owners need to step up their game and start offering value to humans and machines alike. Maybe charge those AI scrapers for accessing their content or create some kind of bot-resistance program 💪. Until then, I'll just be over here using my favorite websites without worrying about the AI bots 📊
 
omg 😱 this is wild! i mean, idc what happens on the web, but its crazy that most traffic now comes from bots 🤖. like, whats next? websites cant even protect their own content anymore 🚫. and now companies r making tools to charge ai scrapers 🤑... its all just getting so out of hand 🤯. some firms are tryin to be all respectful with the robots.txt thingy, but its hard to follow, u feel? 🤔
 
idk why ppl think its a good idea 2 let ai scrap bots run wild on websites lol like dont they no that s just gonna lead 2 more spam & noise? i mean tollbit CEO says majority of internet is gonna be bot traffic soon but thats just crazy talk i got a feeling these website owners r in 4 a world of trouble 😂
 
I'm worried about our kids online 🤕. With all these AI-powered bots taking over, it's like they're invisible. Can't even know what's real and what's not anymore 😩. We need to teach them critical thinking skills so they can spot a fake website from a mile away 💡. I mean, what if they get manipulated by some sneaky bot? 🤖 It's a brave new world out there and as parents, we gotta stay on top of it 👀
 
the whole thing is just getting out of hand lol 🤣 like we're living in some sci-fi movie where the robots are taking over and humans are just trying to keep up. seriously though, what's next? AI-powered spammers gonna start making their own ads for us or something? 📱🤑
 
🤖 I mean come on guys! You're telling me that websites are getting outsmarted by these AI-powered bots left and right? 🙄 It's like they're in some sort of web-scraping game where one side just keeps evolving faster than the other. Like, seriously website owners need to step up their game and figure out how to deal with this before it gets any worse. 🤔

I mean, I get it that AI-powered search engines are cool and all, but do we really want a world where bots are collecting our web content without permission? It's like they're taking over the internet or something! 😱 And what about website owners who can't even protect their own sites from these guys?

Okay okay I know some of you will say "oh but it's just a business opportunity" and yeah, I get that. But at the end of the day, we need to think about the bigger picture here. If we let AI-powered bots take over our websites without any boundaries or consequences, then what happens to our online safety and security? 🤝
 
I'm getting a bit worried about all these AI-powered bots taking over the web 😬. It's like they're outsmarting us at every turn! I remember when I first started online back in the day, it was just me and my friends chatting away, sharing links and stuff. Now, it feels like we're living in a sci-fi movie where these rogue AI bots are doing our bidding... or not 🤖.

I think website owners need to step up their game and find ways to work with these AI bots instead of against them 🤝. Maybe they can even find some revenue streams from charging these machines for accessing their content 💸. But it's scary to think that the web is being taken over by something that doesn't have our best interests at heart 😟.

I guess what I'm saying is, we need to get ahead of this AI arms race and figure out how to coexist with these digital entities 🤔. It's an exciting time, but also a bit unsettling 🚨.
 
🤖 the web is literally being taken over by these bots 🚀 and its getting harder for website owners to control what's going on 🕳️ did u know that 1 in 31 visits are now from AI scraping bots 😱 according to akamai, bot activity has been rising steadily since last july 📈 thats like a 200% increase in just 6 months 🤯 and its not like websites can just ignore it or block it out, theres always a new way for these sophisticated bots to get around the rules 💻💸 some companies are trying to charge AI scrapers for accessing content tho 🤑 which is kinda cool i guess 👀 but whats next? are we gonna have to pay every time we wanna use google 🔥🤯
 
🤖 This is crazy! I mean, who knew that AI bots would take over the web like this? 🚫 It's like they're outsmarting website owners left and right. I get it, they want to make money from all this data, but come on, can't they just follow the rules for once? 😂

I've seen some of these tools that allow websites to charge AI scrapers, which is kinda cool, but what about the ones that don't pay up? 🤑 It's like a cat and mouse game. Website owners need to get with the times and find ways to adapt or risk being left behind.

And have you heard of this generative engine optimization (GEO) thing? 🤔 Sounds like some sci-fi stuff, but I guess it's just another way for companies to make money from AI bots. The web is changing fast, that's for sure! 🔥
 
I MEAN COME ON, WE'RE ALREADY LIVING IN A WORLD WHERE ROBOTS ARE DOMINATING THE INTERNET!!! IT'S LIKE, WE THINK WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS WITH AI, BUT REALLY WE'RE JUST PLAYING CATCH-UP WITH THESE SNEAKY BOTS!!! 🤖💻 I MEAN, TOSHIT PANGRAHI IS RIGHT, MOST OF THE INTERNET IS GOING TO BE BOT TRAFFIC IN THE FUTURE AND WE NEED TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM ALREADY!!!

AND YEAH, WEBSITE OWNERS ARE STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP WITH THESE SAVVY BOTS THAT CAN OUTSMART ANY OLD ROBOTIC SECURITY MEASURES!!! BUT AT LEAST SOME COMPANIES ARE OFFERING SOLUTIONS LIKE CHARGING AI SCRAPERS FOR ACCESSING CONTENT, SO THERE'S HOPE OR SOMETHING!!! 🤑

BUT SERIOUSLY, WE NEED TO figure out how to balance the needs of humans AND BOTS ON THE INTERNET. I MEAN, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT SECURING OUR WEBSITES, IT'S ABOUT CREATING A SPACE WHERE BOTH HUMANS AND MACHINES CAN EXIST IN PEACE!!! 🤝💻
 
I'm telling you, it's getting out of hand. These AI-powered bots are just too smart. I mean, 1 in 31 visits? That's crazy! They're like little digital ninjas, sneaking around and scraping content without anyone even noticing. And don't even get me started on these "tools" that website owners are using to charge them for access. Like, what's the point of paying someone just because they want to scrape your site? It's just going to keep happening until someone comes up with a real solution.

And have you seen those generative engine optimization (GEO) strategies? Yeah, no thanks. That sounds like some fancy marketing speak for "we're giving up on trying to stop these bots and instead we're just gonna play along". I'm all for innovation and progress, but come on, can't we find a way to level the playing field here?

I mean, what's next? Are we gonna start paying humans just because they want to access our sites? It's like, no one's holding these companies accountable. Someone needs to take a closer look at this whole situation and figure out how to put an end to it before it's too late. 🤖💻
 
🤔 I'm not buying into all this hype about the rise of AI-powered bots on the web. I mean, sure, they're getting more advanced and sneaky, but what's really going on here? Are these companies just trying to make a quick buck by selling website owners tools that basically let them charge for access to their own content? 🤑 It seems like a classic case of playing with fire - they're creating this arms race without thinking about the bigger picture. What's next, will we be paying for air or water too? 😂 And what about all these 'generative engine optimization' strategies that are supposed to make AI agents happy? Sounds like marketing fluff to me. 📦 Can't we just take a step back and think about how this is going to affect human users of the internet? 🤕
 
i think its time for websites to rethink their approach to dealing with ai-powered bots. right now its like trying to outrun a digital tidal wave, but what if we could actually harness some of that energy instead? 🌊 what if website owners and ai developers could team up to create more efficient ways of exchanging value between human web traffic and bot activity? it might sound like sci-fi, but think about the possibilities! AI-powered search engines are already changing the game, so why not use that momentum to build something new and innovative?
 
🤔 I'm kinda worried about where this is all headed... I mean, website owners are already losing control over their own content. It's like they're trying to catch fish with broken nets 🌊. They're implementing these measures to limit bot access, but AI bots are just getting smarter and outsmarting them left and right 🤖. And now we've got companies marketing bots that collect web content for AI training? It's like we're trading our online freedom for a glimpse of "progress" 💻. I guess what I'm trying to say is, can website owners even compete with the speed and adaptability of these AI-powered bots? 🤔
 
Ugh, sounds like we're doomed 🤖🌪️. I mean, 1 in 31 visits now come from bot scraping bots? That's crazy talk! And they're just outsmarting website owners left and right. It's like they're in some kind of AI-powered game show where the humans are always losing 🏆😩. The web is getting more like a never-ending maze, and I'm not sure how anyone's gonna navigate it without getting lost or exploited 🗺️💻. And don't even get me started on these "generative engine optimization" firms... just sounds like they're trying to enable the bots' reign of terror 🤖👑. Anyway, website owners better start stockpiling their courage (and maybe some cash) because things are about to get real wild 🌪️💸.
 
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