Site owners block AI bots as direct answers threaten accuracy

Technology Aug 31, 2026

AI tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews now answer questions directly, so people don't even need to click on websites anymore.

That means less traffic (and money) for site owners, who are starting to block these bots.

The catch? With fewer quality sources to learn from, AI could end up spreading more low-quality or even wrong information.

Cloudflare: AI bots over half traffic

Cloudflare says AI bots now make up more than one-half of all web traffic, using a lot of resources but not actually bringing in real visitors.

To push back, Cloudflare will start blocking these bots by default on ad-supported pages starting September 15, 2026.

This move could impact up to 30% of the world's top sites.