Cloudflare’s new plan could change how AI pays publishers
By charging AI companies when content is actually used, Cloudflare hopes to build a more sustainable business model for the open web.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare will block AI training crawlers by default on ad-supported sites
The company says new controls will let publishers separate search, agent use and model training
Creators get new say over AI scraping through Cloudflare–beehiiv partnership
Companies say the collaboration enables newsletter publishers to manage AI bot traffic, improve visibility in AI-powered search tools and protect archives
Cloudflare CEO: Bots have overtaken human traffic online
For the first time, bots account for more web traffic than humans, according to Cloudflare data.
New report finds wide disparity in AI tollbooths for publishers
The same companies building AI products that strip publishers of traffic are now writing the rules for AI licensing.
Cloudflare now converts web pages to markdown for AI agents
Cloudflare launched a feature that automatically converts HTML pages to markdown when AI agents request them, potentially changing how newsrooms publish content for AI-powered search and discovery.
What do 1,000 journalists and PR pros know about AI that you don't? They took AI Quick Start, a 1-hour live class from The Media Copilot. 94% satisfaction. Find out how to work smarter with AI in just 60 minutes. Get 20% off with the code AIPRO: https://mediacopilot.ai/