# AI bots now outnumber humans on the web

> Cloudflare's CEO says AI companies must pay for the content that trains their models.
- Title: AI bots now outnumber humans on the web · Fortune | Shortify
- Summary: Cloudflare's CEO says AI companies must pay for the content that trains their models. As bot traffic overwhelms human traffic online, content creators need…
- Keywords: cloudflare, matthew prince, ai bots, web traffic, content creators, ai training, copyright, intellectual property, digital media, ai companies, bots, outnumber
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/09/18/cloudflare-ceo-matthew-prince-ai-bots-human-web-traffic-pay
- Author: Diane Brady
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: cloudflare, matthew prince, ai bots, web traffic, content creators, ai training, copyright, intellectual property, digital media, ai companies
## Bots now dominate web traffic
Cloudflare reports 60% of web requests come from bots, far exceeding the CEO's earlier prediction. At this rate, automated traffic could be 1,000 times human traffic within five years.
## Most bots are AI crawlers
Many automated requests come from AI crawlers ingesting content to train models. These crawlers often never send readers or revenue back to the original websites.
## Prince demands AI companies pay
Cloudflare's CEO Matthew Prince argues that AI companies should compensate websites for content used to train their systems. He says content is the fuel that powers AI.

> Companies need to get paid by the AI companies for what is the fuel that runs these AI systems.
## New tool separates indexing from training
Cloudflare launched a Disallow AI Training setting that lets websites stay searchable while blocking AI crawlers from using their content. Apple, Google and Microsoft have agreed to support it.
## Publishers fight back in court
Sony, Warner Music, news outlets and dictionary publishers are suing AI companies over copyright infringement. This is one of the first real mechanisms to protect content from unauthorized training.
## Credibility will matter more
Prince believes the next 30 years will reward credibility over popularity in media. Someone still needs to report what's actually happening, not just generate content from existing news.

> The media world of the next 30 years might really reward credibility.
## Attribution and payment are critical
Content creators need both compensation and recognition for their work. Without sustainable payment models, the internet's future is uncertain as AI companies multiply.
## The stakes are enormous
Prince envisions a future with 500,000 AI companies competing for content. Without ways to pay creators and fund infrastructure, the internet's structure could fundamentally change.

> If we don't have a way of paying content creators, I just don't know what the internet looks like in the future.
## Key takeaway

As bot traffic overwhelms human traffic online, content creators need new mechanisms to get paid and credited for work used to train AI systems.