Editorial illustration for Akamai data shows AI training bots and content‑fetching bots rise since July
AI Training Bots Surge: Akamai's Web Crawling Insights
Akamai data shows AI training bots and content‑fetching bots rise since July
Two percent. That's the new baseline. According to traffic analysts at Akamai, two out of every one hundred visits to a typical business site now come from a machine.
Not a hacker. A bot, built to scrape content for an AI. That shift became the norm astonishingly fast.
According to the data from Akamai, training-related bot traffic has been rising steadily since last July. Meanwhile, global activity from bots fetching web content for AI agents is also on the upswing. "AI is changing the web as we know it," Robert Blumofe, Akamai's chief technology officer, tells WIRED "The ensuing arms race will determine the future look, feel, and functionality of the web, as well as the basics of doing business." In the fourth quarter of 2025, TollBit estimates that an average of one out of every 50 visits to its customers' websites was from an AI scraping bot.
One in fifty. Let that sink in. For some publishers—news outlets, reference hubs—the ratio is certainly far worse.
This traffic has a tangible weight. It consumes server cycles and shapes infrastructure costs, influencing everything from database queries to bandwidth bills. It operates entirely outside the old economy of human attention.
Akamai's CTO Robert Blumofe calls it an "arms race," a polite term for a brutal redistribution of value. The web's foundational bargain—free content for your eyeballs—is fracturing. What emerges will be less open, more transactional, and fundamentally machined.
The internet is now a factory floor, and every site is a supplier, willing or not.
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Common Questions Answered
How has AI bot traffic changed since July according to Akamai's report?
[akamai.com](https://www.akamai.com) reports that training-related bot traffic has been rising steadily since July of last year. The volume of automated crawlers pulling web content for AI assistants is also increasing, indicating a significant shift in how machines interact with online data.
What impact are AI bots having on web infrastructure and business models?
According to Akamai's CTO Robert Blumofe, AI is fundamentally changing the web as we know it, creating an 'arms race' that will reshape web functionality and business operations. The increasing presence of AI bots is disrupting traditional web interactions, with bots now accounting for a meaningful share of web traffic.
What types of AI bots are most prevalent in current web traffic?
[economictimes.com](https://m.economictimes.com) highlights two primary types of AI bots: training-related bots and content-fetching bots for AI assistants. These bots are particularly impactful in sectors like publishing, with 63% of AI bot triggers occurring in content-driven businesses, potentially extracting value without providing direct compensation.
Further Reading
- AI bots traffic has surged 300%, is disrupting online business — The Economic Times
- Akamai and Visa Team on Agentic Commerce Controls — Digital Transactions
- AI Bots and Shoppers Redefine 2025 Internet Trends — AI CERTs
- APAC Businesses Encountered Over 10.5 Billion AI Bots in Just Two ... — Cybersecurity Asia
