- Pro
Human traffic is dwindling as AI takes over
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
- Copy link
- X
- Threads
Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter- AI bots and scrapers could soon overtake human users on the internet
- Publishers are battling with dwindling click-through rates
- robots.txt instructions are largely being ignored
New data has claimed AI bots are rapidly taking over web traffic, with Tollbit information showing there was a new AI bot visit for every 31 human visits in the final months of 2025, up from 1:200 at the start of 2025.
At the same time, and with humans interacting more directly with AI, human visits fell by around 5% between Q3 and Q4 2025.
And it's clear human AI usage is responsible for this shift – while training crawls fell by around 15% between Q2 and Q4 2025, RAG bots rose around 33% and AI search indexers rose around 59%.
You may like-
Cloudflare report reveals global internet internet traffic grew 19% in 2025 - but a lot of it was just bots
-
Major AI agents are being spoofed - and it could put your site at risk
-
The agentic internet is coming – and businesses need to be ready
The way we're accessing the Internet is fundamentally changing
OpenAI leads the way in terms of scraping – its RAG bot 'ChatGPT-User' was around five times more active than the second-most active bot by Meta, and around 16x higher than Perplexity's agent.
In terms of user behavior, a separate survey cited in the report found more than one-third (37%) of active AI users now start searches with artificial intelligence (like ChatGPT or Gemini) rather than traditional search.
More alarmingly, the analysis found that robots.txt, a set of instructions to tell automated bots which parts of the page they can and cannot crawl, was ignored around 30% of the time on average, and up to 42% of the time by ChatGPT-User.
With robots.txt unenforceable and totally reliant on goodwill, the instructions have been deemed effectively obsolete.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletterContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.And that's not the only bad news for publishers, who are struggling on the traffic front. Sites without direct AI licensing deals saw click-through rates (CTR) drop around 3x between Q2 and Q4 2025. Even those with AI licensing deals aren't immune, with CTR rates also dropping.
With all of this at play, Tollbit calls for regulators to step in to establish acceptable AI patterns and protect intellectual property.
But with AI going nowhere, it's clear that the internet is undergoing a major shift and website owners should prepare for AI bots to become their primary readers.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.
TOPICS AI
Craig HaleWith several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!
View MoreYou must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Logout Read more
Cloudflare report reveals global internet internet traffic grew 19% in 2025 - but a lot of it was just bots
Major AI agents are being spoofed - and it could put your site at risk
The agentic internet is coming – and businesses need to be ready
AI agents are fuelling an identity and security crisis for organizations
ChatGPT is getting ads, and that's just the beginning
Is AI adoption at work flatlining? This major survey thinks so - but it's definitely not the end just yet
Latest in Pro
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw (4202dw) review: I love this laser printer’s rich black text, and hate the retro dial
Startups, listen up: Proton says you're not "too small" to be hacked
ExpressVPN unveils new standalone password manager – ExpressKeys is now available for iOS and Android
Forget Seahawks vs Patriots: Wix vs Squarespace is the real showdown at Super Bowl 2026
Critical n8n flaws discovered - here's how to stay safe
Trust by design: Updating your digital workplace charter for the age of AI assistants
Latest in News
Guerrilla announces Horizon Zero Dawn spin-off Horizon Hunters Gathering, a 'tactical' 3-player co-op action game coming to PS5 and PC
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 this year, along with two other huge Bethesda games
Sony says Ghost of Yotei made a 'significant contribution' to the 8 million PS5 units that were sold in late 2025, a feat that surpassed the Nintendo Switch 2 by 1 million units
Steam Machine is delayed due to RAM crisis — and price is to be 'revisited'
Marvel fans have their say on two new rumors about Avengers: Secret Wars
Spotify competes with Amazon with new partnership that allows you to buy physical books
LATEST ARTICLES- 1AI bot web traffic is closing in on human usage, experts warn
- 2Guerrilla announces Horizon Zero Dawn spin-off Horizon Hunters Gathering, a 'tactical' 3-player co-op action game coming to PS5 and PC
- 3Experience Super Bowl LX like a local with this VPN that's superb at streaming Peacock and NBC
- 4Critical n8n flaws discovered - here's how to stay safe
- 5The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 this year, along with two other huge Bethesda games
