Cloudflare prioritizes creators and publishers with new AI crawler controls

Today Cloudflare flipped the script on permissions for AI crawlers, becoming the first internet infrastructure provider to block AI crawlers by default. This means creators and publishers can decide:

• Whether they want to give AI crawlers access to their content
• If they do, how AI systems can use that content 

This is a critical first step towards a more equitable internet in the AI era, where AI crawlers routinely scrape original content and use it to siphon traffic away from creators and publishers. In this new reality, creators can only thrive if they retain control over their content. 

Raptive, along with other major publishers and media companies, have been in discussions with Cloudflare for several months about these plans. We’re continuing to work closely with their team to drive the best possible results for creators and publishers. 

Cloudflare is one of the world’s largest and best-known content delivery networks, used by thousands of Raptive creators. The company previously introduced the ability to block AI crawlers, and they’re now establishing a permission-based system, where every new domain on their free plan starts with the default of control. 

Digital publishers fuel the internet with original ideas and expertise, and they deserve control over how their work is used.

Raptive CEO Michael Sanchez

This move comes at a key moment when we’re having essential discussions across the industry about transparency, fairness, and sustainability. We’re proud to support this framework alongside partners like TIME, BuzzFeed, The Atlantic, ADWEEK, and more.

We look forward to an ongoing partnership with Cloudflare and our creator community to build a future where original work is protected, respected, and fairly valued.

For more information about how this impacts creators and publishers, see our frequently asked questions.