Cloudflare now blocks AI bots (unless they pay!)

Did you know that most artificial intelligence (AI) bots are collecting content without permission… and without paying anything? Until now, there was no easy way to control it. But that changed in July 2025.

What did Cloudflare do?

Cloudflare, one of the networks that protects and speeds up millions of websites, announced something big: it will block by default the AI bots that try to enter your site without authorization. And if you let them in, you can now charge them each time they access your content.

What does “Pay Per Crawl” mean?

It is a new feature that lets website owners:

• Block bots that do not want to pay.
• Charge a fee for each visit by AI bots.
• Allow free access to trusted bots or those with agreements.

All of this works automatically, using tools that are already built into Cloudflare.

Why does this matter?

Many AI models are being trained on other people’s work. They copy articles, images, and data without giving credit or traffic to the original author. This affects the revenue and visibility of creators, media outlets, and independent projects.

Now, with this system, creators can regain control and say: “yes, you can use my content, but it has a value.”

What can you do if you have a website?

1. Review your settings in Cloudflare.
2. Decide whether you want to block or charge AI bots.
3. Enable the system for free if you already use Cloudflare.

More official info here: Pay Per Crawl on the Cloudflare blog.

An opportunity to level the playing field

This is just the beginning. If more platforms join in, we could have an Internet where original content is respected and valued, even in times of artificial intelligence.

Do you have a blog, media outlet, or personal page? This is the perfect moment to protect your work. At vzla.io we keep a close eye on these initiatives that put creators at the center of change.