The Rise of AI-Powered Bots

The impact of AI bots on internet traffic is rapidly growing. According to recent analysis, an increasing share of web traffic is generated by automated systems using large language models (LLMs) to access and analyze online content.

RAG and Automated Web Search

A key driver of this growth is the adoption of RAG architectures. These systems use LLMs to answer complex questions, retrieving relevant information from various online sources and synthesizing it into a coherent response. This approach is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to traditional web search, leading to an increase in bot-generated traffic.

Implications for Publishers

The increase in bot traffic raises several questions for online publishers. On one hand, it can lead to an increase in traffic metrics. On the other hand, it could distort analytical data and make it more difficult to assess the actual engagement of human users. Furthermore, publishers may face new challenges in managing security and preventing abuse by bots.