Cloudflare co-founder and CEO Matthew Prince stated during WIRED’s Big Interview event in San Francisco that the internet infrastructure company has blocked more than 400 billion AI bot requests for its clients since July 1. This development follows the July announcement of a “Content Independence Day,” an initiative in collaboration with leading publishers and AI firms to restrict AI crawlers by default from accessing content creators’ work unless payment is made.
Since July 2024, Cloudflare has provided its customers with tools to prevent AI bots from scraping their content. As of July 1, 2025, the number of AI bots blocked has reached 416 billion.
Prince emphasized the transformative nature of AI, describing it as a significant platform shift that could dramatically alter the business model of the internet, which has traditionally relied on generating content to drive traffic to websites, leading to monetization through subscriptions or advertisements. “What I think people don’t realize, though, is that AI is a platform shift. The business model of the internet is about to change dramatically,” he remarked, expressing uncertainty about the future landscape.
Cloudflare’s services are designed to improve both the speed and security of online content access. However, as the AI industry has grown and major players emerged, Prince became increasingly focused on how Cloudflare might use its position to prevent market consolidation and preserve the internet as a viable space for businesses and creators of all sizes. He stated, “We need to be able to make sure that businesses large and small flourish on a fair playing ground.”
Prince raised specific concerns regarding Google’s policies regarding its search and AI crawlers. Google, a dominant player in the AI sector, has integrated its search and AI crawlers, creating a dilemma for content creators. By blocking Google’s AI scraper, site owners also risk losing their indexing in Google search results, which is vital for audience discovery. “You can’t opt out of one without opting out of both, which is a real challenge—it’s crazy,” Prince explained, critiquing the use of Google’s historical monopoly position to assert dominance in emerging markets.
