AI bots could surpass human internet traffic by 2027, warns Cloudflare CEO
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Automated internet traffic driven by artificial intelligence could exceed human activity by 2027, according to Matthew Prince, who highlighted the rapid rise of AI-powered bots reshaping online usage.
Speaking at the SXSW in Austin, Prince said the surge in generative AI is significantly increasing the number of automated agents operating across the internet. These AI systems are capable of scanning far more websites than humans when completing tasks, leading to a sharp rise in overall web traffic.
He explained that while a person may visit a handful of sites before making a decision, AI agents can analyse thousands of pages in a short time. This shift is placing growing pressure on the internet infrastructure.
Prince noted that before the rise of generative AI, bots accounted for about 20 percent of global internet traffic, much of it from legitimate sources such as search engine crawlers used by companies like Google. Some bot activity was also linked to malicious actors.
However, the increasing demand for data by AI systems is now driving sustained growth in automated traffic. Prince said this trend is expected to continue and fundamentally change how the internet functions.
He added that new technological solutions will be required to manage this shift, including the use of controlled digital environments or sandboxes where AI agents can perform tasks such as research or trip planning.
Prince also stressed the need for stronger physical infrastructure, including expanded data centres and servers, to support rising demand. He compared the current growth to the surge in usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, when platforms like YouTube and Netflix experienced heavy traffic, but noted that the current increase is steady rather than temporary.
He described artificial intelligence as a major platform shift that will transform how people access and consume information online.