Cloudflare Helps Content Creators Regain Control of their Content from AI Bots

San Francisco, CA, September 23, 2024 – Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET), the leading connectivity cloud company, today announced AI Audit, a set of tools to help websites of any size analyze and control how their content is used by artificial intelligence (AI) models. For the first time, website and content creators will be able to quickly and easily understand how AI model providers are using their content, and then take control of whether and how the models are able to access it. Additionally, Cloudflare is developing a new feature where content creators can reliably set a fair price for their content that is used by AI companies for model training and retrieval augmented generation (RAG).

Website owners, whether for-profit companies, media and news publications, or small personal sites, may be surprised to learn AI bots of all types are scanning their content thousands of times every day without the content creator knowing or being compensated, causing significant destruction of value for businesses large and small. Even when website owners are aware of how AI bots are using their content, they lack a sophisticated way to determine what scanning to allow and a simple way to take action. For society to continue to benefit from the depth and diversity of content on the Internet, content creators need the tools to take back control.

“AI will dramatically change content online, and we must all decide together what its future will look like,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO, Cloudflare. "Content creators and website owners of all sizes deserve to own and have control over their content. If they don’t, the quality of online information will deteriorate or be locked exclusively behind paywalls. With Cloudflare's scale and global infrastructure, we believe we can provide the tools and set the standards to give websites, publishers, and content creators control and fair compensation for their contribution to the Internet, while still enabling AI model providers to innovate."

With AI Audit, Cloudflare aims to give content creators information and take back control so there can be a transparent exchange between the websites that want greater control over their content, and the AI model providers that are in need of fresh data sources, so that everyone benefits. With this announcement, Cloudflare aims to help any website:

• Automatically control AI bots, for free: AI is a quickly evolving space, and many website owners need time to understand and analyze how AI bots are affecting their traffic or business. Many small sites don’t have the skills or bandwidth to manually block AI bots. The ability to block all AI bots in one click puts content creators back in control.
• Tap into analytics to see how AI bots access their content: Every site using Cloudflare now has access to analytics to understand why, when, and how often AI models access their website. Website owners can now make a distinction between bots – for example, text generative bots that still credit the source of the data they use when generating a response, versus bots that scrape data with no attribution or credit.
• Better protect their rights when negotiating with model providers: An increasing number of sites are signing agreements directly with model providers to license the training and retrieval of content in exchange for payment. Cloudflare’s AI Audit tab will provide advanced analytics to understand metrics that are commonly used in these negotiations, like the rate of crawling for certain sections or the entire page. Cloudflare will also model terms of use that every content creator can add to their sites to legally protect their rights.
• Set a fair price for the right to scan content and transact seamlessly (in development): Many site owners, whether they are the large companies of the future or a high quality individual blog, do not have the resources, context, or expertise to negotiate one-off deals that larger publishers are signing with AI model providers, and AI model providers do not have the bandwidth to do this with every site that approaches them. In the future, even the largest content creators will benefit from Cloudflare’s seamless price setting and transaction flow, making it easy for model providers to find fresh content to scan they may otherwise be blocked from, and content providers to take control and be paid for the value they create.

Existing Cloudflare customers can access the AI Tab from their dashboard today to review analytics for their sites and start controlling bots now. Site owners can visit https://www.cloudflare.com/lp/ai-value-tool-waitlist/ to join a waitlist to participate in the beta for price setting capabilities.

To learn more, please check out the resources below:

• Blog: Start auditing and controlling the AI models accessing your content
• Join the waitlist: AI Value Tool Waitlist
• Join us online for demos, product announcements, and more at our first Builder Day Live Stream on September 26 at 11am PT. Register at builderday.pages.dev.

About Cloudflare

Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET) is the leading connectivity cloud company on a mission to help build a better Internet. It empowers organizations to make their employees, applications and networks faster and more secure everywhere, while reducing complexity and cost. Cloudflare’s connectivity cloud delivers the most full-featured, unified platform of cloud-native products and developer tools, so any organization can gain the control they need to work, develop, and accelerate their business.

Powered by one of the world’s largest and most interconnected networks, Cloudflare blocks billions of threats online for its customers every day. It is trusted by millions of organizations – from the largest brands to entrepreneurs and small businesses to nonprofits, humanitarian groups, and governments across the globe.

Learn more about Cloudflare’s connectivity cloud at cloudflare.com/connectivity-cloud. Learn more about the latest Internet trends and insights at https://radar.cloudflare.com.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “explore,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” or the negative of these words, or other similar terms or expressions that concern Cloudflare’s expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the capabilities and effectiveness of AI Audit and its related features and Cloudflare’s other products and technology, the benefits to Cloudflare’s customers from using AI Audit and its related features and Cloudflare’s other products and technology, the timing of when AI Audit or any of its related features will be developed and available in beta form, or generally available, to all current and potential Cloudflare customers, Cloudflare’s technological development, future operations, growth, initiatives, or strategies, and comments made by Cloudflare’s CEO and others. Actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, risks detailed in Cloudflare’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Cloudflare’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 1, 2024, as well as other filings that Cloudflare may make from time to time with the SEC.

The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. Cloudflare undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Cloudflare may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in Cloudflare’s forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on Cloudflare’s forward-looking statements.

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