The year 2025 marked significant changes in how AI bots interact with websites, driven by their growing role in search and data aggregation. Cloudflare’s latest report sheds light on the dominance of Googlebot among web crawlers and the implications for businesses relying on online visibility. I found the numbers fascinating, showing clear trends that any entrepreneur should be aware of, especially those managing SEO strategies or digital assets.
What the Data Says About Web Crawlers
In Cloudflare’s analysis, Google’s crawler, Googlebot, was responsible for the lion’s share of AI-driven crawling activity. It reached 11.6% of all unique web pages sampled in a two-month period. To illustrate how dominant this is, OpenAI’s GPTBot , the next most active bot , managed only 3.6%. The disparity is even more extreme when compared to Perplexity’s bot, which crawled just 0.06% of the pages in the same timeframe. Clearly, Googlebot’s role isn’t limited to search indexing; it is also heavily involved in AI training, giving it the dual purpose that most competition lacks. This combination makes it practically unavoidable for website owners.
Why Googlebot Leads the Pack
Google enjoys a position of power because it doesn’t just aggregate content for AI models but also directly contributes to search engine rankings for websites. Unlike AI-specific bots that can be blocked via robots.txt without noticeable consequences, limiting Googlebot’s activity could impact your site’s visibility in search results. This means businesses have little choice other than to grant free access to their content if they want to remain competitive in organic search rankings. For startups and small enterprises, this is a critical trade-off. The data shows Googlebot accounted for a hefty 4.5% of all HTML requests globally, well above other AI bots combined, which collectively accounted for approximately 4.2%.
The Rise (and Costs) of AI-Specific Crawlers
Beyond Google, AI-trained bots are increasing their footprint, now representing over 4% of total HTML requests logged in Cloudflare’s network. Such activity doesn’t come without costs. Websites see bandwidth spikes and heightened server loads from crawlers that scrape content without sending human traffic back in meaningful amounts. The crawl-to-refer ratios back this up. OpenAI’s GPTBot had a ratio as high as 3,700-to-1 , meaning GPTBot generated 3,700 crawl requests for every one person it referred back to the source site. For comparison, Google’s referral efficiency, while far better, still exists along a wide spectrum ranging from 3-to-1 to 30-to-1.
This trend has pushed publishers to apply stricter robots.txt configurations. GPTBot, for example, was widely disallowed across Cloudflare-monitored domains, while search-engine-driven bots like Bingbot or Googlebot were spared full blocks. It seems AI-only bots are being given the boot more frequently, partly because they don’t provide direct value to publishers.
What Entrepreneurs Should Do Next
If you’re running an online business, adapting to these trends could save you both money and time. Here’s how to stay ahead:
Audit Your Robots.txt File: Make sure it balances protection against unwanted scraping while leaving room for search engines to do their job. Bots like GPTBot can often be fully disallowed with little to no penalties, especially if they don’t contribute referral traffic to your site.
Monitor Crawl Stats Regularly: Tools like Google Search Console can provide useful visibility into how bots are interacting with your website. High crawl rates that don’t correlate to increased traffic may signal excessive scraping that needs controlling.
Server and Bandwidth Optimization: With AI bot traffic increasing, investing in server resources or caching systems is wise to handle surges. Entrepreneurs need to weigh hosting costs against the benefit of catering to both search bots and occasional AI-specific crawlers.
Engage in Preventive Cybersecurity: Cloudflare’s report also highlights vulnerabilities caused by bot activity, especially in sectors like civil society that saw a sharp increase in targeted attacks. Startups in advocacy or education should allocate budget toward DDoS protection services or multi-layer encryption.
Adapt Your SEO and Analytics: Bots contributing little or no added value might inflate site metrics in unhelpful ways. Ensure tools for measuring unique human visitors are set up to exclude this type of traffic.
Where Businesses Often Fall Short
One common mistake I’ve noticed, which the report indirectly highlights, is treating all crawlers with blanket permissions due to fear of harming SEO. This often results in poorer server performance and increased hosting expenses. Another error is failing to distinguish between the impact of essential bots, like Googlebot, and resource-heavy AI training scrapers that offer no return. Regularly updating crawl allowances may seem like a niche task, but it’s vital if you run a digital-first business.
Future Implications
Cloudflare’s forecast about AI’s rising appetite for web content paints a clear picture: This trend isn’t temporary. By 2026, AI crawling volumes are expected to surge further, possibly forcing more websites to adopt pay-to-crawl models. Startups should start strategizing now by identifying how much crawling they can afford to accommodate while still maintaining profitability. Entrepreneurship often involves guessing intelligently, and this is one area where I believe planning today could save businesses headaches tomorrow.
The overall takeaway from the report isn’t just that Googlebot leads, it’s that AI bots are here to stay, and relying solely on traditional tools to manage web traffic may not be enough moving forward. Businesses that refine their crawling allowances and utilize robust analytics to measure real user engagement stand to gain the most.
FAQ on Cloudflare’s 2025 Report and AI Crawler Trends
1. What percentage of unique web pages were crawled by Googlebot in 2025?
Googlebot crawled 11.6% of unique web pages during a two-month analysis period in 2025, significantly more than any other bot. Read the full Cloudflare report
2. How does Googlebot compare with GPTBot in terms of page crawling?
Googlebot crawled three times more webpages than OpenAI’s GPTBot, which only reached 3.6% of web pages during the same period. Explore additional stats about crawler trends
3. What is the global share of HTML requests by AI bots?
AI bots represented 4.2% of total HTML requests logged in Cloudflare’s network, with Googlebot alone accounting for 4.5%. Check out the Cloudflare Radar Report
4. Why is Googlebot the leading crawler?
Googlebot serves a dual purpose of content aggregation for both search indexing and AI training, making it indispensable for publishers aiming to maintain SEO visibility. Learn more about Googlebot’s dominance
5. What are crawl-to-refer ratios, and how does Googlebot perform in this area?
The crawl-to-refer ratio measures how many crawl requests a bot makes compared to the referral traffic it sends back. Googlebot performs better, with ratios ranging from 3:1 to 30:1, compared to GPTBot’s ratios as high as 3,700:1. Explore crawl-to-refer metrics
6. Can publishers block AI-specific bots without impacting SEO?
Yes, most publishers block AI-only bots like GPTBot through robots.txt settings due to their minimal referral traffic, whereas Googlebot is generally granted access to preserve SEO rankings. Learn how to manage crawler permissions
7. How are websites affected by AI bots in terms of costs and server load?
AI-driven bots, particularly those used for training, contribute to surges in bandwidth use and server load, increasing operational costs without significant traffic return. Discover the implications for website owners
8. What should businesses do to mitigate excessive bot activity?
Businesses should regularly audit their robots.txt files, monitor bot activity using tools like Google Search Console, and optimize their servers and bandwidth resources. Review steps for handling bot traffic
9. Why are AI-only bots like GPTBot frequently disallowed by publishers?
AI-specific bots are often disallowed because they contribute little referral traffic while consuming significant resources for AI training. Explore AI bot blocking practices
10. What are the future implications of increased AI crawling activity?
Cloudflare predicts continued growth in AI-driven web crawling, potentially leading to pay-to-crawl models and necessitating strategic planning by businesses to remain profitable. Understand future crawling trends
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp’s expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the “gamepreneurship” methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.