As the large language models driving generative AI tools gather more data from the web, Matthew Prince, cofounder and CEO of Cloudflare, shared at WIRED’s Big Interview event in San Francisco on Thursday that the internet infrastructure firm has blocked over 400 billion AI bot requests for its customers since July 1. This initiative follows the company’s announcement of a Content Independence Day in July—where they teamed up with notable publishers and AI companies to block AI crawlers from accessing content creators’ work unless the AI firms pay for it. Since July 2024, Cloudflare has provided customers with tools to prevent AI bots from scraping their content. According to Cloudflare, the total number of AI bots blocked since July 1, 2025, has reached 416 billion.
“The business model of the internet has always been to create content that attracts traffic [to a website] and then sell products, subscriptions, or advertisements,” Prince explained to WIRED’s executive editor, Brian Barrett. “What many people may not realize, though, is that AI represents a platform shift. The business model of the internet is set to change dramatically. I’m not exactly sure what that change will look like, but it’s what occupies my mind for nearly every waking hour.”
Cloudflare’s focus is on making online content quicker and safer to access. However, as the AI landscape has expanded and new AI giants have emerged, Prince is increasingly focused on how Cloudflare can use its position to prevent consolidation and maintain the internet as a space where businesses and creators, no matter their size, can survive—or even thrive.
“We need to ensure that businesses of all sizes can succeed on a fair playing field,” Prince stated. “That’s the future we’re aiming for. That’s the best scenario for our business because it means more potential customers for us. It also means more internet for us to protect.”
Prince voiced specific concerns regarding Google’s policies about its search and AI crawlers. In its quest for dominance, Google has merged its search and AI crawlers into a single entity, meaning that blocking its AI scraper also impacts a site’s visibility in Google search results. This has created a dilemma for content creators who want to stop AI models from training on their work but still need their content to be found on Google.
“You can’t choose to opt out of one without opting out of both, which presents a real challenge—it’s absurd,” Prince remarked. “It shouldn’t be the case that you can use your previous monopoly to secure a monopoly in the future market.”
