A new report has revealed that artificial intelligence(AI) bots are generating more online traffic than humans.
According to cybersecurity firm Imperva, AI-driven bots accounted for 51 per cent of all web traffic in 2024.
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The report draws on data gathered across Imperva’s global network in 2024, which included blocking 13 trillion malicious bot requests across thousands of websites and industries.
The findings highlight the rapid development of advanced AI tools like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and other autonomous systems that can now browse, scrape, and interact with websites on their own.
“Bots are no longer just simple scrapers,” said in the report.
“Agentic bots are now capable of interpreting data, making decisions, and acting autonomously — and they’re flooding the internet.”
Cybercriminals are increasingly using large volumes of simpler bots to overwhelm travel websites, leading to more frequent and widespread attacks.
Among these AI tools, ByteSpider Bot is the biggest offender, accounting for 54 per cent of all AI-driven attacks.
Other major contributors include AppleBot at 26 per cent, ClaudeBot at 13 per cent, and the ChatGPT User Bot at six per cent.
Tim Chang, General Manager of Application Security at Thales Cybersecurity Products, said the shift is not just about the volume of traffic — “it’s about who, or what, is shaping the online world.”
“It’s crucial to adopt an adaptive and proactive approach, leveraging sophisticated bot detection tools and comprehensive cybersecurity management solutions to build a resilient defense against the ever-shifting landscape of bot-related threats.”
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