Publishing Industry Under Attack: Global AI Bot Activity Surges by 300%, Akamai Report Finds

Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) released its 2026 State of the Internet report showing a 300% surge in AI bot activity in 2025, with the media sector (including publishing) capturing 13% of AI bot traffic and publishing accounting for 40% of that activity.

Rhea-AI Summary

Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) released its 2026 State of the Internet report showing a 300% surge in AI bot activity in 2025, with the media sector (including publishing) capturing 13% of AI bot traffic and publishing accounting for 40% of that activity.

The report highlights AI fetchers and training crawlers as distinct threats, finds AI chatbots cut referral traffic by ~96% in Q4 2024, and offers a practical AI bot management checklist for publishers.

Positive

• Actionable mitigation: report includes an AI bot management checklist for publishers
• Longitudinal data: SOTI in its 12th year, drawing on Akamai global traffic telemetry

Negative

• AI bot activity +300% in 2025
• Referral traffic -96% from AI chatbots vs Google search in Q4 2024
• Publishing captures 40% of AI bot activity targeting media
• AI training crawlers 63% of AI bots targeting media

Argus Apr 8 session

+1.85% close to close Open Argus

Details

News Market Reaction – AKAM

On Apr 8, the day this news came out, AKAM closed 1.85% above the previous close.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus for the Apr 8 session.

Key Figures

AI bot activity surge: 300% Media share of AI bot traffic: 13% Publishing share of media bot activity: 40% +5 more

AI bot activity surge

300%

Increase in AI bot activity in 2025

Media share of AI bot traffic

13%

Media industry share of global AI bot traffic

Publishing share of media bot activity

40%

Portion of media-targeted AI bots hitting publishing organizations

Referral traffic drop

96% less

AI chatbots vs Google search referral traffic in Q4 2024

Training crawlers share

63%

Share of AI bots targeting media that are training crawlers

Publishing focus within crawlers

37%

Training crawlers specifically focused on publishing

AI fetchers share

24%

AI fetchers as share of AI bot activity targeting media

Publishing share of fetchers

43%

Portion of AI fetcher traffic targeting publishing

Previous AI Reports

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24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.

Key Terms

ai bots, large language models (llms), ai training crawlers, ai assistants

4 terms

ai bots technical

"Akamai ... released a new State of the Internet (SOTI) report examining how AI bots are reshaping"

AI bots are software programs that use artificial intelligence to perform tasks such as answering questions, analyzing data, automating routine work, or interacting with customers and other systems. For investors, they matter because they can act like automated employees or tools that scale quickly—reducing costs, speeding up decision-making, enabling new products or services, but also bringing potential regulatory, security, or competitive risks that can affect a company’s growth and valuation.

large language models (llms) technical

"Companies increasingly deploy AI bots to collect data for large language models (LLMs)"

Large language models (LLMs) are advanced computer programs trained on massive amounts of text to generate, summarize, translate and understand human-like language. For investors they matter because LLMs can act like a very fast, experienced research assistant—automating customer service, speeding product development and cutting costs—while also creating new revenue opportunities and regulatory, accuracy and ethical risks that can affect a company’s profits and reputation.

ai training crawlers technical

"While AI training crawlers generate the most automated traffic, AI fetchers — bots that retrieve"

Automated programs that scan websites and other digital sources to collect large amounts of text, images, audio or code used to teach artificial intelligence systems how to recognize patterns and make predictions. Investors care because the breadth, quality and legality of the data these crawlers gather affect a company’s AI performance, costs, competitive advantage and exposure to intellectual property or privacy risks—similar to how a better library improves a researcher’s results.

ai assistants technical

"By delivering answers directly through AI assistants, these tools reduce the need for users"

AI assistants are software tools that use artificial intelligence to perform tasks like answering questions, summarizing documents, and automating routine work; think of them as skilled, fast digital helpers that handle information and repetitive chores. For investors, they can lower operating costs, speed research and decision-making, and reshape competitiveness and profitability across industries, while also introducing risks around accuracy, data security and regulatory oversight.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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The sector ranks second globally in AI bot activity, with most attacks targeting publishing organizations

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) released a new State of the Internet (SOTI) report examining how AI bots are reshaping the digital publishing ecosystem. Protecting Publishing: Navigating the AI Bot Era finds that AI bot activity surged by 300% in 2025, with the media industry, which includes publishing companies — ranking second globally with 13% of AI bot traffic.

AI bots overwhelmingly targeted publishing organizations, which made up 40% of that activity. This concentration highlights how content-rich websites have become prime targets for automated scraping.

Companies increasingly deploy AI bots to collect data for large language models (LLMs) and to power AI-driven search tools. While AI training crawlers generate the most automated traffic, AI fetchers — bots that retrieve content in real time to answer user queries — pose a more immediate threat. By delivering answers directly through AI assistants, these tools reduce the need for users to visit original content creators’ websites.

This shift is already impacting the publishing industry’s bottom lines. The SOTI report found that AI chatbots drove approximately 96% less referral traffic than traditional Google search in Q4 2024, sharply reducing a critical source of audience and revenue.

Additional key findings include:

• OpenAI leads in impact: OpenAI generated the highest volume of AI bot traffic targeting media companies. Within that traffic, publishing organizations accounted for 40% of all OpenAI requests.
  
• AI training crawlers dominate: AI training crawlers made up 63% of all AI bots targeting the media industry, with 37% focused specifically on publishing.
  
• AI fetchers are on the rise: AI fetchers represented 24% of all AI bot activity targeting media, with publishing accounting for 43% of that segment.
  
  

“The fundamental shift in how people get their information is impacting publishers,” said Patrick Sullivan, Akamai’s Chief Technology Officer, Security Strategy. “AI bots are eroding core revenue streams, such as advertising and subscriptions, while driving up infrastructure costs and diminishing brand visibility. Fortunately, our report offers strategies to address this problem.”

Protecting Publishing: Navigating the AI Bot Era also examines emerging AI bot categories, highlights new security approaches for the publishing industry, and provides a practical AI bot management checklist to help organizations mitigate risk and protect their content.

Now in their 12th year, Akamai’s SOTI reports continue to offer critical insights on cybersecurity trends and web performance, drawn from attacks viewed across Akamai’s cybersecurity infrastructure, which handles a significant portion of global web traffic.

About Akamai

Akamai is the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business online. Our market-leading security solutions, superior threat intelligence, and global operations team provide defense in depth to safeguard enterprise data and applications everywhere. Akamai’s full-stack cloud computing solutions deliver performance and affordability on the world’s most distributed platform. Global enterprises trust Akamai to provide the industry-leading reliability, scale, and expertise they need to grow their business with confidence. Learn more at akamai.com and akamai.com/blog, or follow Akamai Technologies on X and LinkedIn.

Contact
Akamai Media Relations
akamaipr@akamai.com

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

How much did AI bot activity increase in 2025 according to Akamai (AKAM)?

AI bot activity rose by 300% in 2025, per Akamai. According to the company, the surge reflects broader use of bots for LLM training and real-time AI fetchers collecting publisher content.

What share of AI bot traffic did publishing face in Akamai's April 8, 2026 report (AKAM)?

Publishing accounted for 40% of AI bot activity targeting media, the report found. According to the company, content-rich publishing sites are prime targets for scraping and real-time fetch requests.

How did AI chatbots affect referral traffic to publishers in Q4 2024, per Akamai (AKAM)?

AI chatbots drove about 96% less referral traffic than Google search in Q4 2024. According to the company, that decline reduces ad and subscription opportunities for publishers.

Which AI bot types dominated media targeting in Akamai's AKAM report?

AI training crawlers made up 63% of AI bots targeting media, per Akamai. The company also reported AI fetchers at 24%, with a rising trend toward real-time content retrieval.

Does Akamai (AKAM) identify specific companies generating AI bot traffic in the report?

Yes; Akamai reported that OpenAI generated the highest volume of AI bot traffic targeting media. According to the company, many of those requests disproportionately targeted publishing organizations.

What solutions does Akamai (AKAM) recommend for publishers facing AI bot pressure?

Akamai offers a practical AI bot management checklist and new security approaches. According to the company, these measures aim to mitigate scraping, preserve referrals, and manage infrastructure costs.