Cloudflare Introduces “Pay-Per-Crawl”: A New Era for Monetizing AI Web Access

In an innovative move set to reshape how website owners manage AI traffic, Cloudflare has announced the launch of its new “Pay-Per-Crawl” feature. This solution empowers website administrators to monetize AI crawler access by seamlessly integrating a paid access model into their existing web infrastructure.

How Does it Work?

The system leverages standard HTTP protocols and authentication protocols familiar to developers. When an AI crawler attempts to access your site, it can indicate a payment intent through custom request headers. If the payment is successful, the server responds with a standard HTTP 200 status, granting access to the requested content. Conversely, if a crawler has not paid, it receives a 402 Payment Required response, along with pricing details, signaling that access is contingent upon payment.

A Turnkey Solution Managed by Cloudflare

Cloudflare acts as the Merchant of Record, handling all payment processing and transaction security, thereby simplifying the monetization process for website owners. Additionally, Cloudflare provides the technical backbone necessary to implement this paid access system smoothly, enabling site administrators to control and monetize how AI entities interact with their content.

This development offers a straightforward, scalable approach to managing AI web crawling, giving content creators new opportunities to generate revenue while maintaining control over their online assets.

Learn More

For a detailed overview of this groundbreaking feature, visit the official Cloudflare blog: Introducing Pay-Per-Crawl.