{"id":4411,"date":"2025-09-17T15:49:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T15:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/?p=4411"},"modified":"2025-10-29T07:13:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T07:13:24","slug":"ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Bots Are Replacing Human Traffic on Publisher Websites: What Tollbit\u2019s Latest Report Reveals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Human traffic to publisher websites is declining, while generative AI bots are rising fast.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Tollbit\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/pressgazette.co.uk\/comment-analysis\/human-traffic-down-bot-traffic-up-tollbit\/\">State of the Bots report<\/a> reveals a 9.4% drop in human-originated visits between April and June this year, with AI bot requests now accounting for one in 50 visits.<\/p>\n<p>Have you noticed how fewer people click through to original articles since AI-generated summaries started appearing at the top of search results?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Instead of visiting multiple publisher websites, users often settle for the AI\u2019s neatly packaged answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But what happens when the balance tilts so far that publishers lose the human audience they depend on?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tollbit\u2019s latest findings suggest that shift is already underway and accelerating.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4414\" title=\"AI Bots Are Replacing Human Traffic on Publisher Websites What Tollbit\u2019s Latest Report Reveals\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif\" alt=\"AI Bots Are Replacing Human Traffic on Publisher Websites What Tollbit\u2019s Latest Report Reveals\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif 1024w, https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals-300x300.avif 300w, https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals-150x150.avif 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\"><\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#human-visits-down-ai-bots-rising\" >Human Visits Down, AI Bots Rising<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#why-its-happening-ai-summaries-replace-clicks\" >Why It\u2019s Happening: AI Summaries Replace Clicks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#google-at-the-center-of-the-storm\" >Google at the Center of the Storm<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#economic-harm-to-publishers\" >Economic Harm to Publishers<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#are-ai-powered-walled-gardens-replacing-the-open-web\" >Are AI-Powered Walled Gardens Replacing the Open Web?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#regulatory-scrutiny-and-legal-action\" >Regulatory Scrutiny and Legal Action<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#strategies-for-publishers-adapting-to-the-ai-era\" >Strategies for Publishers: Adapting to the AI Era<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#key-takeaways-seo-lessons-from-the-decline-of-the-open-web\" >Key Takeaways: SEO Lessons from the Decline of the Open Web<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"human-visits-down-ai-bots-rising\"><\/span><b>Human Visits Down, AI Bots Rising<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>According to Tollbit, which tracked activity across 400 partner websites spanning consumer lifestyle, news and niche publications, human page requests fell by 9.4% from April to June 2025 compared with the previous quarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/pressgazette.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/Picture2.png\" alt=\"Human vs AI bot requests, per website (log scale)\n\" width=\"602\" height=\"260\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At the same time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-traffic-surges-527-in-2025-seo-strategies-face-a-radical-rewrite-3836\/\">AI bot traffic surged<\/a>, representing one in 50 visits, up from one in 200 at the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n<p>On the surface, one in 50 might not sound catastrophic. But step back.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That is a 300% increase in bot-driven activity in just six months.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If this trajectory continues, publishers could see a future where bots not readers are their dominant audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And unlike readers, bots do not click ads, subscribe or build loyalty.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"why-its-happening-ai-summaries-replace-clicks\"><\/span><b>Why It\u2019s Happening: AI Summaries Replace Clicks<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/google-takes-the-lead-in-generative-and-agentic-ai-patents-2710\/\">Generative AI systems<\/a> are scraping publisher websites in real time, then serving condensed answers directly inside search engines or chatbot interfaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Users no longer need to click on the source \u2014 they get the summary immediately.<\/p>\n<p>This echoes what many publishers already suspected: AI is substituting visits rather than supplementing them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The ten blue links model of Google Search that used to funnel traffic to publishers is being displaced by AI Overviews, chatbots and other walled interfaces.<\/p>\n<p>Tollbit\u2019s report crystallizes what we have felt intuitively, the web\u2019s value exchange is shifting.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Publishers supply the content but fewer humans arrive at their sites to read it.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"google-at-the-center-of-the-storm\"><\/span><b>Google at the Center of the Storm<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, Google sits at the heart of this shift. Since the global <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/google-expands-ai-overviews-in-search-globally-1127\/\">rollout of AI Overviews<\/a> in October 2024, multiple studies have shown referral traffic to publishers declining.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tollbit adds another layer: Googlebot requests have sharply increased since AI Overviews launched.<\/p>\n<p>Why? Because summarization requires real-time scraping.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Google\u2019s AI systems need to fetch fresh content continuously to generate accurate answers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That means more bot activity, less human engagement.<\/p>\n<p>From Google\u2019s perspective, this is innovation. From a publisher\u2019s perspective, it feels like giving away content for free while receiving less traffic in return.<\/p>\n<p>In a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/penske-media-vs-google-lawsuit-4358\/\"> recent court filing<\/a> on September 5, 2025, Google openly admitted something it had long denied: \u201cthe open web is already in rapid decline.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That statement is more than candid but a chilling confirmation of what many feared.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"economic-harm-to-publishers\"><\/span><b>Economic Harm to Publishers<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A 9.4% drop in human traffic in one quarter is not a blip but a trendline.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/pressgazette.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/Picture3.png\" alt=\"Googlebot requests trend upwards after widespread rollout of AI Overviews \" width=\"602\" height=\"348\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If sustained, this could translate into tens of millions of lost ad impressions, subscriptions and reader interactions across the industry annually.<\/p>\n<p>For publishers operating on already thin margins, this is existential. The substitution effect from AI summaries represents direct economic harm at scale.<\/p>\n<p>And unlike social media referral declines (which publishers have faced before), this one cuts deeper because it undermines search, historically the most consistent source of publisher traffic.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"are-ai-powered-walled-gardens-replacing-the-open-web\"><\/span>Are AI-Powered Walled Gardens Replacing the Open Web?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Tollbit\u2019s report does not just highlight present risks; it foreshadows the longer-term transformation of digital behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Already, one-third of our online time is spent inside algorithm-driven social platforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Add to that the rapid rise of AI assistants, natural language interfaces that fetch, summarize and even act on our behalf and the open web risks becoming an afterthought.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of visiting 10 websites, tomorrow\u2019s user may ask a single AI interface for an answer and never see the source.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The future looks less like open browsing and more like AI-powered walled gardens.<\/p>\n<p>For publishers, that means the question is no longer just how do we grow traffic? but how do we stay visible when traffic itself may no longer exist in the traditional sense?<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"regulatory-scrutiny-and-legal-action\"><\/span><b>Regulatory Scrutiny and Legal Action<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The tension between Google and publishers is not just commercial but legal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Publishers argue they are being forced into an arrangement where granting access to their content for AI is tied to visibility in search and Discover.<\/p>\n<p>This raises competition concerns already under regulatory review in the UK and elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But regulation moves slowly and as the report notes, \u201cmuch harm may be done before interventions are made.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In other words, publishers may bleed audiences and revenue while legal battles drag on.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"strategies-for-publishers-adapting-to-the-ai-era\"><\/span><b>Strategies for Publishers: Adapting to the AI Era<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>So what now? Publishers can\u2019t simply block AI crawlers without sacrificing visibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But they can adapt. Tollbit\u2019s report hints at strategies that may help:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Sharpen the Brand<\/b> \u2013 Stronger publisher brands create direct loyalty, making readers seek them out instead of passively relying on AI summaries.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Produce Rich, Human Journalism<\/b> \u2013 Content with humor, analysis and personality is harder to replace with an AI summary. Think expert columns, investigative reporting or opinion-driven features.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Innovate in Formats<\/b> \u2013 Multimedia, podcasts, video explainers engage audiences in ways plain text cannot.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pursue Licensing Models<\/b> \u2013 Some publishers are already exploring licensing their content to AI providers, ensuring at least partial compensation for use.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>But beware: licensing can introduce intermediaries that risk eroding future revenue if not balanced carefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Publishers must weigh immediate gains against long-term sustainability.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"key-takeaways-seo-lessons-from-the-decline-of-the-open-web\"><\/span><b>Key Takeaways: SEO Lessons from the Decline of the Open Web<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Open Web Decline as a Keyword<\/b> \u2013 Terms like \u201cdecline of open web\u201d and \u201cAI vs publisher traffic\u201d will trend; publishers should build content around them.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>AI Assistants Reshape Search<\/b> \u2013 Optimize for AI search visibility with structured data, citations, and licensing.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Human-Centric Content Wins<\/b> \u2013 Expert-driven, opinion-rich and creative content ranks better because AI can\u2019t replicate it.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Direct Audience Matters<\/b> \u2013 Strengthen brand searches and owned platforms to reduce reliance on AI-mediated traffic.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Human traffic to publisher websites is declining, while generative AI bots are rising fast.\u00a0 Tollbit\u2019s State of the Bots report reveals a 9.4% drop in human-originated visits between April and June this year, with AI bot requests now accounting for one in 50 visits. Have you noticed how fewer people click through to original articles [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AI Bots Replace Human Traffic on Publisher Sites Tollbit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tollbit\u2019s latest report shows human visits to publishers fell 9.4% while AI bot traffic surged 300%. What this means for SEO and publishing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AI Bots Replace Human Traffic on Publisher Sites Tollbit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tollbit\u2019s latest report shows human visits to publishers fell 9.4% while AI bot traffic surged 300%. What this means for SEO and publishing.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stan Ventures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StanVentures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-17T15:49:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-29T07:13:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dileep Thekkethil\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@dthekkethil\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@stanventures\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dileep Thekkethil\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dileep Thekkethil\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/87d00ff18daf9650e7c925ae4bf86efb\"},\"headline\":\"AI Bots Are Replacing Human Traffic on Publisher Websites: What Tollbit\u2019s Latest Report Reveals\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-17T15:49:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-29T07:13:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1018,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"AI\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/\",\"name\":\"AI Bots Replace Human Traffic on Publisher Sites Tollbit\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-17T15:49:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-29T07:13:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"Tollbit\u2019s latest report shows human visits to publishers fell 9.4% while AI bot traffic surged 300%. What this means for SEO and publishing.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1024,\"caption\":\"AI Bots Are Replacing Human Traffic on Publisher Websites What Tollbit\u2019s Latest Report Reveals\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"AI Bots Are Replacing Human Traffic on Publisher Websites: What Tollbit\u2019s Latest Report Reveals\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stan Ventures\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Stan Ventures\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/Stan-Ventures.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/Stan-Ventures.webp\",\"width\":2001,\"height\":801,\"caption\":\"Stan Ventures\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/StanVentures\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/stanventures\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/87d00ff18daf9650e7c925ae4bf86efb\",\"name\":\"Dileep Thekkethil\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/911bd385b9da54d4a69f19f536a6419e576244371bd6e7d96f06c583dd402fa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/911bd385b9da54d4a69f19f536a6419e576244371bd6e7d96f06c583dd402fa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/911bd385b9da54d4a69f19f536a6419e576244371bd6e7d96f06c583dd402fa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dileep Thekkethil\"},\"description\":\"Dileep Thekkethil is the Director of Marketing at Stan Ventures, where he applies over 15 years of SEO and digital marketing expertise to drive growth and authority. A former journalist with six years of experience, he combines strategic storytelling with technical know-how to help brands navigate the shift toward AI-driven search and generative engines. Dileep is a strong advocate for Google\u2019s EEAT standards, regularly sharing real-world use cases and scenarios to demystify complex marketing trends. He is an avid gardener of tropical fruits, a motor enthusiast, and a dedicated caretaker of his pair of cockatiels.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stanventures.com\\\/news\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/dileep-pradeep-3705aa53\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/dthekkethil\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stanventures.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/admin_7mxgn8tx\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AI Bots Replace Human Traffic on Publisher Sites Tollbit","description":"Tollbit\u2019s latest report shows human visits to publishers fell 9.4% while AI bot traffic surged 300%. What this means for SEO and publishing.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"AI Bots Replace Human Traffic on Publisher Sites Tollbit","og_description":"Tollbit\u2019s latest report shows human visits to publishers fell 9.4% while AI bot traffic surged 300%. What this means for SEO and publishing.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/","og_site_name":"Stan Ventures","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StanVentures\/","article_published_time":"2025-09-17T15:49:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-29T07:13:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dileep Thekkethil","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@dthekkethil","twitter_site":"@stanventures","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dileep Thekkethil","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/"},"author":{"name":"Dileep Thekkethil","@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/87d00ff18daf9650e7c925ae4bf86efb"},"headline":"AI Bots Are Replacing Human Traffic on Publisher Websites: What Tollbit\u2019s Latest Report Reveals","datePublished":"2025-09-17T15:49:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-29T07:13:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/"},"wordCount":1018,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif","articleSection":["AI"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/","url":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/","name":"AI Bots Replace Human Traffic on Publisher Sites Tollbit","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif","datePublished":"2025-09-17T15:49:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-29T07:13:24+00:00","description":"Tollbit\u2019s latest report shows human visits to publishers fell 9.4% while AI bot traffic surged 300%. What this means for SEO and publishing.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-Bots-Are-Replacing-Human-Traffic-on-Publisher-Websites-What-Tollbits-Latest-Report-Reveals.avif","width":1024,"height":1024,"caption":"AI Bots Are Replacing Human Traffic on Publisher Websites What Tollbit\u2019s Latest Report Reveals"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/ai-bots-replacing-human-traffic-publisher-sites-4411\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"AI Bots Are Replacing Human Traffic on Publisher Websites: What Tollbit\u2019s Latest Report Reveals"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/","name":"Stan Ventures","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Stan Ventures","url":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Stan-Ventures.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Stan-Ventures.webp","width":2001,"height":801,"caption":"Stan Ventures"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StanVentures\/","https:\/\/x.com\/stanventures"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/87d00ff18daf9650e7c925ae4bf86efb","name":"Dileep Thekkethil","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/911bd385b9da54d4a69f19f536a6419e576244371bd6e7d96f06c583dd402fa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/911bd385b9da54d4a69f19f536a6419e576244371bd6e7d96f06c583dd402fa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/911bd385b9da54d4a69f19f536a6419e576244371bd6e7d96f06c583dd402fa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dileep Thekkethil"},"description":"Dileep Thekkethil is the Director of Marketing at Stan Ventures, where he applies over 15 years of SEO and digital marketing expertise to drive growth and authority. A former journalist with six years of experience, he combines strategic storytelling with technical know-how to help brands navigate the shift toward AI-driven search and generative engines. Dileep is a strong advocate for Google\u2019s EEAT standards, regularly sharing real-world use cases and scenarios to demystify complex marketing trends. He is an avid gardener of tropical fruits, a motor enthusiast, and a dedicated caretaker of his pair of cockatiels.","sameAs":["https:\/\/stanventures.com\/news","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/dileep-pradeep-3705aa53\/","https:\/\/x.com\/dthekkethil"],"url":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/author\/admin_7mxgn8tx\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4416,"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4411\/revisions\/4416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stanventures.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}