The internet was once a space dominated by human users browsing websites, reading content, and interacting online. Today, that balance has shifted. Automated systems known as bots now generate more internet traffic than humans.

Recent research from cybersecurity firms and global network providers shows that automated traffic now accounts for the majority of activity across the web. This shift has significant implications for website owners, businesses, and anyone who relies on internet data and analytics.

This article explains what bot traffic is, why it is increasing, and what it means for the future of the internet.

The Internet’s Tipping Point: Bots vs Humans

The moment automated traffic overtook humans

According to the 2025 Imperva Bad Bot Report, automated traffic now represents 51% of all web traffic globally, meaning bots generate more internet activity than humans for the first time in a decade.
Source: Imperva / Thales
https://cpl.thalesgroup.com/about-us/newsroom/2025-imperva-bad-bot-report-ai-internet-traffic

This milestone reflects the rapid growth of automated systems performing tasks online, from indexing websites to launching cyberattacks.

Network infrastructure data also supports this trend. Cloudflare’s internet traffic analysis found that bots generated more than half of HTML page requests in 2025, exceeding human traffic by roughly 7% overall.
Source: Cloudflare Internet Trends reporting
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/cloudflare-report-reveals-global-internet-internet-traffic-grew-19-percent-in-2025-but-a-lot-of-it-was-just-bots

These findings indicate a fundamental shift in how the internet is used and accessed.

How the balance of internet traffic has changed

Bots have always existed online. Search engines rely on automated crawlers to index websites, and monitoring tools check uptime and performance. However, the scale of automated activity has grown dramatically in recent years.

The Imperva report found that malicious bot traffic has increased for six consecutive years, rising from 32% of internet traffic in 2023 to 37% in 2024.
Source: Imperva / Thales
https://thebestvpn.com/statistics/what-percent-of-internet-traffic-is-bots/

This increase is driven by both legitimate automation and malicious activity.

What Exactly Is Bot Traffic?

Definition of automated web traffic

Bot traffic refers to internet activity generated by automated software rather than human users. These programs interact with websites, send requests to servers, and perform tasks that would normally require human input.

Bots can operate continuously, scanning millions of pages, collecting data, or interacting with websites automatically.

Common categories of internet bots

Bots fall into several broad categories depending on their purpose.

Search engine crawlers

Search engines rely on automated bots to discover and index web pages. Without these crawlers, search engines would not be able to catalogue the internet.

Monitoring and service bots

Some bots monitor website uptime, track prices, or automate tasks for businesses.

Scraping bots

Data-scraping bots collect information from websites, often without permission.

Fraud and attack bots

Malicious bots attempt to exploit websites through activities such as credential stuffing, account takeover attempts, or denial-of-service attacks.

AI-driven automation

Artificial intelligence tools are increasingly generating automated web traffic, performing research, gathering data, and interacting with online services.

Good Bots vs Bad Bots

Legitimate automated systems

Not all bots are harmful. In fact, many are essential to how the internet functions.

The Imperva report estimates that 14% of internet traffic comes from legitimate bots, including search engine crawlers and monitoring services.
Source: Imperva / Thales
https://www.securityweek.com/bot-traffic-surpasses-humans-online-driven-by-ai-and-criminal-innovation/

These bots provide clear benefits. For example:

Search engines use bots to index websites and make content searchable.
Monitoring tools check website performance and uptime.
Security tools scan systems for vulnerabilities.

Malicious or abusive bots

However, a significant portion of bot activity is harmful.

The Imperva report found that 37% of all internet traffic comes from malicious bots.
Source: Imperva / Thales
https://www.securityweek.com/bot-traffic-surpasses-humans-online-driven-by-ai-and-criminal-innovation/

These bots perform activities such as:

scraping website content
launching login attacks
committing fraud
manipulating advertising systems
scanning for vulnerabilities

Many of these systems are designed to imitate human behaviour, making them difficult to detect.

Why Bot Traffic Is Growing So Fast

The role of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is accelerating the growth of automated web activity.

Research from Human Security indicates that AI-driven internet traffic grew nearly eight times faster than human traffic in 2025.
Source: Human Security research
https://www.techradar.com/pro/ai-driven-traffic-is-the-fastest-growing-category-of-internet-traffic-new-report-claims-its-official-ai-and-bots-have-taken-over-the-internet

AI tools can now perform complex tasks online such as gathering information, conducting research, and interacting with digital services.

Lower barriers to automation

Another factor is the increasing availability of automation tools. Software frameworks and online services allow organisations and individuals to deploy automated bots with relatively little technical expertise.

This accessibility has enabled both legitimate businesses and cybercriminals to scale automated activity rapidly.

Bots-as-a-Service

Some cybercriminal groups now offer “Bots-as-a-Service” platforms that provide ready-made tools for launching automated attacks. This model allows attackers to rent bot capabilities rather than build them themselves.

Industries Most Affected by Bot Activity

Certain sectors experience much higher levels of automated activity than others.

According to Imperva research, the travel industry accounted for approximately 27% of bot attacks in 2024, making it one of the most targeted sectors.
Source: Imperva / Thales
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/bot-traffic-human-activity-threat/

Other industries commonly targeted include:

e-commerce
financial services
ticketing platforms
online marketplaces

These sectors often handle valuable data or transactions, making them attractive targets for automated attacks.

How Bots Affect Websites, Analytics, and Online Businesses

Distorted analytics and traffic statistics

Bots can inflate website traffic numbers, making it difficult to understand real user behaviour.

Analytics tools attempt to filter out known bots, but increasingly sophisticated automation can sometimes mimic human activity.

Security threats

Malicious bots are responsible for a wide range of cyber threats, including credential stuffing, scraping, and automated attacks against websites and APIs.

Imperva research indicates that 44% of advanced bot attacks target APIs, compared with 10% targeting traditional web applications.
Source: Imperva security research
https://www.scworld.com/news/malicious-bots-now-make-up-more-than-a-third-of-web-traffic

APIs often expose valuable data and services, making them attractive targets for automated exploitation.

Content scraping and data extraction

Bots frequently collect information from websites for resale, analysis, or competitive advantage. This can impact publishers, retailers, and other businesses whose content is scraped without permission.

How Websites Detect and Block Bots

Bot detection systems

Security tools use behavioural analysis and known bot signatures to identify automated traffic.

These systems monitor patterns such as request frequency, navigation behaviour, and device fingerprints.

Firewalls and bot management

Modern web application firewalls and bot management platforms allow website owners to detect suspicious activity and block malicious automation.

API protection

Because APIs are a common attack target, many organisations now implement rate limiting, authentication controls, and specialised API security tools to defend against automated threats.

The Future of Internet Traffic

AI agents interacting with websites

The growth of AI systems capable of interacting with websites suggests that automated traffic will continue increasing.

These systems may perform tasks such as collecting information, comparing products, or completing transactions on behalf of users.

Machine-to-machine internet activity

As automation expands, the internet may increasingly become a network where machines interact with other machines, with humans initiating tasks but not performing each step directly.

Implications for websites and businesses

For website owners, the rise of automated traffic means security, analytics accuracy, and bot management will become increasingly important.

Understanding the difference between helpful automation and malicious activity will be essential for managing websites effectively in the coming years.