Cloudflare to Block Mixed-Use Bots Starting Sept. 2026

The New Default Block
Matthew Prince, Cloudflare's co‑founder and CEO, explained the reasoning in a recent announcement. "Now that the majority of traffic on the Internet is non-human, we must go further and act faster so that a sustainable ecosystem can emerge," he said. Cloudflare also notes that over 50% of crawl traffic from AI crawlers is spent re‑fetching web pages that have not changed. That waste, combined with the surge in bot traffic, makes the new policy necessary.

This change is especially relevant for the world's largest search engine - clearly a reference to Google. Cloudflare specifically calls out that search engine as having access to about "2x more information" compared to other AI firms, noting that its dominance forces clients to choose between visibility and being exploited for AI. These default rules will be enabled for all new users, fresh websites from current clients, and any current free-tier accounts.

The Pay‑Per‑Use Shift
In the new system, publishers receive payment based on the value their content generates, rather than simply for being accessed.

Opted-in publishers receive compensation when Ceramic's AI search results display their content or when You.com uses a premium piece. Cloudflare notes that other AI firms can adapt this approach to their own needs.

Prince added, "Cloudflare's new tools and partnerships give website owners increased visibility and commercial opportunities and benefit AI companies that have bots with clear and transparent intent. We hope that our proposed default changes encourage mixed-use crawlers to separate out search from agent use and training."

The announcement was made on July 1, 2026. Cloudflare says the new system is designed to create a sustainable ecosystem where publishers can get paid when AI companies use their content.

Blogs

October 5, 2026

What Is the Briefs Connector? A Simple Guide

By Briefs Finance

The Briefs Connector lets your favorite AI read Briefs research, like Pro reports and the Briefs Score.
Without it, an AI asked about investing can give answers that sound right but aren't backed by that research.
It explains the research, but it won't tell you what to buy or sell.

October 5, 2026

Is a Recession Coming? What the Last Five Rate Hiking Cycles Say

By Jackson Moreland

The Fed has started raising rates again, and in the last five hiking cycles going back to 1994, a recession never started while the hikes were underway.
The pain showed up where there was a bubble to pop - housing in 2008, dot-coms in 2000, the pandemic money-printing boom in 2022 - and usually after the hikes ended.
Private equity and private credit are feeling this cycle first, and how far the pain spreads depends on how high rates go and how long they stay there.

October 2, 2026

Fed Interest Rates May Rise Again in 2026 - and the Newest Culprit Is AI

By Nate Gregory

Fed Governor Barr told a meeting our head of investing research attended that higher rates are likely in 2026, lower inflation may not come soon, and AI is now pushing prices up.
The same week, President Trump asked the biggest AI companies to police themselves under an accord that's morally but not legally binding, because the White House sees AI as a race with China.
Higher rates put downward pressure on asset prices and squeeze borrowers, but the way through hasn't changed: own investments, buy on a schedule, and treat downturns as discounts.

October 1, 2026

Housing Market 2026: Why Office Buildings Are Cracking Before Houses Do

By Andre Savage

Office buildings are selling for 80% to 95% off because their five-year loans are resetting at much higher rates while half-empty floors have gutted the income those buildings are valued on.
Housing is under pressure, not cracking: a $400,000 mortgage costs $975 more a month than at 3%, but six of every seven mortgages are still under 6% and those owners are staying put.
Whether pressure turns into cracks is a race between unaffordability and the economy, and either way Jaspreet's rule is to treat your house as a liability and buy only what you can afford.

September 30, 2026

Dividend Investing vs. Growth Investing: Why the Slower Portfolio Can End Up Bigger

By Milena Thomas

"What stock should I buy?" is the wrong first question. Growth, income, or wealth preservation comes first, and the goal changes which stocks even make sense.
At $500 a month for 30 years, 13% growth builds about $1.75 million. 10% growth plus a reinvested 4% dividend builds a little more than $2.2 million and pays a little more than $80,000 a year.
Income investors have US dividend ETFs, REITs, and international dividend funds to study. Growth investors have the Nasdaq 100, AI and chip funds, and small caps. None of it is a recommendation.

September 29, 2026

Why Is Gold Going Down? A 5.2% Treasury Yield Just Took Its Job

By Andre Savage

President Trump rejected Iran's deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices jumped back up, and gold fell instead of rising.
Treasury yields hit their highest level in more than 20 years, so investors sold gold and bought Treasuries that pay interest.
Higher Treasury yields make the national debt, mortgages, car loans, and credit cards more expensive, with the Fed's next rate decision due October 28.

September 28, 2026

The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Why the Government Wants Bitcoin to Explode

By Jackson Moreland

The US government holds about 328,000 Bitcoin, worth roughly $25 billion, and since a 2025 executive order it keeps seized coins instead of selling them.
Washington wants a bigger pile of assets so its $40 trillion national debt looks smaller next to them, which lets it keep borrowing and spending.
Bitcoin's wild price swings, and a government holding a coin built to escape governments, are the two risks investors need to watch.

September 25, 2026

BRIEFS EXCLUSIVE: 43% Of Respondents Say Bills Outran Their Income Over Past Two Years

By Briefs Finance

43% of the 494 Market Briefs readers surveyed said their bills grew faster than their income over the past two years, even though 79% could cover a surprise $5,000 expense tomorrow.
Half of readers own gold or crypto, the two classic bets against a weaker dollar, and only 13% bought nothing at all in the last 12 months.
The median reader says it takes $150,000 a year to feel financially secure, about $62,000 above the U.S. median household income.

September 25, 2026

The Economy Is Booming. So Why Did Stocks and Bonds Fall Together?

By Milena Thomas

S&P Global says the US economy is growing at its fastest rate since 2021, with corporate profits up 28.9% in a year, almost four times the historical average.
Stocks and bonds fell at the same time, which is not how the two markets normally behave, because Treasury yields above 5% now compete with stocks for investors' money.
Jaspreet Singh lays out three ways to invest through a shift like this: always be buying, buy the crash, or follow the money before it hits the headlines.

September 24, 2026

The 2026 Economic Reset Is Starting: Are We in a Recession, or Is the Pain Still Ahead?

By Nate Gregory

The Federal Reserve has flipped from stimulating the economy to fighting inflation with higher interest rates, while the White House still wants growth at almost any cost.
The national debt tops $40 trillion, has outgrown the entire U.S. economy, and its interest payments are now the government's fastest-growing expense.
Higher rates bring pain for private equity, private credit, and speculative assets, but they open opportunities for investors holding cash, treasuries, and value assets.

1 2 3 … 28 Next »

NEWS / Technology

Cloudflare to Block Mixed-Use Bots from Ad-Supported Pages Starting Sept. 2026

Summary:

The Pay‑Per‑Use Shift In the new system, publishers receive payment based on the value their content generates, rather than simply for being accessed.

Worth Noting Cloudflare's move puts pressure on AI companies to either declare their crawler's purpose clearly or pay for the content they use. The September 15 deadline gives publishers a few months to see if mixed-use crawlers will adapt.

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The Pay‑Per‑Use Shift
In the new system, publishers receive payment based on the value their content generates, rather than simply for being accessed.

Worth Noting
Cloudflare's move puts pressure on AI companies to either declare their crawler's purpose clearly or pay for the content they use. The September 15 deadline gives publishers a few months to see if mixed-use crawlers will adapt.