To build a better Internet in the age of AI, we need responsible AI bot principles. Here’s our proposal.

Cloudflare proposes five responsible AI bot principles to address the tension between AI innovation and content creator rights. The principles emphasize public disclosure of bot information, truthful self-identification through cryptographic verification, single-purpose declarations, respect for website preferences via robots.txt and emerging standards, and prohibition of deceptive crawling practices. These guidelines aim to balance AI company needs with publisher concerns about reduced website traffic and content monetization in an era where AI summaries increasingly replace direct site visits.