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🔒Cloudflare Sets Deadline for AI Crawler Separation: September 15, 2026

Your site's ad revenue vs. AI training data access

TL;DR

Starting September 15, 2026, Cloudflare will block mixed-use crawlers from pages with ads, impacting how AI models can train on web content. Publishers gain control over their data and ad revenue.

Cloudflare has set a new deadline for separating web crawlers used for traditional search purposes from those used for AI training to September 15, 2026. This move aims to protect website owners' intellectual property while allowing discoverability through search engines. Starting this date, Cloudflare's default settings will block 'mixed-use' crawlers from any pages that host ads, affecting new and existing free customers. Website owners now have more control over their content in the AI era with tools like Pay Per Crawl and Pay Per Use, which allow them to charge for access or usage of their data.

Cloudflare Sets Deadline for AI Crawler Separation: September 15, 2026 — TechCrunch

Key Points

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New Cloudflare policy blocks 'mixed-use' crawlers from pages with ads starting September 15, 2026

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