AI-driven traffic now represents a significant portion of platform activity, yet many publishers lack visibility into how these automated users interact with their content. This session examines the landscape of bots and crawlers accessing scholarly platforms, from legitimate discovery tools and search engines to AI training systems and research assistants. We’ll analyze traffic patterns, discuss how to distinguish between different types of automated access, and explore the technical and strategic considerations for publishers managing this new reality. The conversation will address both the challenges of bot traffic—including bandwidth costs and content protection—and the opportunities it presents for discoverability and reach in an AI-mediated research environment.
This event is part of the 2026 Platform Strategies Webinar Series, “The New User Experience: Understanding the Full Spectrum of AI & Human Engagement in Scholarly Publishing.” Read more here.
