Majority of Web Traffic Now Comes From AI Bots, Boosting Infrastructure Stocks

Data from Cloudflare shows that AI agents and other bots account for roughly 57% of all web requests. Shares of internet infrastructure companies that handle this traffic are rising.

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince had predicted bots would overtake humans by the end of 2027. The milestone was actually reached in May, he noted.

Who Benefits When Bots Dominate Web Traffic?

These firms operate content delivery networks (CDNs) and global server hubs that accelerate and protect web traffic. Increased automated requests drive more demand for that capacity, according to CNBC’s Jim Cramer.

Cramer said Cloudflare (NET) has climbed 121% from its February low. Akamai (AKAM) is up 51% from a November low, and Fastly (FSLY) has risen 159% this year.

Anthropic provided Akamai’s latest catalyst. The company disclosed an $11.6 billion, seven-year commitment from the AI lab on September 24, per its SEC filing.

The contract covers Anthropic’s central processing unit (CPU) workloads. The AI lab also received a warrant to purchase up to roughly 5% of Akamai’s shares.

Shares surged as much as 16% the following day, CNBC reported. Cramer said those gains have since been fully erased and more.

Akamai does not expect any change to its 2026 revenue guidance. It plans to spend approximately $1.7 billion more this year on items such as memory.

Is Akamai Truly Cheaper Than Cloudflare and Fastly?

Cramer described Akamai as cheap at under 16 times this year’s earnings estimates. He valued Cloudflare at 279 times and Fastly at more than 50.

He linked Akamai’s discount to a year of heavy spending. Cloudflare’s revenue growth has been accelerating for about a year, he said.

Goldman Sachs strategist Peter Oppenheimer sees risk across the sector. He warned of an earnings bubble in tech, citing heavy borrowing and AI spending that exceeds cash flow.

Cloudflare CEO Prince wants AI companies to pay for content their crawlers gather. On September 15, Cloudflare introduced a setting that allows sites to block AI training while remaining in search results.

Apple and Google already respect the opt-out, while Microsoft intends to support it in early 2027, according to Cloudflare.

Prince predicts automated traffic could hit 1,000 times human traffic within five years. Whether AI firms pay for it may determine who funds the supporting infrastructure.