AI agents are breaking web economics, but Cloudflare says x402 can help
CoinDesk
Cloudflare proposes the x402 protocol to help publishers monetize content as AI-driven bot traffic threatens traditional ad-supported web business models.Summary
Cloudflare's Chief Strategy Officer Stephanie Cohen warns that the rise of AI agents is disrupting web economics by scraping content without driving traffic to original sources. With non-human traffic now exceeding human engagement, Cloudflare is advocating for the x402 protocol, which utilizes the HTTP 402 'Payment Required' status code. This infrastructure allows websites to identify, manage, and potentially charge automated agents for content access, aiming to ensure creators can monetize their work in an increasingly AI-driven internet environment.
(Source：CoinDesk)