Separate reader traffic
Search suggestions around AI bot traffic, Cloudflare AI bot traffic, and robots.txt controls show that site operators are trying to separate discovery from resource drain.
Request volume is not the same as user demand. Early sites need to distinguish search visibility, real visits, resource requests, crawlers, and hostile probes.
Requests are not readers
The useful question is not whether traffic looks busy; it is which activity represents readers, monitoring, crawlers, retries, or system errors.
Check the logs first
- Create a traffic-layer table for search impressions, real visits, asset requests, crawlers, and suspicious probes
- Keep the test narrow: one service scenario with clear inputs, deliverables, acceptance rules, and human review
What still needs proof
Overblocking can hurt search crawlers and real users. Start from logs and robots.txt, then validate carefully. Keep the original source open so the announcement, the evidence, and this site's interpretation stay separate.