How much online traffic is real? The age of automation and AI has given added importance to this question. As much as 51% of all Web traffic in 2024 was automated, according to the 2025 Thales Bad Bot Report, while malicious bots specifically made up 37% of all Internet traffic.Quietly distorting the Internet, bots are a growing cybersecurity challenge, whether they’re scraping pricing data and hoarding inventory, spreading misinformation, or launching large-scale attacks that knock websites and IT resources offline.
This automation undermines trust in digital experiences as well as causing significant financial losses. According to the ‘Economic Impact of API and Bot Attacks’ report from Imperva, bot attacks and API security flaws result in up to $186 billion in losses for businesses globally.Thanks to the power of automation, bots are also evolving and learning from defenses as operators adapt their behavior to better blend in with legitimate traffic.AI tools can help bots mimic our clicks, pauses, and even typing rhythms – with large language models help generate convincing natural text or responses that make them sound human in chat or API interactions.
