Cloudflare CEO says AI agent optimization may become a new SEO

Cloudflare says it has started earning revenue from products tied to a new internet business model, including work that helps AI agents visit websites more efficiently. According to Search Engine Journal, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince compared helping customers attract AI agent traffic to a new version of SEO.

The report also says OpenAI is paying Cloudflare for signals that show when pages have changed, so its crawler does not need to repeatedly fetch the same content. Cloudflare said customer interest is split, with some wanting more AI agent traffic and others wanting those agents blocked.

What changed

On Cloudflare’s earnings call, Prince said the company recorded its first revenue from what it calls Act 4 products in the third quarter. He did not provide a separate revenue figure for that category, and Cloudflare’s results release did not break it out.

Prince gave one specific example: Cloudflare provides OpenAI with update signals about webpages, such as when a restaurant changes pricing, and OpenAI pays for that service. He also said Cloudflare helps customers who want more visits from AI agents, which he described as similar to a new form of SEO, while customers who do not want that traffic can block it.

What it means for your website

If your business depends on being found in Google and AI search tools, this points to a new decision: do you want AI agents to access your site more often, or do you want tighter control over that traffic? Cloudflare’s comments suggest that nonhuman visits may keep growing, and that some companies are already paying for more efficient access to website content.

For small and mid-size businesses, the practical issue is not just visibility. It is also cost and control. An AI agent may pull information from many sites even though only one gets the user, which means some businesses could see extra server load without a clear benefit. At the same time, fresh and clearly updated pages may matter more if AI systems rely on change signals and discovery tools.

What to do now

• Decide whether your business wants AI agents to access your site broadly, selectively, or not at all.
• Review any CDN, hosting, or security settings you already use to see whether AI crawler controls are available.
• Keep important pages current, especially pages with pricing, services, menus, hours, or other details that change.
• Monitor server usage and traffic patterns so you can spot whether automated visits are rising and whether they bring any business value.
• Watch for future updates on whether more AI companies pay for crawl hints and whether websites receive any share of that value.