Google’s Gary Illyes recently warned that AI agents and bots are about to cause major “web congestion.” As more businesses use AI tools, the internet will see a huge surge in automated traffic. If you run a website, now is the time to prepare.
AI Agents Set to Flood the Web
On a recent Search Off the Record podcast, Gary Illyes from Google’s Search Relations team explained that “everyone and my grandmother is launching a crawler.” These AI-powered bots are being used for everything from content creation to market research. As companies adopt more AI, your website could see a spike in automated visits.
This rise in AI traffic is already happening. Businesses need AI tools to stay competitive, but each tool sends out its own crawler. That means more requests and more strain on your site.
How Google Manages Crawlers
Google uses a single, unified system for all its products. Whether it’s Search, AdSense, or Gmail, each uses the same crawler infrastructure. The only difference is the user agent name each product uses. All Google crawlers follow the same rules for robots.txt and server health.
This system helps Google scale back when your site is under pressure. It also keeps things efficient, so you don’t get overwhelmed by too many requests at once.
Crawling Isn’t the Real Problem
Many people think crawling eats up server resources. Illyes disagrees. He says the real resource drain comes from indexing and serving data, not crawling itself. Fetching pages is quick and light. Processing and storing all that data is what puts a strain on your infrastructure.
For website owners, this means you should focus on optimizing your database and backend, not just limiting crawlers.
The Web’s Explosive Growth
The internet has grown from a few thousand pages in the 1990s to trillions today. Modern sites can have millions of pages each. To keep up, crawlers have evolved from basic HTTP 1.1 to faster protocols like HTTP/2, with HTTP/3 on the way.
As the web expands, so does the need for robust website design and smart search engine optimization strategies. Cyberset can help you stay ahead with scalable solutions.
Google’s Push for Efficiency
Google has worked hard to reduce its crawling footprint and make life easier for site owners. But every time they save a few bytes, new AI products add more traffic. It’s a constant cycle of gains and losses.
To keep up, you need a strong digital foundation. Consider professional custom website development or ecommerce website development to ensure your site can handle future demands.
How to Prepare Your Website
With AI-driven traffic on the rise, you need to act now. Here’s how you can get ready:
- Upgrade Your Infrastructure: Make sure your hosting and servers can handle higher loads. Use a CDN for faster delivery.
- Control Bot Access: Review your robots.txt file. Block unwanted bots, but allow trusted crawlers to index your content for local internet marketing and SEO.
- Optimize Your Database: Speed up database calls and use caching to reduce server strain. This is key for both small business sites and large ecommerce platforms.
- Monitor Traffic: Track visits from AI agents, legitimate crawlers, and malicious bots. Use analytics to spot unusual spikes and protect your site.
Cyberset offers WordPress web design and pay per click marketing to help you attract the right visitors while keeping your site secure and efficient.
Collaborative Solutions for the Future
Illyes mentioned Common Crawl as a model for reducing redundant traffic. By sharing crawl data, the web community can cut down on unnecessary requests. Expect more collaborative solutions as AI traffic grows.
In the meantime, focus on building a strong, flexible website. Use content marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing to reach your audience directly and grow your brand.
Stay Ahead with Cyberset
The rise of AI agents is inevitable. If you take steps now, your website will be ready for the next wave of web traffic. Cyberset can help you build, optimize, and market your site so you stay ahead—no matter how crowded the internet gets.
