Automated programs account for over 50% of total internet activity

Nature · Published 19 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In the vast architecture of the internet, humans are no longer the primary users. Automated scripts now perform the majority of web activity, from indexing information to launching cyberattacks. These digital entities operate at speeds impossible for people, fundamentally reshaping how we consume data and interact with online services.

Internet bots are software applications designed to execute automated tasks, primarily by imitating human behavior on a massive scale. While they are often associated with malicious activity, their most extensive use is web crawling—the process by which automated scripts fetch, analyze, and file information from servers. This infrastructure is so pervasive that bots account for more than 50% of all web traffic. The technology traces its roots back to the 1950s with Alan Turing’s vision of instructional code designed to pass the Turing test. This evolved in the 1960s with Joseph Weizenbaum’s ELIZA, an early natural language processing program. Today, these bots range from 'good' entities like search engine spiders to 'bad' actors used for political interference, click fraud, and launching denial-of-service attacks.

In fact, over 94.2% of websites have experienced a bot attack at some point. The implications of 'The Bot Effect' are profound. Research by Emilio Ferrara suggests that the sheer volume of bot-generated content makes fact-checking nearly impossible, creating vulnerabilities where bots can polarize human users and alter their perception of reality. Beyond politics, bots are increasingly used by corporations to streamline customer service—such as Domino's using a chatbot for orders—aiming to save millions of human labor hours. However, this efficiency introduces new concerns regarding privacy, the loss of genuine human connection, and the difficulty of distinguishing between real and synthetic interaction.

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