Cloudflare accuses Perplexity of concealing web-scraping actions, depicting them as AI activities, in violation of sites that forbid such practices; Perplexity retorts, labeling Cloudflare as 'more style than substance'.
Cloudflare, a leading internet security and performance company, has accused Perplexity AI of using "stealth crawling" techniques to bypass website restrictions such as no-crawl directives and network blocks.
In a statement, Cloudflare claims that despite being blocked by customers via robots.txt files and firewall rules, Perplexity's crawlers continue to access restricted content by disguising their identity, rotating IPs across different Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs), and modifying user agents.
These stealth crawlers, Cloudflare reports, operate across tens of thousands of domains and make millions of requests per day despite explicit crawl restrictions. As a result, Cloudflare has de-listed Perplexity as a verified bot and added heuristics in their managed rules to block such stealth crawling behavior.
Cloudflare emphasizes that Perplexity's actions violate long-established internet norms designed to respect website owners' preferences. The company has taken active steps to block this behavior, and users have the option to choose if an AI can scrape their data, with those who don't like the use of AI having the ability to avoid it.
Perplexity has not publicly responded to these accusations as of the most recent reports in August 2025. This matter highlights ongoing tensions between AI companies relying on web data for training and website operators seeking to control automated access.
In a separate development, various guides have listed several tech products as the best in their respective categories. The Razer Blade 16 is listed as the best gaming laptop, the Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS ed. is the best handheld gaming PC, the Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT is the best mini PC, the HP Omen 35L is the best gaming PC, and the Meta Quest 3 is the best VR headset.
As the debate between Cloudflare and Perplexity continues, it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold. Meanwhile, the tech industry continues to evolve, with new products and innovations being introduced regularly.
- The stealth crawling techniques used by Perplexity AI, as cited by Cloudflare, are a clear violation of long-established internet norms, where website owners' preferences are respected.
- In response to the accusations, Cloudflare has de-listed Perplexity as a verified bot and added heuristics to block such stealth crawling behavior, giving users the option to choose if an AI can scrape their data.
- Despite the ongoing tension between AI companies and website operators over automated access, the tech industry continues to make advancements, with products like the Razer Blade 16 being ranked as the best gaming laptop.
- As the Cloudflare-Perplexity issue remains unresolved, the debate highlights the complex interplay between cybersecurity, technology, politics, and general news, underscoring the need for responsible AI practices.
- Meanwhile, in the world of gaming, the Meta Quest 3 has been touted as the best VR headset, signifying ongoing innovation and competition within the technology sector.
