Patreon blocks AI scrapers with Cloudflare
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- Patreon updated its AI policy to actively block AI training bots using Cloudflare’s AI Crawl Control, ending reliance on robots.txt requests.
- Cloudflare provides the infrastructure enabling Patreon to detect and block AI crawlers, including tools like Pay Per Crawl for monetizing access.
- Patreon reported that testing the new blocking tools reduced AI bot access attempts from thousands per week to zero.
- Patreon will still allow non-training bots that index pages and drive traffic back to the platform, distinguishing between crawler purposes.
- Drew Rowny, Patreon’s product chief, emphasized that creators should have control over AI use of their work without sacrificing audience growth.
Why it matters: By shifting from passive opt-out to active blocking, Patreon gives creators enforceable control over their content’s use in AI training—setting a precedent for platforms where user-generated content is at risk. The zero-attempt result proves previous requests were ignored, making enforcement materially effective.
