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# Most AI Bot Traffic to New Sites Is Fake
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/most-ai-bot-traffic-to-new-sites-is-fake/
- Published: 2026-06-26T16:12:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-26T16:12:07.000Z
- Description: A publisher’s crawl analysis found that 81.8% of claimed “AI assistant” traffic was fraudulent, with Google’s own bot underperforming expectations.
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-consumer, platform dynamics, trust, bot traffic fraud

Source: [Search Engine Journal](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/my-ai-assistant-traffic-was-fake-the-googlebot-number-was-worse/580052/?ref=adjacent.media)

A publisher's crawl analysis found that 81.8% of claimed "AI assistant" traffic was fraudulent, with Google's own bot underperforming expectations. Publishers and brands increasingly optimize for or block AI crawlers without verifying who's actually visiting, creating a market for phantom traffic analogous to ad fraud. The gap between claimed and verified bot activity means the AI training and data pipeline conversation is built on unreliable data.