Forty percent of Facebook posts are estimated to be generated by bots. The music-streaming service Deezer announced in April that 44% of new music uploaded to its platform is now AI-generated. And an October 2025 report from Axios found that AI generates 52% of all online articles…not this one that was inspired by a headline that reads, “Bots Now Outnumber Humans Online.”
Automated systems generated more than half of global world-wide web traffic in 2025. A second report, Imperva’s 2026 Bad Bot Report, estimates that bots produced more than 53% of all internet traffic during 2025. Of this bot traffic, nearly 40% was tied to malicious or abusive bots that we’re all warned about related to fraud, scams, and theft.
Yes, that leaves only 47% of internet traffic, or obviously less than half, to humans!
A bot is a software program that performs tasks automatically and behaves as if it were a person or human user.
Some bots are helpful. Search engines use bots to scan websites, companies use chatbots for customer service, and apps use bots to send weather alerts or account notifications.
Other bots are harmful. They may send scam texts and emails, steal passwords, and even imitate real people. In 2025 alone, American consumers reported approximately $16 billion in total fraud losses.
How this poses a danger on free speech comes with malicious bots employed by a political candidate or cause, or an entity wanting to frame an event or a belief. Bots can make fringe ideas look mainstream, intensify conflict, and create the illusions based on amplified misinformation.
So, if you think you’re reading an opinion posted by a person holding a social media account or reading an article that reflects the work of a real person, the chances are growing greater that you’re reading computer-generated activities.
This becomes valuable to social media platforms that want to generate “clicks” or traffic that boosts advertising dollars and pricing based on traffic and the amount of time various stories generate activity and interest.
But not all bots pose dangers in performing tasks that assist with online searches, are used to monitor real-time events like weather, and serve to check authentic data’s accuracy and speed the time to produce that content.
The danger is that users increasingly cannot distinguish authentic human interest from manufactured attention.
The frustration comes, too, when making purchases for items in high demand online content, such as sports or concert tickets. You are usually competing with computer bots buying up tickets for scalping or illicit sales organizations.
Take note of accounts that express constant outrage, unusual and controversial opinions and link to other sites with unknown domains.
The practical lesson based on consumer advocates is neither to distrust nor trust everything. Before filling in payment information, passwords, clicking on a link, or sharing, users should pause, examine the source, and ask if the post or message attempts to create fear, anger, excitement, scarcity, or immediate action.
The internet is now automated and engineered. Be wise.