• Pay-to-crawl systems would let websites charge AI crawlers when their content is accessed for training or updates, creating a structured way to compensate publishers.
  • The model is a response to AI tools reducing search referrals, which has directly impacted traffic and revenue for many publishers.
  • Creative Commons supports pay-to-crawl in principle but warns it should not become a default or blanket rule across the web.
  • CC stresses that any implementation must preserve open access for researchers, educators, nonprofits, and other public-interest users.

Creative Commons, the nonprofit organization behind widely used open-content licenses, has announced tentative support for AI pay-to-crawl systems as part of its broader effort to shape a more sustainable and open AI ecosystem. Earlier this year, CC introduced a framework aimed at enabling lawful and transparent dataset sharing between data holders and AI developers. Its latest position builds on that work by addressing how web content is accessed and monetized in the age of large-scale AI crawling.

The organization argues that pay-to-crawl, if implemented responsibly, could help publishers continue creating and sharing content without forcing it behind stricter paywalls. Unlike traditional web crawling, which benefited sites through search visibility and traffic, AI-driven consumption often provides answers directly to users, reducing incentives to visit original sources. CC sees pay-to-crawl as a possible way to rebalance that dynamic, particularly for smaller publishers that lack leverage to negotiate individual licensing deals with major AI companies.

At the same time, Creative Commons outlines significant risks. It warns that poorly designed systems could centralize power among infrastructure providers or restrict access for public-interest actors. CC emphasizes that pay-to-crawl should never be the default, should allow throttling rather than simple blocking, and must rely on open, interoperable standards instead of proprietary controls.

CC also expressed support for complementary initiatives such as Really Simple Licensing (RSL) and CC Signals, which aim to give website owners clearer ways to signal how their content may be accessed by AI systems without undermining the open web.