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Cloudflare introduced new controls that give website owners greater say over how AI crawlers access their content, as investors assess whether the company's recent share-price gains already reflect its AI-related growth potential.
The company introduced an Accountable designation for AI crawlers alongside a Disallow AI Training setting. The new feature lets website owners restrict AI training while keeping their content available for traditional search indexing.
Cloudflare replaced its earlier ‘Block AI Bots’ switch with three separate controls covering search, AI training and AI agents. New websites receive recommended settings based on their business model.
For advertising-supported websites, search crawling remains enabled, AI training is disallowed, and AI agents are blocked on pages carrying advertisements. Other websites can allow search, AI training, and AI agents. Cloudflare also introduced Bot Preference Sync, allowing website owners to set crawling preferences once across supported crawlers.
The company said mixed-use crawlers, which collect content for both search indexing and AI training, account for 36.6% of verified crawler traffic on its network. Fewer than 1% of website owners block search crawlers, while 17% restrict AI training.
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The new controls arrive as investors examine Cloudflare's strong recent share-price performance and valuation. Simply Wall St reported that the stock stood at USD 323.60, up 43.9% over 90 days. Its three-year total shareholder return exceeded 4.5x.
Cloudflare's market capitalization stood at USD 115.2 billion, while the company reported a net loss of USD 206.3 million. Simply Wall St's most-followed valuation narrative estimated fair value at approximately USD 167.45, compared with the recent share price.
Cloudflare's second-quarter 2026 revenue reached USD 696.1 million, up 36% from the same period a year earlier. The company reported a net loss of USD 170 million during the quarter.
The new AI crawling controls add another dimension to Cloudflare's broader AI strategy. The company is positioning its infrastructure to give businesses greater control over AI access while maintaining traditional search visibility.
For investors, the focus remains on whether demand for AI-related tools and security offerings can support Cloudflare's valuation as the company continues investing in expansion.
