From ad tech tax to AI data brokers: the new middlemen keep 100%, publishers say

Digiday's report on the emergence of AI data brokers keeping 100% of the revenue highlights the growing concern among publishers about third-party content scraping. The article notes that this issue is perceived as a bigger threat than the ad tech tax, as it doesn't just take a share of the revenue, but rather the entire pie. This means that website owners need to be vigilant about protecting their content from being scraped and reused without permission. With AI data brokers exploiting this content without providing any revenue share, publishers are essentially losing control over their own material. This can lead to a loss of traffic, revenue, and credibility, as their content is being used to generate income for other parties. To mitigate this risk, website owners should take immediate action to track AI bot traffic on their sites, update their llms.txt files to restrict unwanted scraping, and implement robust content protection measures, such as using meta tags to specify how their content can be used. Additionally, they should monitor their analytics to detect any suspicious activity and adjust their strategies accordingly to prevent AI data brokers from profiting from their work.