Patreon has announced a major update to protect creators’ content from being used to train artificial intelligence models without permission.

Instead of simply asking AI companies not to scrape content, Patreon is now actively blocking AI training bots with the help of internet infrastructure company Cloudflare.

The move reflects growing concerns among creators and publishers about AI companies collecting online content to train large language models without obtaining consent.

Why Patreon Changed Its Approach

Since 2023, Patreon has relied on the standard robots.txt file to tell AI crawlers not to collect content from its platform.

However, the company says many AI bots ignored those instructions and continued attempting to scrape creators’ work.

As AI technology has evolved, Patreon also introduced new public features such as:

  • A redesigned Home Feed
  • Quips (short social-style posts)
  • Improved content discovery

These features made more creator content visible online, increasing the risk of unauthorized AI scraping.

Instead of requesting compliance, Patreon has now decided to stop AI bots from accessing creator content altogether.

Cloudflare Helps Block AI Crawlers

Patreon is expanding its partnership with Cloudflare by using the company’s AI Crawl Control technology.

This system can automatically detect and block bots designed to collect content for AI model training.

According to Patreon, early testing showed dramatic results.

The company says AI training bots that previously attempted to access Patreon thousands of times every week dropped to zero successful attempts after the new protection was enabled.

Search Engines Are Still Allowed

Patreon clarified that not every automated bot will be blocked.

Search engines and indexing services that help users discover Patreon creators will continue to have access.

The company is specifically targeting bots whose primary purpose is collecting content to train AI systems.

This approach allows creators to remain discoverable online while protecting their original work from unauthorized AI training.

Growing Debate Over AI Training Data

Patreon’s decision comes as more creators, publishers, artists, and media companies question how AI companies gather training data.

Many organizations argue that creative work should not be used to improve commercial AI systems without permission or compensation.

Cloudflare has recently introduced several new tools to help website owners control AI scraping, including technology that can:

  • Block AI crawlers
  • Charge AI companies for content access
  • Control how AI bots interact with websites

These tools are becoming increasingly important as AI companies continue collecting large amounts of online data.

Patreon Says Consent Should Come First

Patreon believes creators should decide how their work is used.

The company says AI developers should not assume they have permission simply because content is available online.

By actively blocking AI training bots, Patreon hopes to give creators greater control over their intellectual property while still allowing them to grow their audiences.

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