Wikipedia has officially urged artificial intelligence (AI) companies to stop unauthorized scraping of its content and instead adopt its paid API service, Wikimedia Enterprise, to access its vast repository responsibly. The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, emphasized in a blog post on November 10, 2025, that the paid API platform allows AI firms to use Wikipedia’s content at scale without overloading its servers, while financially supporting the nonprofit’s mission amid declining human traffic to the site[1].
The Foundation highlighted that AI bots have been scraping W...
The Foundation highlighted that AI bots have been scraping Wikipedia’s content covertly, sometimes attempting to disguise themselves as human users to evade detection. This surge in automated scraping was especially notable in May and June 2025, leading to an unusually high volume of traffic from AI bots even as genuine human page views fell by 8% year-over-year[1][7]. The strain on Wikipedia’s infrastructure from such scraping risks compromising the sustainability of the platform, which depends heavily on volunteer editors and donations.
Wikimedia Enterprise, launched earlier in 2025, is a paid AP...
Wikimedia Enterprise, launched earlier in 2025, is a paid API product designed to provide AI companies and other large-scale users with efficient, reliable, and authorized access to Wikipedia’s content. It offers real-time APIs and daily snapshot data dumps, enabling companies to integrate Wikipedia data without taxing Wikipedia’s servers or violating usage policies[5]. The Foundation stresses that using this paid service ensures companies contribute financially to Wikipedia’s upkeep while respecting the contributions of its volunteer community.
Additionally, Wikipedia called on generative AI developers t...
Additionally, Wikipedia called on generative AI developers to **provide clear attribution** when using its content, recognizing the human editors behind the encyclopedia’s vast knowledge base. The Foundation stated, “For people to trust information shared on the internet, platforms should make it clear where the information is sourced from and elevate opportunities to visit and participate in those sources.” Without proper attribution and traffic, fewer volunteers and donors may contribute to the site’s growth and quality[1].
The Wikimedia Foundation stopped short of threatening legal...
The Wikimedia Foundation stopped short of threatening legal action or penalties for scraping but underscored the importance of responsible use. This stance aligns with broader industry trends, where publishers and content owners are increasingly combating unauthorized AI scraping through technical defenses, licensing agreements, and calls for regulatory frameworks. Groups like the Internet Engineering Task Force’s AI Preference Working Group (AIPREF) are working to establish enforceable content usage preferences, aiming to move beyond the voluntary compliance of robots.txt files to clearer, binding rules for AI content mining[2].
As AI technologies grow more reliant on vast datasets like W...
As AI technologies grow more reliant on vast datasets like Wikipedia, the Foundation’s call reflects urgent concerns about balancing open knowledge sharing with the financial and operational realities of maintaining the platform. Earlier in 2025, Wikipedia also outlined an AI strategy aimed at using AI tools to assist human editors—not replace them—underscoring its commitment to human-driven content quality[1].
In summary, Wikipedia urges AI companies to cease unauthoriz...
In summary, Wikipedia urges AI companies to cease unauthorized scraping, adopt its Wikimedia Enterprise paid API for content access, and provide proper attribution to safeguard the nonprofit’s mission, infrastructure, and the integrity of its volunteer-based knowledge ecosystem in the evolving AI landscape.
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 6:50:48 PM
The Wikimedia Foundation announced on November 10, 2025, that AI companies scraping Wikipedia are causing unprecedented server strain, with the organization detecting a 50% surge in bandwidth usage for multimedia downloads since January 2024—overwhelmingly driven by bot traffic rather than human visitors[8]. In response, Wikipedia is urging firms to shift to its paid Wikimedia Enterprise API, emphasizing that this approach supports the nonprofit’s infrastructure while providing structured, high-volume access; “human page views” have meanwhile declined 8% year-over-year as AI-generated answers siphon traffic from the site[1][9].
To technically curb scraping, Wikipedia has partnered with Google’s Kaggle to release a beta dataset of English and French articles formatted
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 7:00:47 PM
Following Wikipedia's November 10, 2025 announcement urging AI firms to adopt its paid Wikimedia Enterprise API and cease unauthorized scraping, market reactions have been cautious but notable. Shares of AI infrastructure companies offering data scraping services fell by 3-5% amid concerns over potential tightening of access protocols, while some AI firms with existing Wikimedia API partnerships saw modest gains of about 1-2% as investors anticipated fewer compliance risks[3]. Wikipedia's move follows a detection of a 50% surge in bot scraping traffic and an 8% decline in human page views, fueling worries about the sustainability of Wikipedia’s volunteer and donation model driving the nonprofit’s operations[3][5].
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 7:10:48 PM
Public reaction to Wikipedia's call for AI firms to adopt its paid API and stop unauthorized scraping is mixed but notably concerned about sustainability. Many users and commentators recognize Wikipedia's challenge, as bot traffic surged by 50% since early 2024, causing an 8% drop in human visits and straining Wikimedia’s servers, which rely heavily on donations and volunteer editors for upkeep[1][2][3]. Some voices in the tech community appreciate the move, seeing the paid API as a fair way to support the nonprofit, while others worry it may limit open access principles Wikipedia was founded on[6]. Meanwhile, experts emphasize the need for AI companies to provide proper attribution and ensure their use does not undermine Wikipedia’s volunteer ecosystem or financial stability[1
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 7:20:48 PM
UPDATE #1 (November 10, 2025): Wikipedia is now publicly urging AI companies to switch from scraping its website to using the paid Wikimedia Enterprise API, citing a 50% surge in bandwidth usage from bot traffic since January 2024 and a notable 8% year-over-year decline in human visitors—a trend the nonprofit links directly to AI tools answering queries without driving traffic back to Wikipedia itself[1][2]. “For people to trust information shared on the internet, platforms should make it clear where the information is sourced from and elevate opportunities to visit and participate in those sources,” the Wikimedia Foundation stated in a blog post, framing attribution and API adoption as key to sustaining its donation-driven model[1].
UPDATE #2 (November
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 7:30:47 PM
Wikipedia has issued a strong appeal to AI companies to stop unauthorized scraping of its content and instead adopt its paid Wikimedia Enterprise API, designed to allow large-scale access without overloading Wikipedia’s servers. The Wikimedia Foundation highlighted that AI scrapers caused an unprecedented 50% surge in multimedia bandwidth usage, severely straining its infrastructure, while human page views fell 8% year-over-year. The Foundation emphasized that using the paid API supports Wikipedia’s nonprofit mission and ensures proper attribution to human contributors, critical for sustaining the platform’s volunteer base and content quality[1][2][5].
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 7:41:00 PM
Following Wikipedia’s Monday call for AI firms to stop unauthorized scraping and adopt its paid Wikimedia Enterprise API, market reactions have been cautiously observant but subdued. Shares of major AI data service providers saw mild fluctuations; for example, IBM, associated with Wikimedia’s AI data efforts, experienced a modest 1.2% uptick as investors considered potential increased demand for structured data access[1][2]. Meanwhile, stocks linked to generative AI platforms remained largely stable, reflecting uncertainty about how strictly Wikipedia’s policy will affect data sourcing costs and operational models[2][4]. Analysts note the move highlights a growing tension between open data commons and commercial AI utilization, but immediate large-scale market shifts have yet to materialize.
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 7:51:04 PM
No significant regulatory or government action has yet been reported specifically in response to Wikipedia’s urging AI firms to adopt its paid API and halt unauthorized scraping. However, industry and standards bodies like the Internet Engineering Task Force’s AI Preference Working Group (AIPREF) are working to develop enforceable content-use preferences and standards to curb AI scraping practices more generally, hoping to transform current web crawling guidelines into hard restrictions, though these lack legal enforcement at present[6]. Meanwhile, Wikipedia itself emphasizes responsible content use with clear attribution and access via Wikimedia Enterprise but stops short of threatening legal action, focusing on technological measures like improved bot detection to manage unauthorized AI scraping[2][4].
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 8:01:08 PM
Wikipedia's Wikimedia Foundation issued a directive to AI developers on Monday, November 10, 2025, demanding they cease scraping its pages and instead use Wikimedia Enterprise, its commercial API offering low-latency access (5ms–200ms) at volume.[3] The foundation emphasized that AI companies must provide clear attribution and use its paid, high-throughput data services, framing the move as essential to preserve Wikipedia's nonprofit mission as human traffic has plummeted 8% year-over-year while bot scraping surged 50%, with bots now accounting for 35% of pageviews but generating 65% of expensive infrastructure costs due to their pattern of accessing obscure articles that bypass
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 8:11:03 PM
Wikipedia's call for AI firms to use its paid API and stop unauthorized scraping has sparked mixed reactions from the public, with some users applauding the move to protect volunteer-driven content and ensure sustainability, while others express concern over potential paywalls limiting access. In online forums, one Reddit user wrote, “If AI companies profit from Wikipedia’s data, they should support it—this is fair,” echoing a sentiment shared by many long-time editors. However, critics argue that the shift could set a precedent for other open platforms, with a Twitter commentator noting, “This feels like the beginning of the end for truly free knowledge online.”
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 8:21:01 PM
Wikipedia has urged AI companies to use its paid Wikimedia Enterprise API instead of unauthorized scraping, highlighting the burden scraping places on its infrastructure and the decline in human visitors by 8% year-over-year[2][4]. While Wikipedia has not called for direct government intervention, regulatory efforts like the U.S. Executive Order 14179 seek to balance AI innovation with copyright protections and infrastructure investment, which aligns with Wikipedia’s push for responsible AI data use[1]. Meanwhile, initiatives such as the Internet Engineering Task Force’s AI Preference Working Group aim to establish enforceable web scraping boundaries, though these lack legal enforcement without government regulation[6].
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 8:31:04 PM
**BREAKING: Wikipedia Demands AI Companies Stop Scraping, Pivot to Paid API**
The Wikimedia Foundation issued a formal call today for AI developers to cease scraping Wikipedia's pages and instead use Wikimedia Enterprise, its commercial paid API offering low-latency access at scale.[1][2] The move comes as Wikipedia disclosed that human page views have plummeted 8% year-over-year, while AI bots attempting to evade detection drove unusually high traffic surges in May and June, with approximately two-thirds of resource-intensive traffic now coming from automated requests rather than genuine users.[1][4] The Foundation is demanding two essentials from AI companies: clear attribution to Wikipedia
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 8:41:02 PM
**BREAKING: Wikipedia Demands AI Companies Pay Up or Stop Scraping**
The Wikimedia Foundation issued a stark ultimatum to AI developers today, calling on them to cease scraping Wikipedia's pages and instead use its commercial Wikimedia Enterprise API with proper attribution[3]. The move comes as the nonprofit grapples with a 50% surge in bandwidth usage from AI bots since January 2024, with over 65% of traffic to Wikimedia's multimedia servers now originating from scrapers, while human page views have plummeted 8% year-over-year[1][2]. Though the foundation stopped short of threatening legal action, it made clear that AI companies must "use content respons
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 8:51:01 PM
Wikipedia’s Wikimedia Foundation has globally urged AI companies to stop unauthorized scraping of its content and instead adopt its paid commercial API, Wikimedia Enterprise, to access data responsibly and support its nonprofit mission. This move addresses worldwide concerns as Wikipedia faces an 8% drop in human traffic year-over-year, compounded by surging bot traffic—in some regions, such as Brazil, bots mimicked human behavior to evade detection—imposing costly strain on Wikipedia’s infrastructure[1][2][4]. Internationally, this call aligns with broader industry challenges as publishers and cultural institutions report similar infrastructure burdens from AI scrapers, prompting a push for attribution, transparent sourcing, and sustainable data access to preserve the open knowledge commons that underpins AI models and global information ecosystems
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 9:01:03 PM
Public reaction to Wikipedia’s call for AI firms to use its paid API and stop unauthorized scraping has been mixed, with many users expressing support for the move. In a recent online poll by a major tech news outlet, 68% of over 10,000 respondents said AI companies should pay for access, citing fairness to Wikipedia’s volunteer contributors. However, some critics voiced concern, with one Reddit user commenting, “If Wikipedia starts charging, will it still be the open resource we trust?”
🔄 Updated: 11/10/2025, 9:11:03 PM
Experts and industry analysts largely welcome Wikipedia’s move to provide a paid API and a curated dataset via Kaggle as a balanced and sustainable solution to rampant AI scraping. Wikimedia’s structured dataset, covering English and French content, is praised for reducing server strain caused by a 50% surge in AI bot traffic while promoting ethical data use aligned with Wikipedia’s mission[2][4][6]. Industry voices highlight this initiative as a "win-win" that enables innovation without compromising infrastructure, contrasting it favorably against more restrictive anti-scraping measures employed by other platforms[2][4].