The AI boom is now bigger than the 90’s dot-com bubble. And it’s probably built on the back of a bot that’s more than a real user

But the bots are still with us. Officially defined as software applications that perform automated, repetitive tasks, bots still swim in digital ether and are a key aspect of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution, which has threatened to cancel the internet, as has been known since the mid-1990s.

The catch is that the surge in bot activity is not just disrupting web traffic, but it could also be inflated the internet economy by distorting the very metrics that drive tech companies’ evaluations. Automated bots now account for more than half of global internet traffic. According to Imperva, a subsidiary of cybersecurity giant Thales, the bots first surpassed human-generating activities in 2024. Imperva issues “”Bad Bot Report“We found that almost 50% of internet traffic comes from non-human sources. 20% of that are what are called “bad bots,” which are prone to becoming a lot of malicious activity.

for example, The bot generates fake pageviewsclicks, impressions, and user sessions. All of this inflates topline web analytics data. This distortion It directly affects metrics Includes conversion rates, average session duration, etc.. Cybersecurity companyCertainly, you may be talking about their books to some extent, but ad fraud bots claim they are clicking on pay-per-click ads and simulating user activity, causing traffic and conversion payments that don’t represent real people. They did damage Thousands of billions of dollars a year Around the global internet.

Also, consider the “startups to introduce.”Vanity MetricMany of these, such as signing up for raw users or downloading apps, can be pumped up by bot traffic. These statistics are self-reported and rarely independently audited. Investors rely on all these metrics and so on to assess the value of a company; Fake or bulging data misrepresents underlying business strength.

Think about investors putting money into a bot boosted business model, then consider the wisdom of Torsten Slok, the widely read chief economist Apollo Global Managementknown for shaking the financial community with his short chalts in his “everyday spark.” he I recently posted a spectacular chart“The IT bubble of the 1990s and You have a bubble Today, the top 10 S&P 500 companies today are overrated than in the 1990s. In other words, if AI trading is a bubble, it is “a larger bubble than what pops in the era).Dotcom Crash“It leads to a nasty recession. Sloak didn’t address the bot’s questions, but it becomes even more serious in the discussion.

https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/ai-stocks-arent-in-abubble

Bots and bubbles

This bot-driven inflation could be fed into a wider range of technology and AI investment bubbles. As businesses report rapid user growth and engagement, investors chase after the next big thing, with the results reminiscent of the DOT-COM era, with the risk that hype and bulging metrics covering the foundations of real business.

Consider the unicorn story: Silicon Valley’s term of office against private companies with a valuation of over $1 billion. From just a few dozen in 2013 Venture capitalist Irene Lee coined the term To emphasize their rarity, the unicorns became something else. According to the number exceeding 1,200 by 2025 Founder’s Foruman organization that promises to connect entrepreneurs. The surge in the unicorn class came with the “easy money” era of 2018 and 2021, when the Federal Reserve reduced interest rates to almost unprecedented levels, and venture capital money chased risky investments and sought yields. VC money has been around since then I was mainly drawn to AIa deep ironic turn of events.

History suggests that if reality catches up to bulging expectations, the market will eventually be revised. Several factors demonstrate similar calculations for AI and bot problems. There is one recognition of false indicators. As awareness grows about the magnitude of bot-driven inflation, investors and analysts may become skeptical of headline user numbers and engagement statistics. New regulations are beginning to address the economic incentives behind bot-driven operations.

Regulating bots on the Internet has become an important focus for governments in response to growing presence in commercial, social media and consumer interactions. Bots can be used for both legal and malicious purposes, not only to aid customer service, but also for spreading misinformation, generating fake reviews, sculping tickets, manipulating public opinion, and more. The US government does this primarily through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

What the government is trying to do about it

FTC is the leading federal agency that addresses bots, particularly deceptions and unfair practices that affect consumers and commercial. In 2024, the FTC issued a final rule banning fake and AI-generated consumer reviews and testimony, which apply to both traditional and AI bots that generate misleading content or approvals online.

Businesses can also face civil penalties to buy, sell, or spread fake reviews and approvals, whether written by bots or humans. The rules aim to ensure transparency in the online marketplace and to curb deceptive practices.

The Congress has the Bot Act (the Better Online Ticket Sales Act), which was enacted in 2016 and strengthened by an executive order in 2025. This targets the use of automated bots and avoids the control over ticket purchases for concerts and events that scalpers often use. Because the FTC is enforcing this law, it is illegal to use bots to bypass security or buy restrictions when obtaining event tickets. This could be considered, as fans have found, “Taylor Swift” law, and to their frustration, during her tour of her record-breaking days, new tickets disappeared in seconds and were eaten up by the bot.

The FTC also regularly publishes business guidance for transparency and accuracy regarding AI chatbots and avatar services, and issues warnings to misleading consumers through these technologies. Agents are advised to disclose clearly when users are interacting with the bot, to prevent bots from misrepresenting their capabilities and to avoid using bots to manipulate or deceive consumers.

Some states, such as California, have passed laws requiring bots to identify themselves when trying to affect voters and consumers. Other states still have federal preemption and cross-border challenges, but they have introduced similar legislation modeled after California’s “enhanced online transparency law.”

What should I see

When bot-driven metrics are published, companies with a bulging user count can have a reduced rating, especially if they are unable to demonstrate actual sustainable growth. Markets could consolidate companies with proven, human-driven engagement and revenue, while those relying on artificial metrics struggle or fail. Expect an increasing demand for third-party verification of user and engagement data, as well as more robust bot detection and filtering in analysis.

Again, bots have been a feature of computing for over half a century, growing more and more abundantly over time. Bot-driven inflation in internet statistics may become an inevitable part of your digital life.

For this story, luck Generated AI was used to assist with initial drafts. The editors checked the accuracy of the information prior to publication.