Akamai Tracked High-Frequency AI Bot POST Requests
Analysis of a 30-day sample revealed that verified AI bots are increasingly performing transactional site actions.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
Live Poll
Do you trust websites to secure your personal data against automated AI shopping bots?
In August 2026, Akamai reported that verified AI crawlers are utilizing high-frequency POST requests to interact with global websites. These bots are performing actions such as logging in, adding items to carts, and initiating checkouts.
Why it matters
Verified AI crawlers perform these requests to support search and training capabilities, but the behavior creates new operational complexities for site owners. Retailers must now actively distinguish between these legitimate agents and malicious impostors to secure user data.
Ecommerce sites comprised 44.8% of verified AI bot POST transactions, while travel sites accounted for 30%. Additionally, 4.1% of these transactions utilized the Model Context Protocol.
The players
Akamai
This global content delivery network and cloud service provider monitors web traffic and security threats for enterprise clients.
Anthropic
This artificial intelligence research laboratory develops large language models and tests emerging protocols like the Model Context Protocol.
The details
AI bots are increasingly moving beyond simple GET requests to perform complex POST transactions, which directly impact user account and shopping cart activity. The emergence of the Model Context Protocol currently introduces a new attack surface due to the potential for unsanctioned service connections and the exposure of personally identifiable information.
Timeline
The 30-day traffic analysis concluded in August 2026.
The Model Context Protocol is expected to see exponential growth in 2026.
The Tech Race
The adoption of the Model Context Protocol represents a significant shift in how AI agents interact with web services, moving beyond static content retrieval toward dynamic transaction execution. This evolution mirrors past transitions in web architecture that required the development of new security layers to manage increased connectivity between automated agents and live databases.
For users, the increase in AI-driven POST requests may lead to heightened site security measures like more frequent bot detection challenges during logins or checkouts. Developers must now adapt their systems to distinguish between helpful training crawlers and unauthorized traffic to ensure site performance and data privacy.
The takeaway
As AI agents gain the ability to perform complex site actions, website operators should prioritize monitoring the ratio of GET to POST traffic to maintain control over user data. Implementing rigorous validation for automated service requests will be essential as protocols like MCP scale.
Further reading
Learn more about the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence.
Live Poll
Do you trust websites to secure your personal data against automated AI shopping bots?
