Can Cloudflare’s Pay-Per-Crawl Save Content Creation in an AI Age?

At WordCamp US this year, Google’s Danny Sullivan was asked a tough question after his keynote: if AI search engines provide answers directly in results, how will content creators survive without clicks? His response boiled down to an acknowledgment: Google knows this is a problem but has no clear solution yet.

But Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince thinks he has the answer. In a recent Stratechery interview with Ben Thompson, he argued that the traffic-for-ads model is collapsing as AI answer engines replace traditional search. His proposal, called pay-per-crawl, would require AI companies to compensate publishers for access to their content. The idea is simple: content has value, and without payment, creators lose the incentive to produce the work AI systems depend on.

Prince points to Reddit’s licensing deals with Google and OpenAI as early evidence that scarcity can drive compensation. He believes unique and local content could become even more valuable in this model, since AI cannot easily replace it. While the system is still experimental, it reframes helpful, unique content not as free fuel for AI but as an asset worth paying for.

This is an important issue for us as agency owners to follow. Listen to this episiode of the Stratechery podcast or read the transcript here.

Black Friday is Coming… Are your Woo Sites Ready?

• Even though it still feels like summer outside, Black Friday is only 11 weeks away. Now is the time for us as agency owners to start conversations with WooCommerce clients about getting ready.
• Woo’s latest BFCM Trends Survey reveals an interesting shift in priorities: website performance has overtaken inventory management as the top concern.
• It’s a reminder that the technical health of a site, including its speed, reliability, and mobile experience, can make or break holiday sales.
• Express checkout and Buy Now, Pay Later options are just as important as marketing campaigns.
• The survey results give us talking points to bring to our clients: performance optimization, mobile readiness, and checkout experience.
• With 67% of merchants saying BFCM represents up to half of their annual revenue, these conversations are more important than ever.

WooCommerce 10.2 Drops Next Week

• On the technical side, WooCommerce 10.2 is scheduled for release September 16.
• The update will bring useful improvements: a faster Cart block with smoother loading states, new carousel layouts for Product Collections, expanded taxonomy filters, and more accurate analytics reporting.

WooSesh is Back on October 14-15

• Wooshesh is a free, online event offers both developer and business tracks, making it an excellent way for agency teams to sharpen skills and prepare for the busiest sales weekend of the year.

Black Friday rewards those who plan ahead. By keeping our Woo skills sharp and helping clients focus on performance, payments, and preparation, we position ourselves as trusted partners in their success.

Atarim Opens Early Access to AI-Powered Creative Team

• Atarim has launched early access to its new agentic AI-powered creative team, designed to transform how creative work is reviewed and delivered online.
• Atarim AI introduces real-time collaboration with AI agents that analyze code, layouts, and over 2,500 elements per page to provide feedback on SEO, accessibility, clarity, functionality, and copy before stakeholders review the work.
• Atarim calls this system the Inner Circle, and aims to reduce hours of manual review to less than a minute.
• Early access is now open for agencies and creators who want to join before public launch.

Worth a Look

• Afraid to use Em dashes because it makes your content look AI generated? The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations.
• The WP Weekly Awards 2025 is accepting nominations for your favorite WordPress tools and services.
• Automattic’s Telex can build a WordPress block from a plain text prompt.
• TypePad is finally shutting down after years of neglect.
• PressConf is returning April 8-11, 2026.