Wikipedia Asks AI Developers to Stop Scraping Its Site

Why does this matter?

Unfettered scraping strains Wikipedia's resources and undermines the contributions of its volunteer editors. Using the API ensures the site's sustainability and recognizes the human effort behind the content.

Wikipedia is addressing the increasing strain on its servers caused by AI models scraping its content for free. The Wikimedia Foundation is urging AI developers to transition to the Wikimedia Enterprise API, a paid service designed for large-scale content access. This API ensures that Wikipedia receives financial support and can maintain its infrastructure.

The request emphasizes responsible use, including proper attribution to the human contributors who create and maintain Wikipedia's vast knowledge base. The Foundation's blog post highlights that the recent surge in bot traffic, designed to evade detection, has contributed to a decline in human page views, impacting volunteer engagement and potential donations.

Earlier in 2025, Wikipedia released its AI strategy for editors, focusing on leveraging AI to support and enhance human editors' workflows rather than replacing them. This includes automating translations and assisting with tedious tasks, ensuring that human expertise remains central to the encyclopedia's content creation process.

Scraping puts a strain on Wikipedia's servers and doesn't provide financial support for the site's maintenance.

It's a paid API that allows AI developers to access Wikipedia's content at scale without overburdening its servers, while also supporting Wikipedia's mission.

Proper attribution gives credit to the human contributors who create and maintain Wikipedia's content, encouraging continued engagement and accuracy.

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