As artificial intelligence tools sweep across the internet, Raptive is taking a stand. The company, which represents more than 6,000 independent creators and publishers, has introduced a new framework designed to stop AI systems from harvesting creators’ content without consent or compensation.

The initiative, called “Terms of Content Use,” puts large language model developers on notice: the articles, videos, and guides that populate Raptive’s network are off-limits for unauthorized training or replication. It’s a move that underscores a growing tension between AI companies racing to feed algorithms with online data and the creators whose work underpins much of that digital knowledge.

“These large language models, the AI companies, are stealing the creators’ content right now,” says Marc McCollum, Raptive’s Chief Growth Officer. “They’re using it for their own commercial purposes, such as driving subscribers, users, and advertising revenue without paying the people who made it.”

A Collective Defense for Independent Creators

Raptive’s framework includes both technical and legal components. On the technical side, publishers can embed a “do not scrape” directive in their websites, blocking specific AI crawlers like OpenAI’s GPTBot, Google’s Gemini, or Perplexity. On the legal side, they can implement Raptive’s standardized terms that explicitly prohibit unauthorized scraping, copying, or redistribution of content.

Marc says the dual approach sends a clear signal to AI developers that creators’ material “is not available to be stolen.” More than 5,600 Raptive creators have already adopted the system, effectively marking their content as off-limits to automated data collection.

While major publishers have long used similar language in their terms of service, most small creators lack the technical or legal infrastructure to do the same. “If you’re an independent content creator and you’re not part of Raptive, then you’re really on your own,” Marc explains. “You likely can’t afford lawyers or data analysts to monitor what’s happening to your content online. We give creators that collective strength.”

AI’s Impact on the Open Web

Raptive’s move comes amid growing anxiety about the erosion of the “open internet.” Once fueled by search-driven discovery, much of the web’s traffic is now being siphoned off by AI-generated summaries that provide answers without sending users to original sources.

Marc says the shift has been dramatic. “Across our network, creators used to get 60% of their traffic from Google search. That number is starting to fall, and it’s accelerating,” he notes. “We don’t believe search is dead, but we believe it is sick.”

The problem, he adds, isn’t just about traffic. It’s about trust. When AI systems paraphrase or distort a creator’s work without attribution, the original author loses both audience engagement and revenue. For creators who rely on advertising, affiliate marketing, or sponsorships, even small dips in traffic can have major financial consequences.

“It’s like if you built a home and sold it without paying the suppliers who gave you the materials,” Marc says. “Everyone would agree that’s illegal and immoral. We’re in a similar situation here.”

Building on a Broader Protection Strategy

“Terms of Content Use” builds on Raptive’s wider creator-protection strategy, which began in 2024 with the rollout of Raptive Blockers, a technical tool that prevents unauthorized web crawlers from accessing member sites. The company also backs the Really Simple Licensing (RSL) Standard, an emerging industry framework that helps creators establish transparent permissions for AI training data.

Raptive has aligned itself with other players pushing back against unchecked scraping, including Cloudflare’s default AI-blocking measures and partnerships with organizations like ProRata, which advocates for fair compensation to online publishers.

The initiative follows the company’s 2024 “Keep It Real” campaign, which championed human-made content in an increasingly automated media ecosystem. According to Marc, that campaign united creators, advertisers, and consumers around the message that authentic voices, not machine-generated output, are what make the internet worth engaging with.

AI Scraping: Why It’s Hard to Regulate

Despite growing consensus in the creator community, there’s been little movement from lawmakers. Marc points out that AI scraping “is still relatively new. It’s only about three years old, and there’s no real precedent for how to handle it.”

He says the political environment hasn’t helped. “There’s not much appetite to regulate the AI companies right now. We’d love to see lawmakers on Capitol Hill take this seriously and set guardrails around how AI companies use creator content, but so far, that support hasn’t come.”

That regulatory vacuum has left creators to fend for themselves. While large media organizations can afford legal teams and lobbying efforts, most small publishers cannot. Marc believes Raptive’s solution is designed to fill that gap by giving individuals a simple, enforceable way to assert ownership of their work.

A Shifting Search Economy

The rise of AI-driven “answer engines” has reshaped how audiences find information online. Instead of clicking through to source material, users are increasingly consuming summaries within chatbots or search interfaces. Marc calls this shift “the biggest disruption to the creator ecosystem in the past 18 months.”

Some creators have experimented with Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), a new practice that attempts to tailor content so AI systems cite it in their responses. But Marc says Raptive discourages that approach. “We don’t think creators should optimize their content for large language models,” he argues. “That just enables the stealing.”

Instead, the company is investing in technologies that help creators strengthen direct relationships with their audiences through newsletters, video distribution, and community platforms, reducing reliance on external algorithms.

Balancing Risks and Opportunities of AI

Raptive isn’t anti-AI, Marc emphasizes. The company encourages responsible uses of artificial intelligence that help creators understand performance data and audience behavior.

“For authentic creators who can leverage AI as a tool, it’s going to be a game changer,” he says. “It can accelerate analytics, showing what content performs best, where, and why.” The challenge, he adds, is ensuring that AI serves as an enhancer of creativity, not a replacement for it.

The real threat lies in the flood of AI-generated “slop content” now spreading across social media and search engines. Even if that material is labeled correctly, its sheer volume can overwhelm genuine creators and dilute engagement. “People only have so much time and attention,” Marc says. “If some of that is going to AI-generated content, that’s less time spent with authentic creators.”

The Power of a Collective

Marc sees Raptive’s role as a bridge between independent creators and the digital platforms that shape their livelihoods. The company manages ad monetization, audience growth, and brand partnerships on behalf of its network, offering what he calls “a CEO in a box for creators.”

The company’s scale gives it leverage to advocate for fairer practices across the industry. “All of the creators in our network have the benefit of Raptive advocating on their behalf,” Marc says. “They have experts focused on these issues full-time, and that collective power gives them a much stronger voice.”

That advocacy, he adds, is essential as the creator economy enters a new phase where algorithms, AI systems, and monetization models change faster than regulation.

As Raptive moves into 2026, Marc says the company will continue expanding its partnerships and exploring new ways to help creators diversify their income streams. The immediate focus, however, is on the holiday season – a key revenue period for many content producers in lifestyle, food, and shopping categories.

Beyond seasonal growth, Marc’s long-term goal is clear: ensuring creators remain at the center of the internet’s value chain. “Our mission is to create a healthier open internet,” he concludes. “One where publishers and creators are well funded and empowered to deliver content of the highest quality and integrity.”

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