The more I talk with government and vendor digital service folks about how best to address website bot traffic, the more concerned I get that the default is simply to block or significantly limit access.
This is short-sighted and unproductive. It doesn’t take into account that bots are now a core part of digital service delivery.
I’ve written about the importance of government bot policies. I created a sample one for re-use.
A bot policy is a set of guidelines and rules that govern how external bots can interact with government systems, like websites, APIs, and other digital services. It addresses issues like rate limits, access controls, data usage, security measures, and more.
Today, bot traffic makes up more than half of all web traffic. This isn’t going away. It’s only going to increase.
As public service providers, governments and vendors must be strategically proactive – not reflexively reactive – in managing this.
This shouldn’t be secondary to other digital priorities. It should be a core part of your digital strategy.
Build your bot policy now and work with your digital team or vendor to implement it.
