Online interactions increasingly involve bots.
The 2023 Imperva Bad Bot Report reveals that 47.4% of 2022’s internet traffic was bot-driven, up 5.1% from the previous year, while human traffic decreased to 52.6%.
Although bots serve critical functions, aiding digital assistants and search engines, there’s been a concerning increase in malicious bot activity.
Specifically, 2.5% more traffic in 2022 was from malicious bots, making up 30.2% of all traffic.
Alarmingly, over half of this harmful traffic came from advanced bots using sophisticated techniques to mimic human behavior and evade detection.
Business sectors, especially in Germany, Ireland, Singapore, and the U.S., face increasing threats from these advanced bots.
With AI enabling more human-like online conversations, distinguishing real users from bots becomes even harder.
In a study titled “Human or Not?”, 32% of participants couldn’t identify whether they were chatting with a human or a bot, regardless of age.
Furthermore, the line between human and bot online interactions is blurring, leading to challenges in trust and security.
Major platforms, like Amazon and Google, struggle with bot-generated fake reviews.
Such rising bot activity heightens online scam risks, emphasizing the need for user awareness.
Experts suggest users watch for rapid, repetitive, or impersonal responses as bot indicators.
Everyone, from tech professionals to the general public, must navigate these challenges as the digital age progresses.
Balancing genuine online interactions with the growing bot influence remains a paramount concern for the future.