Wikipedia Calls on AI Companies to Use Paid API and Halt Scraping
Key Points
- Wikimedia Foundation urges AI developers to use its paid Wikimedia Enterprise API.
- Paid access aims to reduce server strain and support Wikipedia’s nonprofit mission.
- AI tools must provide attribution and link back to original Wikipedia articles.
- Recent traffic spikes were linked to AI bots scraping the site.
- Human page views have declined, raising concerns about volunteer and donor support.
The Wikimedia Foundation announced that it expects AI developers to access Wikipedia content through its paid Wikimedia Enterprise platform rather than scraping the site. The move aims to ensure proper attribution, reduce server strain, and support the nonprofit’s mission as human page views decline. The foundation emphasized that generative‑AI tools should credit Wikipedia contributors and direct users back to the source, warning that continued scraping could impact volunteer engagement and donor support.
Wikimedia Foundation Sets New Guidelines for AI Developers
The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, has issued a clear request to artificial‑intelligence developers: use the organization’s paid Wikimedia Enterprise product to obtain content instead of scraping the site. In a recent blog post, the foundation explained that the paid service lets companies access Wikipedia’s massive knowledge base at scale while preventing “severely taxing Wikipedia’s servers.”
Beyond technical performance, the paid model is presented as a way for AI firms to financially support Wikipedia’s nonprofit mission. By paying for API access, developers can help sustain the volunteer‑driven ecosystem that creates and curates the encyclopedia’s articles.
The foundation also stressed the importance of proper attribution. It urged generative‑AI providers to give credit to the human contributors whose work powers their outputs and to provide links that allow users to return to the original Wikipedia pages. The statement linked accurate sourcing to public trust in online information.
Recent data showed a decline in “human page views,” prompting the foundation to highlight the potential impact on volunteer recruitment and donor contributions. The post noted that AI bots had been attempting to evade detection by scraping the site, leading to unusually high traffic spikes. By moving to a paid API, the foundation hopes to curb such activity and protect the integrity of its services.
While the blog post stopped short of threatening legal action, it framed the new guidelines as a partnership opportunity. The Wikimedia Enterprise platform offers a sustainable path for AI innovators to benefit from Wikipedia’s content while ensuring the encyclopedia can continue to thrive.