The Publisher's Content Protection Playbook: How to block scrapers, build leverage, and get paid
The Publisher's Content Protection Playbook: How to block scrapers, build leverage, and get paid
Search traffic fell 36%, publishers are getting 58% fewer clicks when AI Overviews are present, and in June 2026 alone AI tools sent just 0.1% of referral traffic to publishers.
This playbook covers what to do about it:
How to block scrapers and why it’s the most important step
How to know what your content is worth before licensing it to AI companies
How to build leverage – whether you’re negotiating directly or joining a coalition
What you can do in Piano to protect your content, create personalized experiences, and build strong reader relationships that don't depend on search traffic to sustain it
Bottom line: The industry is changing, and publishers are paying the price. Those who act now – blocking scrapers, locking content, building direct audiences — will be the ones who come out on top and succeed.
In this playbook, we'll cover:
practical guidance on blocking scrapers – what publishers should do, step by step
how to know what your content is worth before licensing it to AI companies
how to build leverage in AI licensing conversations
what you can do in Piano to protect your content, create personalized experiences, and build strong reader relationships that don't depend on search traffic to sustain it
Bottom line: lock AI companies accessing your sites, understand what your content is worth, and build the leverage to get paid for it.