AI traffic may outpace humans by 1,000 times, predicts Musk:Non-human traffic overtook human-generated traffic in May 2026, reports Cloudfare

The internet may soon have far more activity coming from machines than from people. Elon Musk has backed a forecast suggesting that AI agents and automated systems could eventually generate up to 1,000 times more internet traffic than humans. Musk shared his support for the prediction on X, highlighting how quickly AI-powered systems are becoming a major part of internet activity. The prediction comes as automated traffic is already growing rapidly. Data from Cloudflare suggests that machine-generated traffic has now overtaken human-generated traffic. AI traffic has already surpassed human traffic Cloudflare’s data shows that non-human internet traffic overtook human-generated traffic in May 2026. This happened earlier than the company had previously expected. Cloudflare had earlier predicted that the shift would happen in 2027. Non-human traffic includes activity from AI agents, bots, automated services and systems that communicate with other machines. This does not mean people are using the internet less. Instead, machines are doing much more online work, from searching websites and collecting information to sending requests and exchanging data automatically. AI agents could drive a massive rise The biggest change could come from AI agents. Unlike traditional chatbots, AI agents can perform tasks on behalf of users, such as searching the web, making bookings, writing and running code, or interacting with online services. As more people and businesses start using these systems, the number of automated requests sent across the internet could increase sharply. Cloudflare’s forecast suggests that non-human traffic could eventually become up to 1,000 times larger than human-generated traffic within five years if current growth continues. Also read: Forgot your Android phone’s PIN, pattern or password?: Stepwise guide on how to regain access and unlock your device using multiple methods

But who will pay for all this AI activity? The prediction has also raised questions about the cost of running such a massive AI ecosystem. Investor Michael Burry questioned who would ultimately pay for all the computing and infrastructure needed to support the growing number of AI agents. Burry has previously raised concerns about the huge amount of money being invested in AI infrastructure. He has warned that heavy spending on data centres and computing hardware could eventually create excess capacity if demand does not grow as expected. Tech giants are spending billions on AI Meanwhile, the world’s biggest technology companies are continuing to pour money into AI. Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle are expected to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on capital expenditure this year, with a large portion going towards AI infrastructure, computing systems and data centres. If AI agents continue to grow at the current pace, the internet could gradually shift from being a place where humans are the main users to one where humans and machines operate side by side, with machines generating a much larger share of online activity.