Some AI browsers can bypass publisher paywalls, report says

AI web browsers like OpenAI's ChatGPT Atlas and Perplexity's Comet are capable of circumventing some publications' paywalls to access content normally reserved for paying subscribers, according to a new report from the Columbia Journalism Review.

As the CJR reports, both browsers were able to retrieve a 9,000-word, subscriber-only feature from MIT Technology Review. When the same request was made through ChatGPT’s regular tool, the chatbot was unable to access the piece because the site had blocked OpenAI’s web crawler.

According to CJR, the reason these AI browsers can bypass paywalls is simple: to the website, Atlas and Comet look just like ordinary users. Normally, publishers use the Robots Exclusion Protocol to block unwanted crawlers and AI bots. But agentic AI tools and browsers like Atlas and Comet can blend in with normal human traffic, making it difficult for publishers to detect and restrict them.

Adding to the problem: CJR found that some outlets use client-side paywalls, which hide the text of an article from visitors. However, AI bots are still able to read these articles for free.

CJR also found that Atlas specifically avoids reading content from publishers currently suing OpenAI. For example, when asked to summarize an article from PCMag — a website owned by Ziff Davis, which also owns Mashable — Atlas instead generated a composite summary based on X posts, syndicated stories, and other outside sources.

However, when we asked ChatGPT Atlas to summarize a recent Mashable article titled "How to Navigate Exes While Swiping," the AI appeared to produce a detailed, bulleted summary of the piece’s main points, even offering to add direct quotes from experts featured in the story.

Credit: Screenshot / Timothy Beck Werth

When asked how it accessed the article, Atlas clarified that it had not and instead offered a generalized summary based on prior knowledge of the topic — reiterating that it didn’t have direct access to the original Mashable article. Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

Credit: Screenshot / Timothy Beck Werth

AI web browsers are on the rise now — especially with OpenAI launching its own entrant, Atlas. The new tool joins a growing lineup that includes Perplexity's Comet and Microsoft's Copilot Mode in Edge. But their arrival, meant to redefine how we navigate the internet in a post-Search world, is already creating headaches for traditional digital media.