How to monitor your AI traffic | Help Desk Monthly

We’ve written a lot about how newsrooms are navigating AI since our launch last December. A major theme of our reporting is that publishers need more data when trying to decide how to deal with AI accessing their sites.

That information helps publishers understand which agents and bots are visiting their sites and what they are doing on the sites. Later, data is how the success of experimentation is measured. If you read our case study on Technical.ly last month, you know what I’m talking about.

Now, I am happy to say we’ve added AI monitoring tools to our Scorecard database.

Adding tools that news publishers can use to monitor, track and even block AI agents and bot traffic was a priority for our team because they may be the foundation to an organization’s decision to block or optimize AI traffic.

We’ve also added social media management tools to the Scorecard.

You’ll see more on the new Scorecard categories we’ve added lower in this month’s newsletter. Then, in our “other resources” area, we’ve collected a number of links to help you with the revenue side of your news organization’s business. Those links range from a revenue playbook and grants to fundraising tips and experiments.

If your news organization needs support in a different area of your digital business, send us a note. Our coverage reflects what news publishers tell us they need help with, which means we want to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Leah Becerra, Product Director at News Media Help Desk

Now, some inspiration

New Categories in the Scorecard

Other resources worth your time

Further reading and resources all about funding your journalism:

Local news outlets need staff focused on revenue, study finds by Eric Rynston-Lobel
Originally published in November 2025, this article in Northwestern’s Local News Initiative outlines insights from LION on local news sustainability. (Read the article 🔗)

When journalism fundraising falls short, it’s often because you’re answering the wrong questions by Poynter
Funders don’t think like journalists. Here’s how to close the gap. This guide includes a downloadable worksheet at the end. (Go to the tips 🔗)

8 revenue experiments you can replicate in your news organization by API’s Better News
Take a look at eight ideas you can steal or adapt in order to help diversify revenue streams. (See the experiments 🔗)

Four ways to break down large revenue goals into short-term experiments by Emily Lytle
Roughly a year ago, Innovation in Focus worked with more than 20 newsrooms in a two-week revenue and fundraising experiment. From thank-you notes and swag to email strategies, these will inspire you. (See the experiments 🔗)

Looking ahead 👀

This month, we’re headed to INN Days in Pittsburgh. Let us know if you’ll be there, too!

Until next time, catch us on these social channels:

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• Category: Help Desk Newsletter
• Tag: AI, AI monitoring, homepage