TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, is urging artificial intelligence developers to use content responsibly and to cite sources. Access to the data should also be through the paid Wikimedia Enterprise service. The request comes amid a decline in user visits to the general information site.
The Wikimedia Foundation, which manages Wikipedia, stated that its paid product, Wikimedia Enterprise, enables companies to use content at scale without overburdening Wikipedia's servers. This paid scheme also supports the nonprofit organization's mission.
As long as AI developers use legitimate scraping methods, there is no threat of legal action from Wikimedia providers. However, the organization states that several AI bots have been scraping while trying to appear as human users.
After updating the bot detection system, Wikimedia found a spike in traffic last May and June from AI bots attempting to evade detection. During the same period, the number of "human visits" decreased by 8 percent compared to the previous year.
Through its new guidelines, Wikipedia emphasizes that generative AI developers must respect human contributions that serve as data sources for AI models. "For people to trust information shared on the internet, platforms should make it clear where the information is sourced from," according to a statement from the Wikimedia Foundation, cited from TechCrunch, Monday, November 10, 2025.
By citing sources, users pave the way for the public to visit Wikipedia and contribute content. Given the decline in visits to Wikipedia could erode the number of volunteers enriching the content, this request is reasonable. This situation also risks reducing support from individual donors.