# Cloudflare

If your site is behind Cloudflare, you already have AI bot analytics built in - no log parsing, no code changes. Cloudflare’s **AI Crawl Control** identifies crawlers like GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and PerplexityBot and shows you exactly which bots visit which pages.

You can use this data in two ways:

1. **Read it manually** in the Cloudflare dashboard - great for weekly check-ins
2. **Connect API to Sitefire** via API token - so we can pull the data automatically and combine it with your [GEO visibility metrics](/content/docs/geo-overview/index.html).

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## Read AI Traffic in Cloudflare  
Log in to the [Cloudflare dashboard](https://dash.cloudflare.com/), select your domain, and navigate to **AI Crawl Control** in the left sidebar.

### The Two Metrics That Matter  
| Metric | What it tells you | Where to find it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Allowed Requests by Operator** | How often AI bots crawl your site, grouped by operator (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Perplexity, etc.). This is your supply-side leading indicator - bots need to crawl your content before they can cite it. | Overview tab > “Crawlers grouped by operators”. For trends: Metrics tab > “Allowed requests”, group by **Operator**. |
| **Referrals by Operator** | How often humans click through from AI platforms to your site. The closest conversion metric for AI visibility. Unlike GA4, Cloudflare captures this server-side. | Metrics tab > “Referrals over time”, group by **Operator**. |

Referral data requires a paid Cloudflare plan (Pro or above). On the free plan, use [GA4](/content/docs/tracking/google-analytics/index.html) for referral tracking.

**Export:** On the Metrics tab, click **Download CSV** or **Download image** for your own reporting.

---

## Connect API to Sitefire  
For automated, continuous tracking, give Sitefire read-only access to your Cloudflare analytics via API token. We query the same data the dashboard shows and surface it alongside your [visibility tracking](/content/docs/visibility-tracking/index.html) and [GEO Score](/content/docs/actions/improve-content/index.html).

> **Time needed:** ~5 minutes. Two steps: find your Zone ID, create an API token.

### Find Your Zone ID  
Go to **Cloudflare Dashboard** > select your domain. On the right sidebar of the **Overview** page, copy the **Zone ID** (a 32-character hex string).

### Create an API Token  
Go to **My Profile** (top-right avatar) > **API Tokens** > **Create Token** > scroll past templates and click **Create Custom Token**.

| Setting | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Token name | `Sitefire - AI Analytics (read-only)` |
| Permissions | **Account** > **Account Analytics** > **Read** |
| Zone Resources | Include > Specific zone > select your domain |

Leave IP filtering and TTL blank unless your security policy requires them.

Click **Continue to summary**, review, then **Create Token**. **Copy the token immediately** - Cloudflare only shows it once.

Do not use your Global API Key. It grants unrestricted access to all zones and resources. API tokens are scoped, revocable, and the only method we support.

### Share with Sitefire  
Email **[support@sitefire.ai](mailto:support@sitefire.ai)** with:

- Your **API token** (from Step 2)
- Your **Zone ID** (from Step 1)
- The **domain name** the zone belongs to

We configure the sync on our end and you’ll see AI bot data in your dashboard within a few hours.

Last updated on May 6, 2026.