This article presents the evolution of our recommendations regarding content blocking modes with Poool Access, following the arrival of generative artificial intelligence (LLMs).
💡 These recommendations are provided for informational purposes only. The choice of your content blocking strategy is your responsibility and should be a decision made at your company’s executive level, based on your business objectives and specific context.
Content blocking modes available before the arrival of AI
Before the arrival of AI, three content blocking modes were mainly used, depending on the level of protection publishers wanted to apply to their content.
Super hard paywall
Paid content is not accessible on the front end. Google and AI systems have no access to it at all (just like a non-subscribed user).
Method used in the Poool integration: “custom” mode.
Hard paywall with whitelisting
Whitelisting of Googlebot’s official IP addresses. Google has access to the full content (like a subscriber), while AI systems can access it via the Search API.
Method used in the Poool integration: “custom” mode.
Soft paywall: front-end Blocking
All content is present in the source code but hidden using JavaScript/CSS. Google and all AI systems have access to the content.
Method used in Poool: “hide” mode or “excerpt” mode.
Before the emergence of LLMs, our position was that the choice between front-end and server-side blocking depended on your strategy, taking several factors into account:
Paywall circumvention by users remained relatively rare
This phenomenon did not hinder the growth of digital subscriptions
Fraud was not a major obstacle (as demonstrated by the success of the New York Times and many French media outlets)
You can find more information about the masking modes available in Poool in 👉 this article.
After the arrival of AI: what has changed?
The emergence of LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini) and Google’s AI features (AI Overviews, AI Mode) has introduced two new risks:
Massive and automated circumvention: AI systems can access soft-paywalled content and bypass it at scale
Content summarization and redistribution: AI systems can generate comprehensive summaries of your paid articles and distribute them for free
In light of these challenges, server-side blocking appears to be the most appropriate approach. We will therefore examine the different options available.
Three options to consider
Below is a brief overview of the possible options, their advantages and disadvantages, and the key points to anticipate.
Option 1: Hard paywall (Google whitelisting) – default recommendation
This approach may suit the majority of publishers looking to strike a balance between content protection and SEO.
Advantages: partial protection against AI, limited SEO risk
Drawbacks: AI systems accessing content via Google’s Search API may still be able to access it; medium technical complexity
A Hard Paywall with whitelisting also requires:
Regular updates to the Googlebot IP list (at least once a week)
Management of an additional cached version (server costs)
Use of
meta-robots noarchivetags
👉 Google documentation on Googlebot whitelisting
👉 Poool documentation on “custom” mode
Option 2: Super hard paywall – for premium content
This approach can be considered for very high–value content or if you already have a well-established audience.
Advantages: maximum protection against direct AI access
Drawbacks: potentially high SEO risk (especially if there are fewer than 1,000 characters before the paywall); AI systems may still recreate summaries via six alternative methods in around 50% of cases
Switching to a Super Hard Paywall may impact your search rankings, in particular:
High risk if you have fewer than 1,000 characters of content before the paywall
Greater risk for short content and highly competitive topics
Differentiated impact: regional daily newspapers (niche topics) may be less affected than national daily newspapers (broad topics)
Option 3: Hybrid approach
A strategy combining different blocking modes can also be considered:
Super Hard Paywall for premium content (investigations, exclusive analyses)
Hard Paywall for news and standard content
Soft Paywall for certain acquisition-oriented categories
This approach allows you to experiment and measure impact before rolling it out more broadly.
Its main limitation lies in the time investment required, as outlined in Options 1 and 2.
Next steps with Poool
With Poool, you can implement the different options: Super Hard Paywall, Hard Paywall, and Soft Paywall.
If you wish to evolve your content blocking strategy, we suggest considering the following steps:
Share this analysis with your management and technical teams
Assess your current situation: what is your existing blocking mode? What are your top priorities?
Make a strategic decision based on your objectives (protection vs. SEO vs. conversion)
Contact your Poool CSM to discuss implementation if you decide to change your configuration. Our teams can support you in choosing the best approach, technical implementation, and performance analysis.
What is Poool’s point of view?
From a broader perspective, we believe that blocking AI access is not the only challenge for growing digital subscriptions.
The real drivers of success remain:
A strong brand
A differentiated value proposition
A product that meets user needs
An organization aligned to sustainably engage subscribers
This does not mean we are downplaying the issue. AI access to content is a critical topic and will likely require a collective response from the media industry, particularly through legal actions and negotiations with AI platforms.
As a complement to this information, feel free to read our Audiencers article on the topic