Cloudflare launched two artificial intelligence payment products, Monetization Gateway and Pay Per Use, into beta on Sept. 30 in the United States to help sellers and publishers monetize AI interactions.
The new tools provide distinct models for content creators and API providers to charge AI agents for usage, addressing growing industry needs for clearer compensation mechanisms as AI adoption expands, the company said.
Monetization Gateway allows sellers to charge AI agents for specific actions such as API requests, tool usage, dataset access or site access, with pricing determined by the seller, Cloudflare stated.
Payments for the Monetization Gateway are processed using the x402 protocol and the HTTP 402 Payment Required status code, utilizing the USDC stablecoin on the Base blockchain via Coinbase’s x402 Facilitator.
Currently, the Monetization Gateway is in a closed beta phase, accessible only to U.S.-based buyers and sellers. Cloudflare indicated plans for broader geographic support in the future.
Cloudflare listed four active implementations for the Gateway, including its own AI Gateway, Ceramic.ai, Stocktwits and API2PDF.
The second product, Pay Per Use, is designed to compensate publishers when AI companies report using their content after retrieval. Under this model, AI companies define both the use case and the price, with publishers retaining the right to accept or decline the proposed terms, according to Cloudflare.
The company said these products aim to establish transparent and efficient payment rails for the AI economy, enabling creators and providers to directly benefit from their contributions.
This initiative comes as major technology companies, including Google and Microsoft, continue to integrate AI into their core services, increasing demand for data and content.
Source: Search Engine Journal
