WTF is LLM honeypotting?

July 17, 2026 Publishers and e-commerce brands under siege from AI crawlers are starting to fight back with an old security trick updated for the LLM era: “LLM honeypotting.” The term refers to a deception tactic that lures bots into plausible-looking but ultimately useless information like content mazes, driving up their compute costs and polluting their models. The goal: break the economics of large‑scale scraping. Advertisement TOP STORY The Business of AI WTF is LLM honeypotting? Publishers and ecommerce brands under siege from AI crawlers are starting to fight back with an old security trick updated for the LLM era: “LLM honeypotting.”  OTHER THINGS TO KNOW Hear from media leaders from Reuters Digital and The New York Times in Miami, September 14–16, for the Digiday Publishing Summit. Learn how top publishers are adapting their business models to tackle today’s biggest industry challenges. Prices rise Aug. 3. Between securing attention and earning trust, reaching audiences in the health and wellness space is challenging and often requires more to win them over. Download this case study to see how one healthcare company improved its strategies. Partner insights from PatientPoint. Premium streaming sponsorship inventory is sold direct — publishers decide what enters the programmatic marketplace, which usually isn’t in-show placements. Brands whose infrastructure doesn’t support direct buying are leaving the highest-performing segment of streaming off the table. Partner insights from Tatari. MARKETING Member exclusive Future of Marketing Briefing: What World Cup breakout stars Haaland and Zlatan can teach marketers about sports stardom This year’s soccer darlings confirm the emergence of a new kind of sporting celebrity in direct conversation with fandom and social media. Retail Media Rewritten Walmart reveals soccer fans’ World Cup shopping habits New data is from Walmart is showing that consumer shopping habits shifted during the 2026 World Cup. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM 3C VENTURES How vocabulary convergence leads marketers to pay for unnecessary capabilities Agency platforms increasingly rely on the same language, like AI-powered, agentic and end-to-end; yet, without any industry-standard definitions, making meaningful comparisons is difficult for marketers evaluating potential platforms. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM CONTENTFUL AI is helping marketers shift to being both creative and analytical Gone are the days when creative and analytical were considered opposites — marketers need to be both. Data helps teams understand what’s working, but creativity is what makes people care. Advertisement ICYMI Brands in Culture Brands won this season of ‘Love Island USA’ Brands are eager to find their way into shows like Love Island USA and events that have become appointment viewing. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM OPTABLE What the rise of agentic advertising means for publishers Autonomous buying and selling tools are reshaping media transactions, but many publishers aren’t ready for agentic AI. Marketing on Platforms Reddit questions if AI data deals could hurt its ad business Reddit’s ad business is built on the value of its community conversations. Now the company is debating whether selling those same conversations to AI companies could undermine that advantage. Marketing on Platforms Digital video ad spending is booming — trust in premium inventory isn't Digital video ad spend continues to climb, but buyers say bigger budgets bring tougher questions about inventory quality, supply chain transparency. Written by Jim Cooper and Sara Jerde Were you forwarded this email? Sign up to get it daily. Advertise | Digiday+ | Events | Awards Update your email | Unsubscribe | Privacy policy