Inference theft lets attackers resell your paid AI calls. See how the attack works, why rate limits and auth walls fail, and how Vercel BotID stops it on every request.
HTTP requests are inexpensive. Vercel charges ~$2/million, a fraction of a cent per call. But a single prompt to an agent on a frontier model can cost $2, making AI a million times more expensive, and inference theft one of the highest-margin businesses…
BotID is a new invisible CAPTCHA layer of protection that stops sophisticated bots before they reach your backend. It's built to secure critical routes like checkouts, logins, and signups or actions that trigger expensive calls like LLM-powered APIs.
Protect high-value endpoints like checkout, login, and AI APIs with Vercel BotID 1.4.3, now with universal JavaScript support. Use initBotId() in SvelteKit, Nuxt, and more to stop the more sophisticated, malicious bots.
Vercel BotID is an invisible CAPTCHA that protects against sophisticated bots without showing visible challenges or requiring manual intervention. It now catches verified bots and allows users to control the experience.
Vercel BotID Deep Analysis now uses an updated detection model that expands fingerprinting coverage for bespoke headless browsers and simulated device hardware.
BotID is Vercel's most advanced bot solution, and will be free for all pro and enterprise customers during the Black Friday Cyber Monday/ the holidays.
