Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
#ThisWeekinNET — Episode 111
In this episode of This Week in NET, host João Tomé sits down with Stephanie Cohen, Cloudflare’s Chief Strategy Officer, for a candid conversation about AI, content creators, financial services, partnerships, and the future of the Internet.
Stephanie shares how Cloudflare is helping keep the Internet open and resilient — from giving creators transparency and control over AI scraping, to enabling new models of agentic commerce through partnerships with Visa and Mastercard, to empowering organizations of all sizes through Cloudflare’s global network.
The conversation also explores the rise of Agentic Commerce, where AI agents can complete secure payments on behalf of users. Stephanie explains how this shift is emerging, why trust and standards matter, and how Cloudflare is working with key financial institutions to make it safe.
They also discuss what innovation looks like inside large companies, how AI is reshaping industries, and why Cloudflare sees itself as an enabler for both creators and the long tail of innovators.
Recorded in Lisbon.
Subscribe for more weekly conversations on Internet trends, infrastructure, and technology:
ThisWeekinNET.com
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:46 — Cloudflare’s first Chief Strategy Officer, and “Agentic Commerce” partnerships
02:08 — From Goldman Sachs to Cloudflare: Stephanie’s career path
02:40 — Defining the CSO role and key strategic initiatives
03:58 — Corporate culture: maintaining innovation at scale
05:53 — AI and content: the “scraping” crisis and Cloudflare’s mission
10:36 — AI Crawl Control, and creating content scarcity
12:33 — “Human-optimized” vs. “Machine-optimized” Internet
14:53 — The financial sector: AI, resiliency, and threat intelligence
19:28 — WebBotAuth and verifying AI agents for commerce
25:51 — How legacy companies can innovate safely (the incubation model)
29:20 — Strategy framework: “Playing to Win” vs. “Playing to Play”
34:46 — Leadership advice: making the people around you better
#ThisWeekinNET — Episode 111
In this episode of This Week in NET, host João Tomé sits down with Stephanie Cohen, Cloudflare’s Chief Strategy Officer, for a candid conversation about AI, content creators, financial services, partnerships, and the future of the Internet.
Stephanie shares how Cloudflare is helping keep the Internet open and resilient — from giving creators transparency and control over AI scraping, to enabling new models of agentic commerce through partnerships with Visa and Mastercard, to empowering organizations of all sizes through Cloudflare’s global network.
The conversation also explores the rise of Agentic Commerce, where AI agents can complete secure payments on behalf of users. Stephanie explains how this shift is emerging, why trust and standards matter, and how Cloudflare is working with key financial institutions to make it safe.
They also discuss what innovation looks like inside large companies, how AI is reshaping industries, and why Cloudflare sees itself as an enabler for both creators and the long tail of innovators.
Recorded in Lisbon.
Subscribe for more weekly conversations on Internet trends, infrastructure, and technology:
ThisWeekinNET.com
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:46 — Cloudflare’s first Chief Strategy Officer, and “Agentic Commerce” partnerships
02:08 — From Goldman Sachs to Cloudflare: Stephanie’s career path
02:40 — Defining the CSO role and key strategic initiatives
03:58 — Corporate culture: maintaining innovation at scale
05:53 — AI and content: the “scraping” crisis and Cloudflare’s mission
10:36 — AI Crawl Control, and creating content scarcity
12:33 — “Human-optimized” vs. “Machine-optimized” Internet
14:53 — The financial sector: AI, resiliency, and threat intelligence
19:28 — WebBotAuth and verifying AI agents for commerce
25:51 — How legacy companies can innovate safely (the incubation model)
29:20 — Strategy framework: “Playing to Win” vs. “Playing to Play”
34:46 — Leadership advice: making the people around you better
