Bot classification is rarely a pure technical label.

Behavior is not enough

The same request pattern can come from a search crawler, a partner integration, a monitor, or a scraper. The difference is often authorization and impact.

Gray traffic needs policy

When traffic creates value for one team and risk for another, detection alone cannot decide the answer. The policy has to be explicit.

Evidence still matters

Even policy-heavy decisions need telemetry: identity, rate, coverage, attribution, and the cost imposed on production systems.