AI systems require large amounts of data. Training machine learning models demands information on the chosen topic, which you can get using a rotating proxy with unlimited bandwidth. This data must also be fresh and accurate. Otherwise, your AI model will produce faulty outputs.
You can buy the required information from pre-made datasets, if available, but that’s not always the case. Another way is using an API, but that’s also not always available. Automated data collection is the only remaining option, but it quickly stutters without proxies as it runs into CAPTCHAs, geo-restrictions, and even IP bans.
In this article, I’ll show you a method to collect data from the World Wide Web that gives you more freedom. Below, I’ll explain how to use an unlimited-bandwidth proxy from a proxy rotation service to scrape data for AI efficiently.
What Makes Mobile Proxies Ideal for AI Data Collection?
I’ll get straight to the issue: not all proxies are suited for AI data collection. Deep learning systems, like large language models (LLMs), need plenty of information. For example, chatbots rely on large language models, and their accuracy and quality depend on the amount of data used to train them.
You will need unlimited traffic proxies capable of grabbing large volumes of data without imposing bandwidth restrictions. But web scraping at scale cannot be done with just one or a few proxy servers. You must switch between different IPs to bypass IP blocks, rate limits, CAPTCHA prompts, and all kinds of online content restrictions.
So I looked for a proxy type that offers both unlimited data usage and has a large IP pool for automatic IP rotation. As an example, I will use the MarsProxies proxy service provider, which offers six types of proxies.
After researching the provider’s products and features, I noticed that its mobile proxies offer a bandwidth-free proxy plan. Although relatively pricey (compared to other types, like ISP or datacenter proxies), these proxies offer automatic IP rotation and do not limit bandwidth, which is exactly what I’m looking for to build this pipeline.
It’s clear that you need unlimited bandwidth to scrape large volumes of data, but what’s the deal with IP rotation? In reality, tons of websites block web scraping requests, as they’re not into sharing data with competitors. As a result of this restrictive approach, rotating proxy servers are often used by thousands of established brands, including Google and Amazon.
IP rotation ensures that you use multiple IPs to scrape publicly available data. So a rotating proxy with unlimited bandwidth enriches your AI programs with fresh and accurate information. What’s more, if some of it is restricted to a specific region (called online geographical restrictions), you can connect to a proxy server in that region and scrape it.
The Main Components of an AI Data Collection Pipeline
Before I focus more on proxies, I’ll review the core components of the AI data collection pipeline to see where exactly proxies fit.
First things first, you must define the target data source. It can be publicly available data on websites, or you can scrape public databases via an API. I know someone who uses proxies to scrape medical and scientific journals to generate new medication ideas, so the use cases can be highly specific.
If you opt to use proxies, you will need a scraper. Of course, you can always switch IPs and collect information manually, but that’s prone to human error and is time-consuming. Instead, a scraper with automated workflows visits selected websites or databases and extracts information quickly and with high success rates.
Data storage is another issue. Currently, cloud solutions like Amazon Simple Storage Service and Google Cloud Storage are popular. They offer terabytes of space (or even more), a benefit you’d otherwise need a complex hardware setup for.
Also, data stored in the cloud is available for your AI whenever you have an internet connection. Alternatively, you can use local storage to avoid costly third-party subscriptions, but all sensitive data must be stored as required by local law. Lastly, you can use structured database storage, such as MySQL and Oracle, that is made ready for specific AI model training.
Where Rotating Proxy With Unlimited Bandwidth Fits in the Pipeline
Proxies play a crucial role in the data collection process. If you have ever tried it with a single IP address, you must have seen dozens of CAPTCHA screens asking to verify that you are a human. Or maybe you have stumbled upon soft blocks where a website just stops responding to your requests. Proxies help solve these challenges.
Firstly, you can use residential proxies (go to “Products” –> “Residential Proxies”) that are optimized to mimic a genuine person browsing online. While web scraping, you can set up custom rotation so that websites do not mistake your data gathering for bot-like behavior, like DDoS cyberattacks.
As discussed previously, you can also connect to servers in different countries to grab local data. That’s particularly useful if you’re doing SEO or foreign market research, because you get localized results to improve your keywords or advertisement texts. While they work great, these proxies usually have bandwidth-based plans, so the costs can add up quickly.
Unlimited traffic is significantly more cost-efficient because it lets you collect as much information as needed for AI development. After researching, I found that only mobile proxies offer these two features. More precisely, MarsProxies mobile proxies (go to “Products” –> “Mobile Proxies”) offer IP rotation, unlimited traffic, and add a strong layer of online privacy to cloak your web scraping efforts from unwanted attention.
AI-Specific Real-World Use Cases
Now that we’ve got the theory sorted out, let’s review real AI use cases that benefit from large-scale information gathering.
Large language models require a lot of data. Chatbots that automate customer support operations must provide accurate, usable answers to user queries, so they must have access to industry-specific information. For example, AI-powered programming assistants must process millions of code lines before providing the desired output.
AI-driven ecommerce tools are another vivid example. They scout the internet, collecting prices, user reviews, and competitor keywords to make suggestions for your brand’s growth. As I said, getting competitor data is challenging due to websites’ anti-scraping protection, which proxies help bypass.
A third example is collecting regional data to localize AI models. AI is especially capable of translating languages and identifying local keywords to improve global brand placement, which can become a major source of revenue. Also, localized data is key for accurate global market research, which also helps brands expand worldwide.
How MarsProxies Fits Into Your Pipeline
Let’s take a closer look at where exactly mobile proxies fit within the AI data collection pipeline:
- Unlimited bandwidth ensures you can scrape as much information as needed without running out of traffic or worrying about unexpected expenses.
- Customizable IP rotation ensures you can scrape with an additional layer of anonymity and avoid IP blocks, rate limits, and other obstacles.
- Mobile IP addresses have the highest trust scores and are assigned to multiple users, so websites never ban them.
- MarsProxies includes integration tutorials for the most popular tools and guides for DIY scrapers, which is valuable for scraping challenging sources.
- This proxy service offers discounts for large orders, so training AI comes at a lower cost.
- Finally, 24/7 customer support is available via live chat, email, and Discord, which I believe is mandatory for all services that require technical knowledge.
Best Practices for Stable, Responsible Data Collection
Before I go, there’s one more, and very important, thing to discuss – ethical web scraping. Although collecting online data for AI training is legal, you must also follow strict rules to avoid costly lawsuits, like the HiQ Labs vs Microsoft case. Here are my tips to keep you on the safe side:
- Review the website’s terms of service and follow its rules. Follow instructions in the robots.txt file to learn which parts are not accessible to scrapers and crawlers.
- Unless your business model relies on it, do not scrape personally identifiable information. If you do, make sure you use, handle, and store it following local data protection regulations.
- Keep your requests human-like. Customize your user-agents and include delays to avoid sending too many requests and slowing the website down.
- Remove duplicates and validate data so that your AI tool receives clean input for accurate outputs.
Conclusion
AI development was welcomed with open arms in the proxy service industry. As you can see, rotating proxies with unlimited bandwidth have several benefits, from grabbing localized data to avoiding IP bans.
Keep in mind that only mobile proxies provide both unlimited bandwidth and automatic IP rotation. Although this is one of the more costly proxy types, mobile proxies are the most budget-friendly option in the long run, as they offer unlimited web scraping at a fixed price.
Affiliate Disclosure: We use referral links for MarsProxies, which means we may earn a commission if you purchase through our links, at no extra cost to you. This does not influence our opinion.
