Complete Guide to AI Crawlers: Every Bot You Need to Know in 2026
TL;DR: AI crawlers index your content for both AI model training and AI search. Key bots: GPTBot (OpenAI), PerplexityBot (Perplexity), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), Google-Extended (Google AI), and CCBot (Common Crawl). For AI search visibility, allow search crawlers. Manage access via robots.txt with user-agent-specific rules. Our Content Formats That Get AI Citations guide covers this in detail.
What Are AI Crawlers and Why Do They Matter?
AI crawlers are automated bots that visit websites to collect and index content. They’re operated by AI companies and serve the growing ecosystem of AI-powered search and AI model training.
These crawlers matter for two reasons. First, they determine whether your content appears in AI search results. If PerplexityBot can’t crawl your site, Perplexity can’t cite you. If GPTBot is blocked, ChatGPT’s browsing feature can’t access your content.
Second, they collect data for AI model training. The content these bots index may be used to train or fine-tune language models. This raises copyright and compensation concerns that have sparked industry debate and litigation.
As a website owner, you have control over which AI crawlers can access your content. This guide covers every major AI crawler, their purpose, and how to manage them strategically.
What Are the Major AI Crawlers?
Here’s a comprehensive list of AI crawlers operating in 2026, organized by operator.
| Crawler | Operator | User Agent | Purpose | Respect robots.txt? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPTBot | OpenAI | GPTBot | Search + Training | Yes |
| OAI-SearchBot | OpenAI | OAI-SearchBot | Search only | Yes |
| ChatGPT-User | OpenAI | ChatGPT-User | Real-time browsing | Yes |
| PerplexityBot | Perplexity AI | PerplexityBot | Search | Yes |
| ClaudeBot | Anthropic | ClaudeBot | Search + Training | Yes |
| anthropic-ai | Anthropic | anthropic-ai | Training | Yes |
| Google-Extended | Google-Extended | AI training | Yes | |
| Googlebot | Googlebot | Search (including AI Overviews) | Yes | |
| CCBot | Common Crawl | CCBot | Open dataset (used by many AI) | Yes |
| Bytespider | ByteDance | Bytespider | Training (TikTok AI) | Yes |
| Applebot-Extended | Apple | Applebot-Extended | AI training | Yes |
| FacebookBot | Meta | FacebookExternalHit | AI training | Partial |
| cohere-ai | Cohere | cohere-ai | Training | Yes |
Key distinction: Some operators now separate their search and training crawlers. OpenAI has GPTBot (both), OAI-SearchBot (search only), and ChatGPT-User (browsing). This lets you allow search access while blocking training data collection.
How Do You Manage AI Crawler Access?
Your robots.txt file is the primary control mechanism. AI crawlers check robots.txt before crawling your pages. As we discuss in Featured Snippet Types: Complete Guide, this is a critical factor.
To allow all AI crawlers (maximum AI visibility):
## Allow all AI crawlers
User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /
User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Google-Extended
Allow: /
User-agent: CCBot
Allow: /To block all AI crawlers (maximum content protection):
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Disallow: /
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: ClaudeBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: anthropic-ai
Disallow: /
User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /
User-agent: CCBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: Bytespider
Disallow: /Balanced approach — allow search, block training:
## Allow AI search crawlers
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /
## Block AI training crawlers
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: anthropic-ai
Disallow: /
User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /
User-agent: CCBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: Bytespider
Disallow: /Important notes:
- robots.txt is advisory, not enforceable — bots can technically ignore it, though major AI companies honor it
- Blocking Googlebot will remove you from Google entirely, including AI Overviews — don’t block Googlebot unless you want zero Google visibility
- Changes to robots.txt take effect when crawlers next visit, which can take days to weeks
How Do You Decide What to Allow?
The decision depends on your business goals, content type, and risk tolerance.
Allow everything if: You want maximum AI search visibility, you publish free informational content, you benefit from brand exposure in AI responses, and the traffic/citation value outweighs concerns about AI training.
Block training, allow search if: You want AI search visibility but don’t want your content used for AI model training. This is the most common balanced approach. Use OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User for OpenAI search access while blocking GPTBot for training.
Block everything if: You’re a publisher concerned about AI reproducing your content without compensation, your content is premium/paywalled, you have legal or compliance reasons, or the value of AI visibility doesn’t justify the content use.
Selective access if: You want AI visibility for some content but not all. You can use path-specific rules: If you want to go deeper, Python SEO Tools: 40+ Scripts & Libraries breaks this down step by step.
User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /blog/
Disallow: /premium/
Disallow: /members/This allows AI crawlers to access your blog but blocks premium or members-only content.
Decision framework:
| Your Situation | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| B2B company wanting AI visibility | Allow search crawlers, consider blocking training |
| Media publisher with paywalled content | Block everything or allow only search |
| E-commerce with product pages | Allow all — product visibility in AI is valuable |
| SaaS company with documentation | Allow all — documentation citations drive adoption |
| Agency/consultant blog | Allow all — citations build authority |
| Research institution | Allow all — citation is the primary goal |
How Do You Monitor AI Crawler Activity?
Knowing which bots visit your site and how often gives you actionable intelligence.
Server log analysis. Your web server logs record every request, including the user agent string. Search logs for AI crawler user agents to see which bots visit, how often, and which pages they crawl.
## Example: Find GPTBot visits in Nginx access logs
grep "GPTBot" /var/log/nginx/access.log | wc -l
## See which pages GPTBot crawls most
grep "GPTBot" /var/log/nginx/access.log | awk '{print $7}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20CloudFlare bot analytics. If you use CloudFlare, check the Security > Bots section for AI crawler traffic. CloudFlare identifies and categorizes bot traffic, including AI crawlers.
Google Search Console. GSC shows Googlebot crawl statistics but doesn’t specifically break out Google-Extended. However, overall crawl patterns give you insight into how Google’s bots interact with your site.
Third-party monitoring tools. Tools like Botify, Screaming Frog logs, and ContentKing can identify AI crawler visits and track crawl patterns over time. (We explore this further in GEO for Personal Brands: Get AI to Recommend You.)
What to monitor:
- Which AI crawlers visit your site
- How frequently they crawl
- Which pages they access most
- Whether any crawlers are being blocked (check for 403 errors)
- Crawl budget impact — are AI crawlers consuming significant server resources?
What Technical Issues Can Block AI Crawlers?
Beyond robots.txt, several technical issues can prevent AI crawlers from accessing your content.
JavaScript rendering. AI crawlers, like early search engine bots, may not execute JavaScript. Content that requires JavaScript to render is invisible to crawlers that only parse HTML. Test by viewing your page source — if your content isn’t in the raw HTML, AI crawlers can’t see it. Solution: server-side rendering (SSR) or static site generation (SSG).
Rate limiting. Some security configurations block or throttle requests from AI crawlers. If your firewall or CDN rate-limits bot traffic, AI crawlers may receive 429 (Too Many Requests) responses and abandon crawling. Check your security settings and whitelist known AI crawler IP ranges. This relates closely to what we cover in Why JavaScript Kills Your AI Visibility.
CAPTCHA and bot protection. Aggressive bot protection (CloudFlare’s “Under Attack” mode, Akamai Bot Manager, etc.) can block legitimate AI crawlers. Configure your bot protection to allow known AI crawlers through.
IP blocking. Some servers block non-human traffic by IP. AI crawlers operate from known IP ranges published by their operators. Ensure these ranges aren’t blocked.
Slow response times. AI crawlers have timeout thresholds. If your pages take more than 5-10 seconds to serve, the crawler may timeout and skip the page. Optimize server response times.
Meta robots noindex/nofollow. If individual pages have <meta name="robots" content="noindex">, those pages won’t be indexed by any crawler. This overrides robots.txt Allow rules.
What Are the Legal and Ethical Considerations?
AI crawling raises important legal and ethical questions that are still being resolved.
Copyright and fair use. Major lawsuits (New York Times v. OpenAI, Getty Images v. Stability AI, etc.) are challenging whether AI training on copyrighted content constitutes fair use. The outcomes will shape AI crawling practices and publisher rights. For more on this, see our guide to Each AI Engine Has Different Taste.
Opt-out mechanisms. AI companies have introduced robots.txt compliance as an opt-out mechanism. However, critics argue that opt-out should not be the default — publishers should opt in to having their content used for AI training. This debate is ongoing.
Revenue impact. Publishers argue that AI search reduces their traffic and revenue by providing answers directly, reducing the need for users to visit source websites. Some AI companies (Perplexity, OpenAI) have introduced publisher revenue-sharing programs to address this concern.
Transparency. AI companies are increasingly transparent about their crawlers — publishing user agent strings, IP ranges, and documentation. This transparency lets website owners make informed decisions about access.
Practical guidance: The legal landscape is evolving. For now, make a business decision: if AI visibility benefits you, allow crawlers. If content protection is more important, block them. Review your decision quarterly as the legal and commercial landscape evolves.
How Do AI Crawlers Differ From Traditional Search Crawlers?
Understanding the differences helps you manage both effectively. Our robots.txt for AI Crawlers — Complete Setup Guide guide covers this in detail.
Crawl frequency. Traditional search crawlers (Googlebot) crawl popular pages multiple times daily. AI crawlers typically crawl less frequently — some visit popular pages weekly or monthly, others only during specific crawl campaigns. This means AI crawlers may see older versions of your content.
Content processing. Googlebot executes JavaScript, processes CSS, and renders pages similar to a browser. AI crawlers vary — some process JavaScript, others only parse raw HTML. The safest approach is server-side rendering.
Crawl depth. Googlebot follows internal links extensively, crawling deep into your site structure. AI crawlers may have shallower crawl depth, focusing on pages linked from your sitemap, homepage, or popular external links.
Robots.txt compliance. All major AI crawlers respect robots.txt. However, enforcement mechanisms differ — Google can penalize sites in rankings for blocking Googlebot, while blocking AI crawlers has no ranking penalty (but reduces AI visibility).
Index freshness. Google’s index updates within hours to days. AI crawler indexes may update less frequently, meaning changes to your content may take longer to reflect in AI search results.
Key Takeaways
- Major AI crawlers: GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, CCBot — each serves training and/or search
- Manage access via robots.txt with user-agent-specific rules
- Balanced approach: allow search crawlers (OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot) while blocking training crawlers
- Monitor AI crawler activity through server logs and CDN analytics
- Fix technical blockers: JavaScript rendering, rate limiting, and aggressive bot protection
- Review your crawler access policy quarterly as the legal and commercial landscape evolves