AI Crawler Checker — Test robots.txt for AI Bots

Check if AI crawlers (GPTBot, Claude, CCBot, etc.) are blocked by your robots.txt. Paste URL or robots.txt to verify.

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About AI Crawler Checker — Test robots.txt for AI Bots

AI Crawler Checker shows whether your website blocks AI training bots. Enter a URL and get an instant visual report for 15 AI crawlers: GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), Google-Extended (Gemini), Bytespider (ByteDance), PerplexityBot, and more. Each bot is shown as blocked or allowed with importance ratings. Found gaps? Fix them instantly with the robots.txt Generator. Free, no sign-up.

How to Use

  1. 1Enter your site URL (e.g. https://example.com) and click "Check AI Blocks."
  2. 2The tool fetches your robots.txt and analyzes it for 15 AI crawler User-agents.
  3. 3Review the visual matrix showing blocked (red) and allowed (green) status for each bot.
  4. 4If important AI crawlers are not blocked, click "Block AI Crawlers with Generator" to create the correct robots.txt rules.
  5. 5For a full robots.txt syntax check, use the robots.txt Checker link.

Features

  • Check 15 AI crawlers at once: GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, Bytespider, and more
  • Visual block/allow matrix with importance ratings (High / Medium / Low)
  • Score ring shows your overall AI blocking coverage at a glance
  • Google Search Console cannot show AI crawler block status — this tool can
  • Free, no sign-up. One click to fix gaps with the robots.txt Generator.
01

Understanding AI Crawlers and Their Impact

Since 2023, AI training crawlers have become a significant new category of web bots. Understanding which companies operate them and what they do with your content is essential for making informed blocking decisions.

OpenAI (GPTBot & ChatGPT-User)

GPTBot collects training data for OpenAI's GPT models. ChatGPT-User fetches web pages when ChatGPT users browse the web through the chat interface. OpenAI has publicly committed to respecting robots.txt. Blocking GPTBot prevents your content from being included in future GPT model training data.

Anthropic (ClaudeBot & anthropic-ai)

ClaudeBot collects training data for Anthropic's Claude models. anthropic-ai is used for Anthropic's web research. Both respect robots.txt as stated in Anthropic's official documentation. Blocking both bots prevents your content from being used in Claude's training.

Google-Extended and the SEO Trade-off

Google-Extended is separate from Googlebot — blocking it does not affect your Google search rankings. However, it may prevent your content from appearing in Google AI Overviews (formerly SGE). This creates a trade-off: block to protect content, or allow for AI-powered search visibility. Your decision should depend on whether AI Overview appearances drive meaningful traffic to your site.

02

Building an AI Crawler Blocking Strategy

Effective AI crawler management requires a clear strategy based on your content type, business model, and risk tolerance.

When to Block: Protecting Original Content

Block AI crawlers if you produce original content (articles, research, photography, designs) whose value diminishes when reproduced by AI, if you offer paid or subscription content, or if AI-generated summaries could reduce direct traffic to your site. For these use cases, blocking GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Bytespider, and CCBot is the minimum recommended set.

Ongoing Monitoring and Maintenance

New AI crawlers appear regularly. Run this checker periodically to detect gaps in your blocking coverage. After any robots.txt change, verify the results using this tool or the full robots.txt Checker. Consider setting a quarterly review to update your blocking rules as the AI crawler landscape evolves.

FAQ

Which AI crawlers does this tool check?
It checks 15 AI crawlers: GPTBot and ChatGPT-User (OpenAI), ClaudeBot and anthropic-ai (Anthropic), Google-Extended (Google/Gemini), Bytespider (ByteDance), PerplexityBot, CCBot (Common Crawl), Amazonbot, Meta-ExternalAgent, Applebot-Extended, cohere-ai, YouBot, Diffbot, and omgili (Webz.io).
Does blocking AI crawlers affect my Google search rankings?
No. AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, etc.) are separate bots from Googlebot. Blocking them has no impact on your search rankings. However, blocking Google-Extended may prevent your content from appearing in Google AI Overviews (SGE).
Do AI companies actually respect robots.txt?
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, ByteDance, and other major AI companies have publicly committed to honoring robots.txt rules. However, unofficial scrapers and malicious bots may ignore these restrictions. robots.txt is a convention, not a technical access control.
How do I block AI crawlers that are currently allowed?
Click the "Block AI Crawlers with Generator" button to go to the robots.txt Generator. Check the AI bots you want to block and download the updated robots.txt file. Upload it to your site's root directory.
Should I block all AI crawlers?
It depends on your content. Sites with original articles, research, photography, or paid content should consider blocking. Tool sites, SaaS landing pages, and e-commerce product pages may benefit from AI visibility. Block selectively based on your business model.

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