# DuckAssistBot

Category: [AI Bots & Crawlers](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/ai-bots-crawlers/) › [Other AI bots](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/ai-bots-crawlers/other-ai-bots/)

**DuckAssistBot** is the web crawler DuckDuckGo uses for the AI-assisted answers in DuckDuckGo Search. According to DuckDuckGo, it crawls pages in real time so that those answers can cite their sources.

## What does DuckAssistBot do?

DuckDuckGo states that the data is not used to train AI models. The bot identifies itself with the user agent `DuckAssistBot/1.2; (+http://duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.html)`. DuckDuckGo publishes the IP addresses it crawls from, 486 entries as of October 2026, as a JSON file.

DuckDuckGo's classic search crawler is DuckDuckBot, a separate bot with a different job.

## How can you control DuckAssistBot?

A site can disallow the user agent in robots.txt. DuckDuckGo says a change takes effect after 72 hours and that opting out does not affect organic rankings or whether the site appears in DuckDuckGo search results. Some third-party bot directories describe blocking it as only an opt-out from AI training, which does not match DuckDuckGo's description.

## Example

```robots
User-agent: DuckAssistBot
Disallow: /internal/
```

The rule blocks only the `/internal/` directory for this bot. All other paths stay open.

## FAQ

**Does DuckAssistBot train AI models?**
DuckDuckGo says no. Its help page states that the data is not used in any way to train AI models.

## At a glance

- **Operator:** DuckDuckGo
- **Purpose:** Fetches for AI-assisted answers, not used for training
- **robots.txt token:** DuckAssistBot
- **User agent:** DuckAssistBot/1.2; (+http://duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.html)
- **Respects robots.txt:** can be blocked via robots.txt, takes effect after 72 hours
- **IP list:** [yes, as a JSON file](https://duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.json)
- **Docs:** [DuckDuckGo Help Pages: DuckAssistBot](https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/duckassistbot)

Last checked: October 8, 2026

## AI bots compared

| Bot | Operator | Purpose | robots.txt token | robots.txt according to the operator | IP list published? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google-Extended | Google | Controls Gemini training and grounding (no crawler of its own) | Google-Extended | robots.txt token only; fetching is done by existing Google crawlers | n/a (no user agent of its own) |
| GPTBot | OpenAI | Training | GPTBot | Disallowing it signals content should not be used to train foundation models | yes (openai.com/gptbot.json) |
| OAI-SearchBot | OpenAI | Search (ChatGPT) | OAI-SearchBot | opted-out sites are not shown in ChatGPT search answers | yes (openai.com/searchbot.json) |
| ChatGPT-User | OpenAI | User-triggered fetch | ChatGPT-User | robots.txt rules may not apply, says OpenAI (user-initiated) | yes (openai.com/chatgpt-user.json) |
| ClaudeBot | Anthropic | Training | ClaudeBot | yes, Anthropic says its bots honor robots.txt | yes (claude.com/crawling/bots.json) |
| Claude-SearchBot | Anthropic | Search (Claude) | Claude-SearchBot | yes, Anthropic says its bots honor robots.txt | yes (claude.com/crawling/bots.json) |
| PerplexityBot | Perplexity | Search (Perplexity), not used for model training | PerplexityBot | controllable via robots.txt; the docs contain no explicit compliance statement | yes (perplexity.com/perplexitybot.json) |
| Applebot-Extended | Apple | Controls AI training (does not crawl, says Apple) | Applebot-Extended | robots.txt token only, applies to content Applebot already crawled | n/a (no crawler of its own) |
| CCBot | Common Crawl | Open web crawl archive | CCBot | can be blocked via robots.txt, says Common Crawl | yes (index.commoncrawl.org/ccbot.json) |
| Meta-ExternalAgent | Meta | Training foundation AI models, improving products | meta-externalagent | can be blocked via robots.txt, says Meta | not stated by the operator |

Sources: [OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI Crawlers](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots); [Anthropic: Does Anthropic crawl data from the web, and how can site owners block the crawler? (updated 2026-04-07)](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/8896518-does-anthropic-crawl-data-from-the-web-and-how-can-site-owners-block-the-crawler); [Perplexity: Perplexity Crawlers](https://docs.perplexity.ai/guides/bots); [Google: Google's common crawlers (last updated 2026-07-14)](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/crawlers-fetchers/google-common-crawlers); [Google: Overview of Google crawlers and fetchers (last updated 2026-06-12)](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/crawlers-fetchers/overview-google-crawlers); [Google: Verifying Google crawlers and fetchers (IP range files)](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/crawlers-fetchers/verify-google-requests); [Apple: About Applebot (2026-09-04)](https://support.apple.com/en-us/119829); [Meta: Meta Web Crawlers](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/sharing/webmasters/web-crawlers/); [Common Crawl: CCBot](https://commoncrawl.org/ccbot). Last checked: October 8, 2026

## Related terms

- [AI crawler](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/ai-crawler/index.md)
- [robots.txt](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/robots-txt/index.md)
- [AI search crawler](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/ai-search-crawler/index.md)
- [DuckDuckBot](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/duckduckbot/index.md)

## Sources

- [DuckAssistBot – DuckDuckGo Help Pages](https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/duckassistbot)

---

Last updated: October 8, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/duckassistbot/