PerplexityBot is the crawler of the AI search engine Perplexity. According to Perplexity, it is designed to surface and link websites in Perplexity’s search results. Perplexity states that it does not use PerplexityBot to crawl content for AI foundation models.
At a glance
- Operator
- Perplexity
- Purpose
- surface websites in Perplexity search results, not used for training (per Perplexity)
- robots.txt token
PerplexityBot- Respects robots.txt
- controllable via robots.txt; the docs make no explicit compliance statement
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How does PerplexityBot identify itself?
Perplexity documents this user agent:
Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; PerplexityBot/1.0; +https://perplexity.ai/perplexitybot)
Perplexity publishes the bot’s IP ranges as a JSON file at perplexity.com/perplexitybot.json and recommends combining user-agent matching with IP verification, for example in firewall rules. Since a user agent can be spoofed, the IP check is the more reliable way to recognize genuine requests in log files.
Perplexity runs a second agent, Perplexity-User. It fetches pages when a person asks Perplexity a question and, according to Perplexity, generally ignores robots.txt because the request comes from a user.
| Bot | Operator | Purpose | robots.txt token | robots.txt according to the operator | IP list published? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google-Extended | 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.) |
| OAI-SearchBot | OpenAI | Search (ChatGPT) | OAI-SearchBot | opted-out sites are not shown in ChatGPT search answers | yes (openai.) |
| ChatGPT-User | OpenAI | User-triggered fetch | ChatGPT-User | robots.txt rules may not apply, says OpenAI (user-initiated) | yes (openai.) |
| ClaudeBot | Anthropic | Training | ClaudeBot | yes, Anthropic says its bots honor robots.txt | yes (claude.) |
| Claude-SearchBot | Anthropic | Search (Claude) | Claude-SearchBot | yes, Anthropic says its bots honor robots.txt | yes (claude.) |
| PerplexityBot (this term) | Perplexity | Search (Perplexity), not used for model training | PerplexityBot | controllable via robots.txt; the docs contain no explicit compliance statement | yes (perplexity.) |
| 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.) |
| Meta-ExternalAgent | Meta | Training foundation AI models, improving products | meta-externalagent | can be blocked via robots.txt, says Meta | not stated by the operator |
A selection of ten AI bots from major operators, not a complete list. All values come from each operator's own documentation (as of 8 October 2026). The table does not show whether a bot actually complies with robots.txt; it only reflects what operators state. User agents can be spoofed; published IP lists or reverse DNS identify genuine requests. Sources: OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI Crawlers; Anthropic: Does Anthropic crawl data from the web, and how can site owners block the crawler? (updated 2026-04-07); Perplexity: Perplexity Crawlers; Google: Google's common crawlers (last updated 2026-07-14); Google: Overview of Google crawlers and fetchers (last updated 2026-06-12); Google: Verifying Google crawlers and fetchers (IP range files); Apple: About Applebot (2026-09-04); Meta: Meta Web Crawlers; Common Crawl: CCBot. Last checked: .
Controlling PerplexityBot with robots.txt
To block PerplexityBot from a whole site:
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Disallow: /
Perplexity says changes can take up to 24 hours to be reflected in its systems. To appear in Perplexity’s search results, Perplexity recommends allowing PerplexityBot in robots.txt and permitting requests from its published IP ranges. Fetches by Perplexity-User are not covered by a PerplexityBot rule.
- The IETF publishes the Robots Exclusion Protocol as RFC 9309 on the Standards Track. It defines how crawlers interpret the rules in a robots.txt file.Source: rfc-editor.org
- OpenAI introduces web crawler permissions for AI. Site owners can use them to state whether their content may be used for AI training.Source: openai.com
- Google introduces Google-Extended. This robots.txt token controls whether content helps improve Bard and the Vertex AI generative APIs.Source: blog.google
- After Bard is renamed, Google's documentation lists Gemini Apps as a product affected by Google-Extended.Source: developers.google.com
- Apple introduces the foundation models behind Apple Intelligence. Publishers can opt out of training use, according to Apple's documentation via Applebot-Extended.Source: machinelearning.apple.com
- Cloudflare lets customers block AI bots, scrapers and crawlers with a single click.Source: blog.cloudflare.com
- With the SearchGPT prototype, OpenAI separates search from training. Sites can appear in search results even if they opt out of AI training.Source: openai.com
- Google adds Google-CloudVertexBot to its list of crawlers. It crawls sites at the owner's request to build Vertex AI Agents.Source: developers.google.com
- Based on publisher feedback, Google clarifies the description of the Google-Extended token.Source: developers.google.com
- Cloudflare proposes that bots and agents cryptographically sign their requests, based on HTTP Message Signatures (RFC 9421).Source: blog.cloudflare.com
- Cloudflare changes its default to block AI crawlers unless site owners decide otherwise.Source: blog.cloudflare.com
- Cloudflare launches pay per crawl as a private beta. Crawlers either pay per request or receive a 402 status code with a price.Source: blog.cloudflare.com
OpenAI only says “last summer” for its crawler permissions (post of May 7, 2024); the often-cited August 2023 date for GPTBot comes from press reports. ClaudeBot, Claude-SearchBot, Claude-User, PerplexityBot, Perplexity-User, OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, Meta-ExternalAgent and CCBot are documented by their operators, but without a verifiable launch date. Last checked: .
Common mistakes
- Blocking PerplexityBot to stop all Perplexity traffic. The rule covers only the crawler. User-triggered fetches by Perplexity-User continue.
- Trusting the user agent alone. Requests that only claim to be PerplexityBot distort log reports. The published IP list shows which ones are real.
- Forgetting firewall rules. Perplexity recommends allowing its published IP ranges and keeping the list updated automatically. A WAF rule that blocks them effectively overrides an allow in robots.txt (our inference, not a Perplexity statement).
Criticism
In August 2025, Cloudflare accused Perplexity of using undeclared crawlers with changing user agents and IP addresses to get around robots.txt blocks, in addition to its declared bots. Cloudflare removed Perplexity from its list of verified bots. Perplexity rejected the accusations and argued that fetches triggered by users come from AI assistants and should not be treated as crawlers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User? PerplexityBot crawls pages in advance for Perplexity’s search results and can be controlled through robots.txt, although the docs do not explicitly promise compliance. Perplexity-User loads a page at the moment a person asks about it and, according to Perplexity, generally does not follow robots.txt.
How do I find PerplexityBot in my logs?
Look for PerplexityBot/1.0 in the user agent. Whether the request is genuine shows only when the IP address matches the published JSON list.
Sources
- Perplexity crawlers – Perplexity Docsdocs.perplexity.ai
- PerplexityBot IP ranges (JSON) – Perplexityperplexity.com
- Perplexity is using stealth, undeclared crawlers to evade website no-crawl directives – Cloudflare Blog, 2025-08-04blog.cloudflare.com
- Cloudflare Accuses AI Startup of 'Stealth Crawling Behavior' – TechRepublic (secondary source for Perplexity's response)techrepublic.com
- Agents or Bots? Making Sense of AI on the Open Web – Perplexity (2025-08-04)perplexity.ai
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