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How AI Crawlers Work
Direct Answer
AI crawlers like GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and PerplexityBot visit websites to index content for AI assistants. They check robots.txt for permission, then read page content, structured data, and site files to build knowledge about your business.
AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot) use web crawlers to index website content. Here is how it works:
1. The crawler checks your robots.txt file
If the AI crawler (like GPTBot or ClaudeBot) is blocked in robots.txt, it cannot access your website at all. Most website platforms block these crawlers by default.
2. The crawler reads your content
If allowed, the crawler reads your page content, headings, meta tags, and structured data. It builds a knowledge representation of your business.
3. The AI uses this knowledge to answer questions
When a user asks "who is the best [service] in [city]?", the AI draws from its crawled knowledge to formulate recommendations.
40+ AI Crawlers We Allow:
GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, ClaudeBot, Claude-Web, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, Bingbot, CopilotBot, Applebot, Amazonbot, Meta-ExternalAgent, DuckDuckBot, YandexBot, Baiduspider, Bytespider, and many more.
Additionally, MyFast.ai websites include llms.txt files—special AI-readable index files that help LLMs understand your business instantly without crawling every page.
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