August 31, 2026 • By AICompatible Team • 7 min read

How to Block AI Training Bots While Keeping Search Engine Crawlers

# Guide to Separating Search Crawlers from Training Bots in robots.txt

Understanding AI Bot Objectives: Search vs. Training

In today's web ecosystem, site owners face not only traditional search engine crawlers but also bots that feed artificial intelligence models. Distinguishing which bots crawl content for search results versus those collecting data for model training is the first step toward making informed access control decisions.

Search-Oriented Bots (Critical for Visibility)

These bots crawl your content to serve it in response to user queries. Blocking them directly impacts your search visibility:

Googlebot: Primary crawler for Google search results
Bingbot: Microsoft Bing search engine crawler
PerplexityBot: Crawls content for the Perplexity AI search engine
YouBot: Crawler for the You.com search platform

Model Training Bots (No Direct Visibility Impact)

These bots perform large-scale data collection to train artificial intelligence models. Blocking them does not affect your search rankings:

GPTBot: OpenAI's crawler used to train future GPT models
ChatGPT-User: Used for real-time web access when ChatGPT responds to user requests
Google-Extended: Google's dedicated bot for training Gemini and other AI products (separate from search results)
ClaudeBot: Collects data to develop Anthropic's Claude models
Applebot-Extended: Used to train Apple Intelligence features (distinct from standard Applebot)
Bytespider: Feeds ByteDance's (TikTok) AI models
CCBot: Collects data for the Common Crawl archive, which many AI models utilize

Critical Distinction: Standard Bot vs. Extended/Training Version

Some companies strategically deploy two separate bots. Google and Apple are prime examples:

Company	Search Bot	Training Bot
Google	Googlebot (for search)	Google-Extended (for AI training)
Apple	Applebot (for Siri, Spotlight)	Applebot-Extended (for Apple Intelligence)

This separation provides site owners with granular control: you can maintain search visibility while choosing whether to permit or deny model training access.

Practical robots.txt Strategies

Scenario 1: Block All AI Training While Preserving Search Visibility

# Full access for search bots
User-agent: Googlebot
Allow: /

User-agent: Bingbot
Allow: /

# Block AI training bots
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /

User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Disallow: /

User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /

User-agent: ClaudeBot
Disallow: /

User-agent: Applebot-Extended
Disallow: /

User-agent: CCBot
Disallow: /

User-agent: Bytespider
Disallow: /

User-agent: PerplexityBot
Disallow: /

Result: Your visibility in Google and Bing is preserved, but your content won't be used for AI model training. Since you're also blocking PerplexityBot, you won't appear in Perplexity search results.

Scenario 2: Selective Approach - Permit Specific AI Companies

# Full access for search bots
User-agent: Googlebot
User-agent: Bingbot
Allow: /

# Allow trusted AI companies
User-agent: Google-Extended
User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /

# Block other AI training bots
User-agent: GPTBot
User-agent: CCBot
User-agent: Bytespider
Disallow: /

# Allow Perplexity for search
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

Result: You remain visible in Google and Perplexity searches, permit Google and Anthropic to train their models, but block OpenAI and others.

Scenario 3: Protect Sensitive Content, Allow General Access

# Protect sensitive areas for all bots
User-agent: *
Disallow: /member-area/
Disallow: /premium-content/
Disallow: /proprietary-reports/

# Additional restrictions for AI training bots
User-agent: GPTBot
User-agent: ClaudeBot
User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /blog/expert-analysis/
Disallow: /research/

# General access for search bots
User-agent: Googlebot
User-agent: Bingbot
Allow: /

Result: Your search visibility remains fully intact, general content can be used for AI training, but your proprietary/premium content is protected.

Implementation Recommendations

1. Regular Audits: New AI bots emerge continuously. Review your robots.txt file quarterly and monitor resources like Dark Visitors.

2. Align with Your Business Model: News sites and content publishers typically block AI training, while SaaS companies may be more permissive for brand awareness purposes.

3. Test Thoroughly: After robots.txt changes, check Google Search Console for crawl errors. Ensure you haven't inadvertently blocked Googlebot.

4. Remember Legal Protections: Robots.txt is a technical measure but provides no legal protection. Reinforce it with copyright notices and terms of service.

Conclusion

Distinguishing between search crawlers and training bots has become an essential component of modern SEO strategy. Thanks to distinctions like Google-Extended and Applebot-Extended, site owners can now control their participation in AI training without sacrificing search visibility. By adapting the examples above to your business objectives, you can maintain complete control over your content.