Guide
OAI-SearchBot vs GPTBot vs ChatGPT-User
OpenAI runs three different bots, and blocking the wrong one is the most common reason a site disappears from ChatGPT search. What each does, what blocking it costs, and the robots.txt lines to use.
Updated October 10, 2026 · Citelane
Allow OAI-SearchBot if you want to appear in ChatGPT search answers. GPTBot only collects training data, so you can block it without leaving ChatGPT search. ChatGPT-User visits a page when a user asks; OpenAI says robots.txt may not apply to it.
The three OpenAI bots side by side
| OAI-SearchBot | GPTBot | ChatGPT-User | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Surface sites in ChatGPT search | Collect content that may train models | Open a page a user asked about |
| Crawls automatically | Yes | Yes | No, only on a user action |
| Follows robots.txt | Yes | Yes | OpenAI says it may not, as visits are user-initiated |
| If you block it | You can’t appear in ChatGPT search answers | Opt out of training; search unaffected | Little effect; use OAI-SearchBot to control search |
OpenAI says each setting is independent: allowing OAI-SearchBot while disallowing GPTBot is supported, and changes take about 24 hours to reach ChatGPT search.
Copy-paste robots.txt for the common choices
Stay in ChatGPT search, opt out of training (what most businesses want):
User-agent: GPTBot/Disallow: /User-agent: */Allow: /
Maximum AI visibility: don’t name any OpenAI bot; an Allow: / for User-agent: * covers all three.
Leave ChatGPT entirely: add User-agent: OAI-SearchBot / Disallow: / as well. Your brand can still be mentioned from other sites; you just won’t be a linked source.
Want the same choice for Claude, Perplexity, Apple, Amazon and Meta in one file? Use the AI robots.txt generator.
Why you can still be invisible with everything allowed
- CDN or firewall bot protection (including “block AI bots” toggles) can refuse OAI-SearchBot regardless of robots.txt. Check your logs for its user agent.
- ChatGPT search also leans on other search indexes, so pages missing from Bing and Google are harder for it to find.
- Being crawlable doesn’t make you the best answer. ChatGPT cites pages that state the facts buyers compare: price, limits, who it’s for.
Check robots.txt rules for GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and ClaudeBot, plus noindex, canonical and sitemap. Free, no model calls.
Check AI crawler accessQuestions
Does blocking GPTBot hurt my ChatGPT visibility?
Not in ChatGPT search, according to OpenAI. GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot are controlled separately. Blocking GPTBot only affects whether new content may be used for training.
I see ChatGPT-User in my logs but I blocked it. Why?
OpenAI says ChatGPT-User visits are started by users, so robots.txt rules may not apply. To control appearance in search, use OAI-SearchBot.
How do I check what my robots.txt currently allows?
Paste any page into the free AI crawler checker. It reports OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User and GPTBot separately, alongside Claude, Perplexity, Google and Bing.