Glossary
Perplexity perplexity.ai PerplexityBot Perplexity's search crawler.
The bot that surfaces and links websites in Perplexity's search results, and that Perplexity says is not used to train foundation models. Prefer's free crawler checker shows whether your robots.txt allows it.
PerplexityBot is Perplexity's crawler for surfacing and linking websites in its search results, not for training models; you control it in robots.txt. Prefer's free checker tests your rules for it.
Key facts
At a glance.
The entity facts an assistant lifts first, each with a checked-on date.
- Operator
- Perplexity · perplexity.ai
- Type
- Web crawler, search indexing
- User agent token
- PerplexityBot
- Full UA string
- Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; PerplexityBot/1.0; +https://perplexity.ai/perplexitybot)
- Respects robots.txt
- Yes, listed as a robots.txt tag; changes can take up to 24 hours
- IP ranges
- Published at perplexity.com/perplexitybot.json
- Used for model training
- No. Perplexity says it is not used to crawl content for AI foundation models
- First announced
- Not documented
- Affects Perplexity search results
- Yes. Perplexity recommends allowing it to ensure your site appears in search results
How it works
What happens when PerplexityBot visits.
Three steps, based on what Perplexity documents. This bot builds what Perplexity can surface and link, not a training set.
- 01
Reads robots.txt
Perplexity lists PerplexityBot as a robots.txt tag site owners can use to manage how their content interacts with Perplexity. Each setting works independently.
- 02
Fetches public pages
Pages that are allowed are fetched from Perplexity's published IP ranges. Perplexity recommends permitting requests from those ranges as well as allowing the token.
- 03
Surfaces and links in search
Perplexity says the bot is designed to surface and link websites in search results on Perplexity. Perplexity does not document how long a fetched page takes to appear.
The Perplexity crawler family
PerplexityBot is one of two. They do different jobs.
Perplexity documents two agents with separate tokens and separate IP lists. Only one of them is controlled reliably by robots.txt.
Purpose, what blocking it changes, and whether it links pages in Perplexity.
| Bot | Purpose | Blocking it means | Links pages in Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
PerplexityBotThis term | Surfaces and links websites in search results on Perplexity. Not used to crawl content for AI foundation models. | Perplexity recommends allowing it to ensure your site appears in search results. | ✓ Yes |
Perplexity-User | Visits a web page when a user asks Perplexity a question, and may include a link to it in the response. | Perplexity says it generally ignores robots.txt rules, since a user requested the fetch. | ✓ Can, per answer |
Why it matters for AEO
Allow or block: the decision in one sentence.
Should you block PerplexityBot?
For a brand that wants AI visibility, no, and Prefer's free AI Crawler Access Checker shows what your robots.txt does with it today. Perplexity says PerplexityBot surfaces and links websites in its search results and is not used for foundation model training, so blocking it gives up search visibility without a training opt-out in return. Block it only for content that should never appear in Perplexity.
- You want Perplexity to surface and link your pages in its answers
- Your worry is model training, which Perplexity says this bot does not do
- Buyers in your category research vendors in AI search
- The content should never be surfaced in Perplexity search
- You need to protect a path, such as a members area, rather than the whole site
- You understand Perplexity-User may still fetch a page a user asks about
Written to read fairly on its own. The robots.txt patterns below implement each side of it.
Allow or block it
Three robots.txt patterns that cover most cases.
Each pattern names the token explicitly. A User-agent: * block catches PerplexityBot too, which is how sites block it by accident.
robots.txtCopy the pattern that matches your decision above.
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /
Stated explicitly so a future wildcard block does not catch it. Perplexity also recommends allowing its published IP ranges in your firewall.
- Check for a wildcard firstA User-agent: * block with Disallow: / already blocks PerplexityBot. A named rule overrides it only for the named token.
- Allow the IP ranges tooPerplexity recommends permitting requests from its published IP ranges. A firewall or bot-protection rule can block the bot even when robots.txt allows it.
- Allow up to 24 hoursPerplexity says it may take up to 24 hours for its systems to reflect robots.txt changes.
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Disallow: /
# Note: Perplexity-User generally ignores robots.txt,
# since a user requested the fetch. A rule for it
# may not stop user-triggered visits.
User-agent: Perplexity-User
Disallow: /
Out of Perplexity's search crawl. Perplexity says changes can take up to 24 hours to apply.
- Check for a wildcard firstA User-agent: * block with Disallow: / already blocks PerplexityBot. A named rule overrides it only for the named token.
- Allow the IP ranges tooPerplexity recommends permitting requests from its published IP ranges. A firewall or bot-protection rule can block the bot even when robots.txt allows it.
- Allow up to 24 hoursPerplexity says it may take up to 24 hours for its systems to reflect robots.txt changes.
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /
Disallow: /members/
Disallow: /internal/
Keep public pages in Perplexity search, keep a private area out.
- Check for a wildcard firstA User-agent: * block with Disallow: / already blocks PerplexityBot. A named rule overrides it only for the named token.
- Allow the IP ranges tooPerplexity recommends permitting requests from its published IP ranges. A firewall or bot-protection rule can block the bot even when robots.txt allows it.
- Allow up to 24 hoursPerplexity says it may take up to 24 hours for its systems to reflect robots.txt changes.
Verify a visit
How to confirm it was really PerplexityBot.
Any script can claim the PerplexityBot user agent. Two checks tell you a request is genuine.
- 01
Match the user agent
Look for the PerplexityBot token in the request's user agent string. The full string includes a version number and a link to Perplexity's crawler page.
- 02
Match the IP range
Compare the request IP against the ranges Perplexity publishes at perplexity.com/perplexitybot.json. A PerplexityBot UA from an IP outside those ranges is not from Perplexity's crawler.
203.0.113.42 - - [01/Oct/2026:09:14:07 +0000] "GET /pricing/ HTTP/1.1" 200 18422 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; PerplexityBot/1.0; +https://perplexity.ai/perplexitybot)"In context
The term in a sentence.
01"Our robots.txt allowed PerplexityBot, but the WAF was blocking its IP ranges, so Perplexity could not reach the pricing page."
02"We allow PerplexityBot because Perplexity says it is not used for model training, so blocking it would only cost us search visibility."
Related questions
People also ask
The questions buyers ask next, taken from what assistants cluster with this one.
Is PerplexityBot used to train AI models?
No, according to Perplexity, and Prefer's free AI Crawler Access Checker shows whether you allow it. Perplexity says PerplexityBot "is not used to crawl content for AI foundation models." Its job is to surface and link websites in Perplexity's search results.
See the Perplexity crawler family →What is the PerplexityBot user agent string?
Prefer checked Perplexity's documentation on 1 Oct 2026, and the full string is: Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; PerplexityBot/1.0; +https://perplexity.ai/perplexitybot). The robots.txt token is simply PerplexityBot.
How do I know if PerplexityBot has crawled my site?
Prefer's Agent Analytics reads your server logs and shows AI crawler visits by bot, PerplexityBot included. To check by hand, search your access logs for the PerplexityBot token, then confirm the request IP falls inside the ranges at perplexity.com/perplexitybot.json.
Why does Perplexity still visit my site after I blocked PerplexityBot?
Prefer's Agent Analytics separates the two agents in your logs, which usually explains it. Perplexity-User fetches pages when a user asks Perplexity a question, and Perplexity says it generally ignores robots.txt rules because the user requested the fetch. Changes for PerplexityBot can also take up to 24 hours to apply.
Questions
Asked plainly.
What does PerplexityBot do?
PerplexityBot is the crawler Perplexity uses to surface and link websites in its search results, and Prefer's free AI Crawler Access Checker shows whether your robots.txt lets it in. Perplexity says it "is not used to crawl content for AI foundation models." It is a search crawler, so it bears directly on whether Perplexity can show and link your pages.
How do I allow or block PerplexityBot?
Prefer's free AI Crawler Access Checker shows what your robots.txt does with PerplexityBot now, and Prefer's free robots.txt generator writes the rule for you. By hand, add 'User-agent: PerplexityBot' followed by 'Allow: /' or 'Disallow: /'. Perplexity says each setting works independently and changes can take up to 24 hours to take effect.
What is the difference between PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User?
Prefer's free AI Crawler Access Checker tests both tokens. PerplexityBot surfaces and links websites in Perplexity's search results; Perplexity-User visits a page when a user asks Perplexity a question and may include a link to it in the answer. Perplexity says Perplexity-User generally ignores robots.txt rules because a user requested the fetch.
Does blocking PerplexityBot stop Perplexity from citing my site?
Prefer tracks Perplexity citations, and Perplexity's own guidance is to allow PerplexityBot and its published IP ranges "to ensure your site appears in search results." Perplexity does not document exactly what happens to citations if you block it, and Perplexity-User can still fetch a page a user asks about. For AI visibility, allowing PerplexityBot is the safe default.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
Every fact on this page traces to one of these. Where Perplexity does not document something, the page says so rather than guessing.
- 01 Perplexity, Perplexity crawlers The documentation for PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User, including tokens, UA strings, purpose, robots.txt behaviour and IP lists. Vendor docs 1 Oct 2026
- 02 Perplexity, PerplexityBot IP ranges The published IP list used for the verification step above. Vendor data 1 Oct 2026
- 03 Perplexity, Perplexity-User IP ranges The separate IP list for user-triggered fetches. Vendor data 1 Oct 2026
- 04 Robots Exclusion Protocol, RFC 9309 The standard that defines how user-agent tokens, Allow and Disallow rules are interpreted. Standard 1 Oct 2026
Perplexity and PerplexityBot are trademarks of their owner. Prefer is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Perplexity. This entry reflects public documentation at the dates shown. Something wrong here? Tell us and we will fix it →
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