The Complete AI Crawlers List 2026: How to Manage & Block Them

The Complete Verified AI Crawler List (December 2025)

Top AI Crawler Companies and Bots

When it comes to AI web crawlers, the landscape is constantly shifting, but a few names stand out as the biggest players in 2025. I built Visalytica to solve exactly this problem—tracking and understanding these bots—so I keep a close eye on who’s crawling my sites.

Leading the pack is GPTBot (OpenAI). This bot’s primary purpose is for ChatGPT’s data training, and it’s grown massively—up 305% from last year. It respects robots.txt for the most part, but knowing it’s there helps you manage your content better.

Next is ClaudeBot (Anthropic). Used for training Claude AI and references, it’s got a specific footprint, but it also fetches real-time info when paired with Claude-Web. Both bots are part of a larger trend—training and reference bots are now the majority of AI web crawlers.

Then there's PerplexityBot, which powers the Perplexity AI search engine. Its traffic has skyrocketed—up over 157,490% from last year—making it a clear player in AI indexing. If you're doing anything around AI search, you’ll likely see Perplexity crawling your site.

On the regional front, Bytespider (ByteDance) is big, especially with TikTok and Ernie models. It covers content analysis on a massive scale, with traffic volumes sometimes spiking, which I monitor with Visalytica for early warning signs.

Finally, Common Crawl’s CCBot continues to be the backbone of non-commercial research datasets. It’s used by countless AI projects that rely on large-scale web scraping, so it's definitely on your radar if you’re doing AI model training or research.

Overall, stats from cloudflare's data show that AI web crawlers now make up over 95% of tracked crawler traffic, a stunning growth from just a couple of years ago. This trend isn’t slowing down—it’s shaping the future of how we work with web content and AI models.

Emerging AI Crawler Trends in 2025

In 2025, AI crawler traffic surged nearly 18% compared to 2024, driven largely by models like GPTBot and PerplexityBot. That’s right—these bots aren’t just background noise anymore. They are now the dominant force in web crawling, changing the way content is indexed, used, and sometimes scraped.

Part of this is due to GPTBot’s impressive growth—up 305%, capturing 30% of the top AI crawler share. Meanwhile, Google-based bots like Google-Extended also increased, but they’re being outpaced by newer models focused on training data and real-time AI referencing.

It’s clear that AI crawlers are now the main traffic source, with over 95% of all crawler activity being AI-related. I’ve seen this firsthand—sites that used to see mostly Googlebot now report an explosion in AI bot visits, often to pages you might not expect.

What does this mean for you? Well, it’s vital to stay updated on the latest crawler stats, which you can easily do with tools like Visalytica. Your strategy should evolve to recognize these bots and control their access without harming your SEO or content rights.

Understanding AI Crawlers: What Are They & How They Work

What Are AI Web Crawlers?

AI web crawlers are like super-smart spiders that scan websites to collect data. They can be used to train large language models, improve AI search engines, or fetch content on-demand for AI assistants. Think of them as specialized librarians—only instead of books, they’re gathering digital content.

Some are explicitly designed for training—like GPTBot—while others focus on indexing web pages to improve search relevancy or support AI features. They come in different types: training bots, search indexing bots, and on-demand fetchers. All of them aim to make AI and search tools smarter about the web, often operating in the background unseen by most site visitors.

How Do AI Crawlers Differ from Traditional Search Bots?

The main difference is in their focus. Traditional search bots—like Googlebot or Bingbot—primarily index pages for search results and respect your SEO directives. AI crawlers, on the other hand, focus on collecting training data or building AI-specific indexes.

Plus, these AI-focused bots tend to be more aggressive and broad in what they crawl—from raw HTML to embedded media and even APIs. They’re on a mission to gather as much data as possible to improve AI models, which can sometimes raise content protection concerns. In 2026, expect even more aggressive crawling as models get smarter about evading traditional detection methods.

How to Identify AI User-Agents and Crawler Activity

Analyzing Server Logs for AI Crawler Signatures

Start by reviewing your server logs. Look for User-Agent strings like “GPTBot,” “ClaudeBot,” “PerplexityBot,” or “Bytespider.” Usually, these identifiers are pretty consistent, so you can set up filters or use tools like Visalytica to analyze patterns automatically.

Another step is verifying IP addresses. Many operators publish ranges or use trusted sources—so cross-reference the IPs with official operator lists to avoid false positives. This helps you distinguish between genuine AI crawlers and malicious or accidental traffic spikes.

Using Monitoring Tools for Detecting Crawler Activity

I strongly recommend using dedicated monitoring tools—like Visalytica—that can detect and classify AI crawler activity in real-time. These tools can flag suspicious spikes or unfamiliar User-Agent tokens, saving you from surprises like sudden traffic overloads.

With advanced monitoring, you can set alerts for unusual activity, helping you act before server resources get overwhelmed or sensitive content is crawled excessively. The key here is vigilance—most site owners underestimate how quickly AI-crawling bots can ramp up.

Best Practices for Managing and Blocking AI Crawlers

Using robots.txt and llms.txt Effectively

This old staple is still your first line of defense. Use robots.txt to disallow specific AI bots—like `User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /`—if you don’t want them crawling certain content or at all.

And now, there’s a new kid on the block—llms.txt. It’s an AI-specific access control file that doesn’t rely on plugins, giving you more granular control over who can access what. I’ve set these up for many clients, and it’s surprisingly easy to make bots respect your content preferences.

Crawl Delay and Rate Limiting Strategies

If you’re seeing slow server response times or overloads, crawling delays are your friend. Set something like `Crawl-delay: 10` in your robots.txt for aggressive bots like SemrushBot or AhrefsBot.

Meanwhile, use your CDN—Cloudflare, Akamai, or whatever you prefer—to impose IP-based rate limits. This way, high-volume AI crawlers won’t drown your server, especially during peak times or big content updates.

Advanced Blocking with CDN and Web Application Firewall

For serious control, consider firewalls or bot management solutions. These can identify and block suspicious AI crawler activity at the network edge, stopping malicious scripts or evaders from even reaching your server.

At Visalytica, we see many clients combining insights from our platform with firewall rules to manage these advanced threats effectively. It’s a necessary step as bots become smarter at mimicking human behavior.

Handling Challenges with AI Crawlers in 2026

Preventing Unauthorized Data Gathering

The key here is explicit blocking. Use robots.txt and llms.txt to ban known training bots, especially if you have sensitive content. I’ve found that maintaining an up-to-date list of known bad actors significantly reduces the risk of data theft.

Keep track of operator announcements and community reports on malicious or unwanted crawlers to stay ahead.

Managing Server Resources and Crawl Overload

Use crawl-delay directives and IP rate-limiting to prevent your servers from drowning in traffic. Regularly review your server logs—especially with tools like Visalytica—to detect unusual patterns early.

Proactive monitoring helps you optimize how much bandwidth and resources your site devotes to AI crawlers, keeping your site speedy and secure even when crawling activity spikes.

Latest Industry Standards & Trends for AI Crawlers 2026

Emerging Standards and Guidelines

In 2025, AI crawler standards have started to formalize around "robots.txt" and new directives like "llms.txt." Major players—including Google, OpenAI, and Meta—are emphasizing compliance and transparency.

Implementation of these standards isn’t just technical—it's about respecting content rights and data privacy. Expect this to become a legal baseline moving into 2026, making adherence more important than ever.

Future Outlook: The 2026 AI Crawler Landscape

Regional crawlers like Baiduspider (China), PetalBot (Huawei), and others will keep rising, especially with tightening regional regulations. These bots are becoming more sophisticated, with evasion tactics like mimicking human browsing patterns or using IP rotation.

As a site owner, staying one step ahead means investing in smarter monitoring and control tools—like Visalytica—that can adapt as these bots evolve. Expect AI crawler volumes to grow and diversify through 2026, transforming how we think about site accessibility and security.

Practical Tools and Monitoring for AI Crawler Management

Recommended Tools and Platforms

While I built Visalytica to give you an edge—tracking AI crawler traffic, providing actionable insights, and measuring your AI visibility—there are other tools worth knowing about. Cloudflare offers Bot Management modules with AI detection, and Bing Webmaster Tools now include crawler analysis features.

Use these alongside Visalytica for a full picture. They help you identify, block, or allow crawlers based on intelligent traffic signals, so you aren’t flying blind.

How Visalytica Supports Your AI Crawler Strategy

With Visalytica, you get real-time detection and classification of AI crawling activity. Our platform makes it easy to see which bots are visiting, how aggressive they are, and whether you should block or whitelist them.

Plus, we give you tailored recommendations—like setting specific crawl delays or adjusting access controls—so you can refine your AI visibility and protect your content without harming your SEO.

Frequently Asked Questions about AI Crawlers 2026

What are AI crawlers?

AI crawlers are automated web bots designed to scan websites to gather data for training AI models or indexing content for AI-powered search and tools. They can be training bots like GPTBot, reference bots like ClaudeBot, or on-demand fetchers such as PerplexityBot.

How do I block AI crawlers like GPTBot or ClaudeBot?

The best way is through robots.txt, llms.txt, and server controls—blocking these bots at the source before they impact your content or server load. Always verify their User-Agent tokens and IP addresses before blocking.

Which AI crawlers should I allow in robots.txt?

You’ll typically want to allow search engines like Googlebot and Bingbot—plus any AI-specific bots you trust, such as PerplexityBot or ClaudeWeb, especially if you want to support AI tools that reference your site.

What is the GPTBot user-agent string?

The User-Agent string for GPTBot is 'GPTBot.' You should check OpenAI’s latest documentation for the exact string as it can occasionally change or have variations—stay updated!