GPTBot
GPTBot is the web crawler OpenAI uses to collect pages that may be used to train its AI. OpenAI's crawler page says GPTBot helps make its generative AI models more useful and safe, and that blocking it in your robots.txt file tells OpenAI your content shouldn't be used for training. It's a separate bot from ChatGPT's search crawler.
Source: OpenAI, Overview of OpenAI Crawlers, checked October 29, 2026
What GPTBot means for your business
Blocking GPTBot is a choice about training, and OpenAI keeps it apart from search. Its crawler page says each bot's setting is independent, so a site can allow OAI-SearchBot to appear in ChatGPT's search results and still block GPTBot. A third agent, ChatGPT-User, may visit a page when someone asks ChatGPT a question, and OpenAI says robots.txt rules may not apply to it.
We'd treat training as your call. Some owners don't want their writing used to train AI, and some don't mind. What we'd look for is a rule that blocks every OpenAI bot when the owner only meant to block training, or a firewall setting that blocks bots without anyone choosing it.
To check, open yoursite.com/robots.txt and look for lines that name GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot. OpenAI also publishes the IP addresses each bot uses, so a visit in your server logs that claims to be GPTBot can be checked against OpenAI's list. If ChatGPT never names your business and you're not sure its crawlers can reach you, checking what AI search can read on your site is where we'd start.
Last reviewed October 29, 2026. All terms
How AI answers it today
On October 29, 2026, Google's AI Overview called GPTBot OpenAI's training crawler, cited SEO and app maker blogs plus OpenAI's page, and listed limits, like skipping paywalls, that OpenAI's page doesn't mention today. ChatGPT's answer matched OpenAI's page and cited it.
Our run through ChatGPT and Google's AI Overview, October 29, 2026. A sample, not what every buyer sees.
Related terms in crawlers and technical access
Find out where your brand stands.
Tell us what you're trying to figure out. We'll get back to you within one business day with a time to talk.