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AI crawler

What is PerplexityBot?

PerplexityBot is Perplexity's crawler that indexes pages to show and link in Perplexity's answers.

AI search and answersNot yet verified by usIP list
Operator
Perplexity
Purpose
AI search and answers. Indexes pages so AI answers can cite and link to you. Blocking it can remove you from those answers.
robots.txt token
PerplexityBot
Sample user agent
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; PerplexityBot/1.0; +https://perplexity.ai/perplexitybot)User agents change with versions. Match on the token, not the full string.
Follows robots.txt
Not yet verified by us. Perplexity explains how to block it and says changes take up to 24 hours; we have not yet confirmed a plain statement that it follows robots.txt.
How to verify
Check the IP against Perplexity's published list.
Sources
Perplexity documentationPerplexity IP list
Last reviewed

Allow or block PerplexityBot

Block PerplexityBot
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Disallow: /

Asks PerplexityBot not to crawl any page. Well-behaved crawlers stop; it does not stop anyone who ignores robots.txt.

Allow PerplexityBot
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

Lets PerplexityBot crawl everything. You only need this if a broader rule would otherwise block it.

Should you block it?

Keep PerplexityBot allowed if you want to appear, with a link, in Perplexity's answers. Blocking it is the fastest way to disappear from them.

Write a full policy with the AI Crawler Policy Generator

How to verify a PerplexityBot request

  1. Find the IP address of the request in your server or CDN logs.
  2. Get Perplexity's published list (Perplexity IP list).
  3. Check whether the IP falls inside one of the ranges. If it doesn't, the request is not from PerplexityBot, whatever its user agent says.
Test PerplexityBot requests

Questions about PerplexityBot

Is PerplexityBot safe to allow?

PerplexityBot reads public pages; it does not log in or submit forms. Whether to allow it depends on whether you want Perplexity's product to use your pages.

How do I know a request is really PerplexityBot?

Check the request against what Perplexity publishes: Check the IP against Perplexity's published list. The user agent alone proves nothing.

How often does PerplexityBot visit?

It depends on your site; Perplexity doesn't publish a schedule. Referscope shows the real visits.

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