Googlebot in robots.txt
Googlebot is run by Google. Purpose: search. Source: Google documentation.
What blocking Googlebot changes
This agent builds the index that AI search answers draw from. Blocking it can keep your pages out of those answers.
Block Googlebot
User-agent: Googlebot Disallow: /
Block Googlebot from one folder
User-agent: Googlebot Disallow: /private/
Allow Googlebot
If no group names Googlebot, it follows your "User-agent: *" rules. To allow it while other bots are blocked:
User-agent: Googlebot Allow: /
More: the guide AI crawlers in robots.txt and the AI crawler checker.
Questions
What is Googlebot?
Googlebot is the user agent token for an agent run by Google. Its purpose: search. See the Google documentation linked on this page.
How do I block Googlebot?
Add a group to robots.txt with "User-agent: Googlebot" and "Disallow: /". The rule applies to agents that follow robots.txt.
How do I check if my site blocks Googlebot?
Run the free check on this site. It tests your robots.txt against 8 AI agents on your homepage. The $19 deep report tests 18 agents per path.