OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt
OAI-SearchBot is run by OpenAI. Purpose: search. Source: OpenAI documentation.
What blocking OAI-SearchBot changes
This agent builds the index that AI search answers draw from. Blocking it can keep your pages out of those answers.
Block OAI-SearchBot
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot Disallow: /
Block OAI-SearchBot from one folder
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot Disallow: /private/
Allow OAI-SearchBot
If no group names OAI-SearchBot, it follows your "User-agent: *" rules. To allow it while other bots are blocked:
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot Allow: /
How many sites block OAI-SearchBot?
Of the 49 SaaS sites in our State of AI readiness check on 2026-10-17, 0 block OAI-SearchBot from their homepage.
More: the guide AI crawlers in robots.txt and the AI crawler checker.
Questions
What is OAI-SearchBot?
OAI-SearchBot is the user agent token for an agent run by OpenAI. Its purpose: search. See the OpenAI documentation linked on this page.
How do I block OAI-SearchBot?
Add a group to robots.txt with "User-agent: OAI-SearchBot" and "Disallow: /". The rule applies to agents that follow robots.txt.
How do I check if my site blocks OAI-SearchBot?
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.
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