What is Kimi-User? AI crawler guide
Kimi-User by Moonshot AI: Moonshot AI fetcher that retrieves a specific page because a person asked Kimi about it. Check its reported user-agent, robots.txt behavior, source, and verification guidance.
Moonshot AI fetcher that retrieves a specific page because a person asked Kimi about it.
What is Kimi-User?
Kimi-User is a fetcher operated by Moonshot AI for its Kimi assistant. It retrieves a specific web page when a person asks Kimi about that page directly. The request is user-initiated, meaning the bot acts on behalf of a real person seeking information. Moonshot AI notes that standard robots.txt rules may not directly apply because the fetch is triggered by a user query. The bot identifies itself with the user-agent token Kimi-User and includes a link to the official policy page in its full user-agent string.
What it's for
For a site owner, Kimi-User represents a way for your content to appear in Kimi's responses when users ask about your pages. If you block it, Kimi may be unable to read your page when a user specifically requests information about it, potentially reducing your visibility in that AI assistant.
How to handle Kimi-User
You can block Kimi-User by adding a disallow rule for the token in your robots.txt file. However, Moonshot AI indicates that robots.txt rules may not directly apply because the request is user-initiated, so blocking may not be fully effective.
robots.txt rule
User-agent: Kimi-User Disallow: /
Blocking cost
Blocking Kimi-User could prevent your pages from being read and cited by Kimi when users ask about them, potentially reducing your visibility in AI-assisted answers.
Examples
- A user asks Kimi about a specific article, and Kimi-User fetches that article to provide a summary.
- Someone queries Kimi for details on a product page, prompting Kimi-User to retrieve the page for real-time information.
- A researcher uses Kimi to look up a technical document, and Kimi-User accesses the document to answer the question.
Related bots
- Amzn-User: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- ChatGPT-User: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Google-GeminiNotebook: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- MistralAI-User: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Perplexity-User: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Meta-ExternalFetcher: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Claude-User: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- DuckAssistBot: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Gemini-Deep-Research: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Robots.txt: Robots.txt is the control file used to allow or block Kimi-User.
- AI Crawlers: Kimi-User is a concrete crawler example for this concept.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Kimi-User do?
Kimi-User is a fetcher from Moonshot AI that retrieves a specific web page when a person asks the Kimi assistant about that page directly.
Can I block Kimi-User with robots.txt?
You can add a disallow rule for the Kimi-User token in your robots.txt, but Moonshot AI states that robots.txt rules may not directly apply because the request is user-initiated.
What happens if I block Kimi-User?
Blocking Kimi-User may prevent Kimi from reading your page when a user asks about it, which could reduce your content's visibility in Kimi's responses.
Is Kimi-User a crawler or a fetcher?
Kimi-User is a fetcher, not a general crawler. It only retrieves pages in response to direct user requests to the Kimi assistant.
Who operates Kimi-User?
Kimi-User is operated by Moonshot AI, the company behind the Kimi assistant, and its official documentation is available on the kimi.com domain.
Data & Sources
- Moonshot AI documentation - Primary source for Kimi-User crawler details.
- Kimi-User verification: Published IP ranges - Verification information published for Kimi-User.