# What is PerplexityBot? AI crawler guide

Canonical URL: https://trakkr.ai/bots/perplexitybot
Published: 2026-06-11
Last updated: 2026-06-11

Learn what PerplexityBot is, who operates it, its verified user-agent, robots.txt posture, and how blocking it can affect AI search, citations, training, or agent visibility.

Perplexity crawler for surfacing and linking websites in Perplexity search results.

## What is PerplexityBot?

PerplexityBot is the web crawler operated by Perplexity to discover and index public web pages. It visits sites to gather content that can be surfaced and linked in Perplexity search results. The bot identifies itself with the user-agent token PerplexityBot and respects the Robots Exclusion Protocol, meaning it checks robots.txt before crawling. Its activity is limited to indexing for search visibility and citation within the Perplexity platform. Site owners can control its access through standard robots.txt directives.

## What it's for

For a site owner, PerplexityBot determines whether your pages can appear in Perplexity search results and be cited as sources. Allowing the bot may increase your site's visibility and referral traffic from Perplexity users. Blocking it means your content will not be indexed or linked within Perplexity, potentially reducing discovery and citation opportunities.

## How to handle PerplexityBot

To manage PerplexityBot, add a rule in your robots.txt file targeting the user-agent token PerplexityBot. Use a Disallow directive to block specific paths or the entire site. The bot honors these instructions, so no additional steps are needed. Ensure your robots.txt is accessible and correctly formatted to control crawling behavior.

## robots.txt rule

User-agent: PerplexityBot
Disallow: /

## Blocking cost

Blocking PerplexityBot can prevent your site from being indexed and cited in Perplexity search results, which may reduce visibility and referral traffic from that platform.

## Examples

- PerplexityBot crawls a news article and later displays a snippet with a link to the original page in Perplexity search results.
- A product page is indexed by PerplexityBot, allowing it to appear as a citation when users ask about that product.
- After a site blocks PerplexityBot in robots.txt, its pages no longer show up in Perplexity's search results or citations.

## Related bots

- OAI-SearchBot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- MistralAI-Index: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- YouBot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- Claude-SearchBot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- Meta-WebIndexer: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- Applebot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- Googlebot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- Bravebot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- ShapBot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- PerplexityBot: PerplexityBot is the glossary definition behind this crawler guide.
- Perplexity: PerplexityBot connects this operator term to its crawler behavior.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does PerplexityBot respect robots.txt?

Yes, PerplexityBot honors the Robots Exclusion Protocol and will follow the directives set in a site's robots.txt file.

### What happens if I block PerplexityBot?

Blocking PerplexityBot prevents your site from being indexed and cited in Perplexity search results, which may reduce your visibility on the platform.

### How can I allow only certain parts of my site to be crawled by PerplexityBot?

You can use the Disallow directive in your robots.txt file to specify which paths PerplexityBot should not access, while leaving other areas open for crawling.

### Is PerplexityBot used for any purpose other than search indexing?

PerplexityBot is specifically a crawler for surfacing and linking websites in Perplexity search results, and there is no indication it is used for other purposes.

### How can I verify that PerplexityBot is crawling my site?

You can check your server logs for requests with the user-agent token PerplexityBot to confirm its crawling activity.

## Data And Sources

- [Perplexity documentation](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/perplexity-crawlers) - Primary source for PerplexityBot crawler details.
- [PerplexityBot live crawler data](https://trakkr.ai/data/crawlers/perplexitybot) - Trakkr crawler telemetry for this user agent.