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llms.txt GeneratorShould you optimize for GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot separately?
Yes. GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot differ in scale and reading pattern, so a page architecture that works for one does not automatically capture the other at the same efficiency.
The key numbers.
- GPTBot share
- GPTBot is the dominant crawler by observed visits.
- 57.2%
- OAI-SearchBot share
- SearchBot is the second-largest crawler in the study.
- 15.1%
- GPTBot weekend lift
- GPTBot runs hotter on weekends than weekdays.
- 1.29x
- One-visit sessions
- Most AI crawler visits are one-and-done sessions.
- 88.5%
Training-oriented crawls and search-oriented crawls are related but not identical operational problems, requiring distinct architectural strategies to maximize visibility.
The evidence.
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| GPTBot share GPTBot is the dominant crawler by observed visits. | 57.2% |
| OAI-SearchBot share SearchBot is the second-largest crawler in the study. | 15.1% |
| GPTBot weekend lift GPTBot runs hotter on weekends than weekdays. | 1.29x |
| One-visit sessions Most AI crawler visits are one-and-done sessions. | 88.5% |
Population and method
Built from 575,788 AI crawler visits across 84 brands and 314,501 unique URLs observed between June 11, 2025 and February 1, 2026.
Where the evidence stops
This study measures observable crawler traffic rather than hidden fetches or internal cache reads.
One dominant e-commerce brand was excluded to keep the page-type patterns more generalizable.
Visit share and homepage preference vary sharply by bot family, so averages can hide crawler-specific behavior.
What to do with this
- Optimize entry pages and internal links for the crawlers that actually show up in your logs.
- Treat crawler families differently because they do not read the same site architecture the same way.
- Use low-depth answer pages to improve the odds that a one-visit crawler still finds something citeable.
Operators must allocate technical SEO resources based on actual crawler behavior. Treating all OpenAI bots as a single entity leads to misconfigured crawl budgets and missed indexing opportunities, especially given their distinct visit volumes.
Questions about this answer.
Cite this answer.
Source study: Crawler Behavior“Yes. GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot differ in scale and reading pattern, so a page architecture that works for one does not automatically capture the other at the same efficiency.”
Mack Grenfell · Should you optimize for GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot separately?
When AI Comes to Your Website · Trakkr Research · Updated 1 February 2026