What is PerplexityBot? AI crawler guide
PerplexityBot is a crawler or fetcher associated with Perplexity. See source-graded user-agent, robots.txt, verification, and observation guidance.
What is PerplexityBot?
PerplexityBot is a documented Perplexity crawler or fetcher. Perplexity crawler for surfacing and linking websites in Perplexity search results.
Evidence status
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Evidence | Officially documented |
| Lifecycle | Active |
| Purpose | search |
| robots.txt posture | honors |
| Source checked | 2026-08-18 |
Documented user-agent
Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; PerplexityBot/1.0; +https://perplexity.ai/perplexitybot)
Allowing PerplexityBot creates the possibility of retrieval. To find out whether Perplexity actually cites or recommends you, track your Perplexity mentions over time.
robots.txt allow example
User-agent: PerplexityBot Allow: /
robots.txt block example
User-agent: PerplexityBot Disallow: /
What the rule can and cannot do
Robots.txt expresses an access policy to compliant automated crawlers. It does not authenticate the sender, remove content already collected, or guarantee that a model will use or not use content.
How to verify a request
- Match the complete documented user-agent where one exists. A match is only a clue.
- Use the operator-published check: Published IP ranges.
- Keep the observed request, operator documentation, and any inference as separate fields.
Observed in Trakkr connected-site data
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Matching signature | PerplexityBot |
| Classified requests | 155220 |
| Sites in sample | 85 |
| Window | 2026-07-18 through 2026-08-17 |
| Method | Finalized daily crawler summaries from connected Trakkr sites, grouped by the crawler signature detected in each request. |
| Limits | This is a connected-site sample, not a representative sample of the web. A matching user-agent or signature does not prove that the named operator sent the request. Counts describe classified request signatures, not market share or unique pages crawled. |
JavaScript behavior
The cited operator material does not verify JavaScript rendering. Serve useful HTML before client-side JavaScript where possible.
Related bots
- OAI-SearchBot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- Kimi-SearchBot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- MistralAI-Index: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- Amzn-SearchBot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- ExaSearchBot: Also tracked as a search crawler.
- Kagibot: 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.
- PerplexityBot: PerplexityBot is the glossary definition behind this crawler guide.
- Perplexity: PerplexityBot connects this operator term to its crawler behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PerplexityBot?
PerplexityBot is a officially documented crawler or fetcher record associated with Perplexity.
What user-agent does PerplexityBot use?
Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; PerplexityBot/1.0; +https://perplexity.ai/perplexitybot). Check the evidence status before attributing a matching request.
Can PerplexityBot be blocked in robots.txt?
The record identifies PerplexityBot as the token to review. Robots.txt is a request policy, not proof of model use or non-use.
How can I verify a PerplexityBot request?
Start with the full user-agent, then use published ip ranges from the operator. A user-agent match alone is not proof.
Data & Sources
- Perplexity documentation - Primary source for PerplexityBot crawler details.
- PerplexityBot verification: Published IP ranges - Verification information published for PerplexityBot.