# AI Crawler Robots.txt Audit & llms.txt Checker (`davidbenittah/ai-crawler-robots-audit`) Actor

Check robots.txt and llms.txt on up to 50 sites and see which AI crawlers are blocked: OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Claude-SearchBot, GPTBot and ClaudeBot. Returns a 0-100 AI search access score, the rule matched per bot, and a paste-ready robots.txt fix.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/davidbenittah/ai-crawler-robots-audit.md
- **Developed by:** [David](https://apify.com/davidbenittah) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $8.00 / 1,000 website auditeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## AI Crawler Robots.txt Audit & llms.txt Checker

Find out in one run whether ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity are allowed to read up to 50 websites. This robots.txt checker reads each live robots.txt and llms.txt file, scores AI search access from 0 to 100, names every crawler that is blocked, and hands you the exact lines to paste back into the file.

The audit separates **AI search visibility** from **model-training access**, because blocking those are two different business decisions. It is useful for technical SEO, GEO and AEO audits, agency launch checks, and weekly crawler-policy monitoring.

A single old rule can quietly block an answer crawler and reduce the chance that a brand appears or gets cited in AI search. The opposite mistake also happens: a publisher wants answer-engine visibility but unintentionally leaves every training crawler open. This Actor turns the live policy into a plain recommendation instead of making someone compare bot names by hand.

### What the AI robots.txt checker verifies

For each public domain, the Actor:

1. Downloads the live `robots.txt` without requiring a login, cookies, or credentials.
2. Applies specific user-agent groups before wildcard rules, including `Allow` and `Disallow` precedence at the site root.
3. Reports answer/search crawlers separately from training crawlers.
4. Scores access for official answer crawlers from 0 to 100 and labels the current policy.
5. Generates a ready-to-paste `robots.txt` snippet for blocked answer crawlers.
6. Checks whether `/llms.txt` exists as an additional readiness signal.
7. Returns the exact matched rule for every crawler so an SEO specialist can verify the result.

Search and answer crawlers include OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Perplexity-User, Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User. Bot behavior and vendor naming can change; the output is an audit of the current public file, not a promise of indexing or citation.

### GPTBot, ClaudeBot and other training crawlers

Training and extended-use crawlers are listed apart from answer crawlers: GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended, CCBot, Amazonbot, Meta-ExternalAgent and Bytespider. Blocking GPTBot does not remove a site from ChatGPT's live answers, and allowing it does not add the site to them. `blockedTrainingBots` and `blockedSearchBots` keep the two decisions separate.

Google-Extended does not control inclusion or ranking in Google Search.

### Who uses it

- **SEO and GEO agencies:** audit every client after a migration, CDN change, or robots.txt deployment. Use `blockedOnly: true` on a schedule to keep the result list actionable.
- **B2B SaaS teams:** verify that an inherited robots.txt file does not block answer engines while normal Google SEO still looks healthy.
- **Publishers:** distinguish protecting content from model training from disappearing from AI-assisted discovery.
- **Web agencies:** add an AI crawler access check to launch and maintenance reports without manually tracking every bot name.

### Ready-to-run example

```json
{
  "domains": ["example.com", "your-client-site.com"],
  "includeTrainingBots": true,
  "blockedOnly": false,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 15
}
```

Every required input has a working default. Enter up to 50 domains or full public URLs. No account or API key is needed.

### Output example

```json
{
  "domain": "your-client-site.com",
  "robotsUrl": "https://your-client-site.com/robots.txt",
  "robotsStatus": 200,
  "llmsTxtFound": true,
  "searchVisibilityRisk": true,
  "aiSearchAccessScore": 67,
  "aiSearchAccessGrade": "D",
  "policyStrategy": "mixed_search_access",
  "blockedSearchBots": ["OAI-SearchBot", "PerplexityBot"],
  "blockedTrainingBots": ["GPTBot", "ClaudeBot"],
  "allowedSearchBots": ["ChatGPT-User", "Claude-SearchBot"],
  "recommendation": "Review robots.txt: OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot cannot crawl the site root, which may reduce visibility in AI answers.",
  "recommendedRobotsSnippet": "User-agent: OAI-SearchBot\nAllow: /\n\nUser-agent: PerplexityBot\nAllow: /",
  "checkedAt": "2026-07-19T10:00:00.000Z"
}
```

The full `crawlerResults` array includes each crawler's company, purpose, allowed status, exact matched rule, and whether the decision came from a specific or wildcard group. A `SUMMARY` record reports websites checked and sites with an AI search visibility risk.

### Data returned for each website

| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| `domain` | The normalized domain audited |
| `robotsStatus` | HTTP status of robots.txt, `0` on a network error |
| `llmsTxtFound` | Whether `/llms.txt` responds |
| `aiSearchAccessScore` | Share of answer crawlers allowed at `/`, 0 to 100 |
| `blockedSearchBots` | Answer crawlers blocked at the site root |
| `blockedTrainingBots` | Training crawlers blocked at the site root |
| `recommendedRobotsSnippet` | Lines to paste to unblock answer crawlers |
| `crawlerResults[]` | Per crawler: company, purpose, allowed, exact matched rule |

### What the score means

`aiSearchAccessScore` is the percentage of the six verified answer/search crawlers that may access `/` under the live `robots.txt`. It measures crawler access only. It does not claim that a page is indexed, cited, or ranked in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, or another answer engine.

### llms.txt checker

Every audited domain is also tested for a live `/llms.txt` file, and `llmsTxtFound` reports whether it responds. A missing llms.txt is information, not a defect: no answer engine requires it today, and robots.txt remains the file that decides crawler access.

### Reading the result

`searchVisibilityRisk: true` means at least one listed answer/search crawler is blocked at `/`. It does **not** prove the website is absent from an AI product: vendors can use other indexes and systems. A healthy result also does not guarantee citation. The Actor reports the access policy accurately and leaves the business decision to you.

A missing `robots.txt` normally means crawling is allowed. A network error is different: the Actor returns status `0`, includes the error, and recommends rerunning before changing policy.

### Data, limits, and responsible use

The Actor reads only public `robots.txt` and `llms.txt` files. It collects no personal data, does not bypass access controls, and does not log in. Runs are capped at 50 websites to keep cost and load predictable. Schedule weekly or after deployments rather than polling aggressively.

### Unofficial tool disclaimer

This Actor is an **unofficial, independent audit tool**. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, or Common Crawl. Product names identify public crawler user agents only. Always confirm policy changes against the vendors' current documentation before editing a production `robots.txt` file.

# Actor input Schema

## `domains` (type: `array`):

Domains or public website URLs. Hard maximum: 50 per run.

## `includeTrainingBots` (type: `boolean`):

Also report crawlers used primarily for model training, separately from AI search and answer crawlers.

## `blockedOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Useful for scheduled agency audits: healthy websites are omitted from the dataset.

## `requestTimeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Maximum wait for robots.txt, from 3 to 30 seconds.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "domains": [
    "example.com"
  ],
  "includeTrainingBots": true,
  "blockedOnly": false,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 15
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Structured AI crawler access audit items for every checked website.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Counts of checked websites, visibility risks, and produced result items.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "domains": [
        "example.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("davidbenittah/ai-crawler-robots-audit").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "domains": ["example.com"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("davidbenittah/ai-crawler-robots-audit").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "domains": [
    "example.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call davidbenittah/ai-crawler-robots-audit --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=davidbenittah/ai-crawler-robots-audit",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/MQI0FbwgqF5ulWlLe/builds/5F5Bb9zL7JlC4nKxj/openapi.json