At a glance
| robots.txt name | ChatGPT-User |
|---|---|
| Company | OpenAI |
| Kind | Fetch on request. Opens a page when someone asks ChatGPT about it |
| Visits sites | Yes |
| Official page | platform.openai.com |
ChatGPT-User opens a page when someone asks ChatGPT about it. This means the fetcher is triggered by a person's request, not by a broad crawl. For a business, this matters because it controls whether ChatGPT can read a page to answer a specific question. If the fetcher is blocked, the assistant may not be able to access the content when asked.
To allow ChatGPT-User, you can use Allow: / or have no rule for it in robots.txt. To block it, add a group with its User-agent line and Disallow: /. Remember that robots.txt is a request, not a lock, and a firewall or bot-protection service can block a crawler even when robots.txt allows it. Being readable by AI does not mean being recommended, so you may want to check how AI assistants recommend your business.
robots.txt lines
User-agent: ChatGPT-User Disallow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User Allow: /
Questions
What is ChatGPT-User?
ChatGPT-User is a user fetcher from OpenAI that opens a page only when a person asks the assistant about that page or a link. It is not a general crawl.
Should I block ChatGPT-User?
It depends on whether you want ChatGPT to be able to read your pages when users ask about them. Blocking it may prevent the assistant from accessing your content on demand. Allowing it lets the fetcher open pages when requested.
How do I block ChatGPT-User in robots.txt?
To block ChatGPT-User for the whole site, add these two lines to robots.txt: User-agent: ChatGPT-User Disallow: /
Does blocking ChatGPT-User affect AI search or Google?
Blocking ChatGPT-User affects whether ChatGPT can fetch your pages when asked. It does not directly affect Google search, as Google uses its own crawlers. However, it may impact how AI assistants can access and potentially recommend your content.