Question 1

Should I block AI crawlers in robots.txt?

Accepted Answer

It depends on your goals. Blocking AI crawlers prevents your content from being used in AI training and AI-generated responses. However, this also means your brand won't appear in AI search results. Most businesses benefit from allowing AI crawlers to maximize visibility.

Question 2

Does blocking GPTBot affect my Google Search rankings?

Accepted Answer

No. GPTBot is used by OpenAI for ChatGPT, not by Google Search. Blocking GPTBot has no impact on your Google Search rankings. Google Search uses Googlebot, which is separate from Google-Extended (used for Gemini AI training).

Question 3

What is Google-Extended?

Accepted Answer

Google-Extended is a user-agent token that controls whether Google uses your content for training Gemini and other AI models. Blocking Google-Extended does NOT affect your Google Search rankings — it only prevents AI training usage.