Search and AI

OAI-SearchBot

OAI-SearchBot is the crawler OpenAI uses to find websites for the search features in ChatGPT.

It is different from GPTBot, which OpenAI uses to collect content that may train its AI models. OpenAI says sites that block OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though they can still appear as plain links.

If you want ChatGPT to find and cite your pages, allow OAI-SearchBot. You can still block GPTBot if you do not want your content used for training. Open your robots.txt today and look for lines that block AI crawlers. This is part of generative engine optimization, and it helps you get mentioned by ChatGPTsoon.

Go deeper

  • How to get your brand mentioned by ChatGPTComing soon
  • How to track AI traffic and ChatGPT mentionsComing soon

Related terms

What links here

Sources

Last checked 24 September 2026.

All glossary terms, A to Z