What is OAI-SearchBot?

OAI-SearchBot is a specialized web crawler developed and operated by OpenAI. It functions as a search indexing bot designed specifically for OpenAI's SearchGPT prototype. Unlike other OpenAI crawlers, OAI-SearchBot's primary function is to discover and index web content to surface websites in search results within ChatGPT, not to collect training data for AI models. The bot identifies itself in server logs with the user-agent string: Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko); compatible; OAI-SearchBot/1.0; +https://openai.com/searchbot.

OAI-SearchBot operates from a specific set of IP addresses published by OpenAI at <https://openai.com/searchbot.json>, which helps website administrators verify legitimate crawler activity. The bot follows standard web protocols and respects robots.txt directives, allowing site owners to control access through familiar mechanisms. Unlike general-purpose crawlers, OAI-SearchBot employs a targeted crawling strategy focused on discovering relevant web resources for user queries rather than comprehensive indexing of the entire web.

Why is OAI-SearchBot crawling my site?

OAI-SearchBot crawls websites to index content that can be surfaced in response to user queries within ChatGPT's search features. If you're seeing this bot in your logs, it means your content is being considered for inclusion in OpenAI's search results. The crawler is particularly interested in informative, well-structured content that provides value to users seeking information.

The frequency of visits depends on various factors including your site's relevance to common queries, content freshness, and overall site performance. Sites with regularly updated content and good performance metrics may see more frequent crawling activity. OAI-SearchBot's crawling is authorized as part of normal web operations, similar to how search engines like Google index the web, but it respects standard access control mechanisms like robots.txt directives.

What is the purpose of OAI-SearchBot?

OAI-SearchBot's primary purpose is to power search functionalities within OpenAI's products, particularly the SearchGPT prototype. It links to and surfaces websites in search results, helping users find relevant information from across the web. Unlike OpenAI's GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot does not collect content for training AI models – it's strictly focused on search functionality.

For website owners, being indexed by OAI-SearchBot can provide value through increased visibility in ChatGPT's search results, potentially driving new traffic to your site. As AI-powered search becomes more prevalent, having your content properly indexed by specialized crawlers like OAI-SearchBot may become increasingly important for maintaining digital visibility.

The bot's operations are designed with transparency in mind, with clear identification methods and published IP ranges to help distinguish legitimate crawling from potential spoofing attempts.

How do I block OAI-SearchBot?

OAI-SearchBot respects standard robots.txt directives, making it straightforward to control access to your content. If you wish to block OAI-SearchBot from crawling your entire site, add the following to your robots.txt file:

User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Disallow: /

For more selective blocking, you can specify particular directories or files:

User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Disallow: /private-directory/
Disallow: /confidential-file.html

If you want to allow OAI-SearchBot while blocking other OpenAI crawlers like GPTBot, you can use separate directives for each bot:

User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /

User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /

Remember that blocking OAI-SearchBot means your content won't appear in ChatGPT's search results, which could reduce visibility as AI-powered search becomes more mainstream. After updating your robots.txt file, changes typically take effect within 24 hours as OpenAI's systems recognize the new directives. For verification purposes, you can also check that requests are coming from OpenAI's published IP ranges, which are available at their official documentation site.

OAI-SearchBot