# AI Crawler Access & llms.txt Checker (`vex_workflow/ai-crawler-access-checker`) Actor

See which AI crawlers a website allows or blocks. Evaluates robots.txt for 27 AI and search bots (training, AI search and assistant fetchers), checks llms.txt and llms-full.txt, content signals and noai meta tags, and summarizes each site's AI policy. Bulk, pay per site.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/vex_workflow/ai-crawler-access-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Ian McCann](https://apify.com/vex_workflow) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, AI, Developer tools
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

### What does AI Crawler Access & llms.txt Checker do?

AI search and assistants can only cite pages their crawlers are allowed to read. This Actor tells you, for any list of websites, **which AI crawlers are allowed and which are blocked**, and whether the site is ready for AI search.

For each website it reports:

- **Allow / block decision for 27 crawlers**, grouped by purpose:
  - **AI training**: GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended, CCBot, Meta-ExternalAgent, Bytespider, cohere-ai and more
  - **AI search**: OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, YouBot
  - **Assistant fetchers** (when a user asks an assistant to open a page): ChatGPT-User, Claude-User, Perplexity-User, DuckAssistBot, MistralAI-User and more
  - **Classic search**: Googlebot, Bingbot, Applebot
- Whether each decision comes from a **bot-specific rule** or the **wildcard (\*) rule**, and whether a bot is only **partially** blocked
- **llms.txt** and **llms-full.txt**: present or not, size, title and number of links
- **Content-Signal** lines in robots.txt (search, ai-input, ai-train)
- **noai / noimageai** directives in the meta robots tag or X-Robots-Tag header
- A one-line **AI policy summary**, such as "Blocks AI training but allows AI search and assistants"

### Who is it for?

- **SEO and GEO (generative engine optimization) agencies** checking that clients are not accidentally blocking AI search
- **Publishers and brands** auditing their own sites and competitors' AI policies
- **Researchers** measuring AI crawler blocking across many domains
- **Sales teams** finding sites that need GEO help (blocked AI search, no llms.txt)

### How to use it

1. Enter websites or specific page URLs.
2. Run. Filter by `aiPolicySummary`, `blockedBots` or `llmsTxt.found`.

#### Input example

```json
{ "websites": ["nytimes.com", "apify.com", "wordpress.org"] }
```

#### Output example (shortened)

```json
{
  "domain": "apify.com",
  "aiPolicySummary": "Open: all listed AI crawlers allowed.",
  "blockedBots": [],
  "llmsTxt": { "found": true, "sizeBytes": 16837, "title": "Apify", "linkCount": 73 },
  "contentSignals": ["search=yes, ai-input=yes, ai-train=yes"],
  "bots": [{ "bot": "GPTBot", "operator": "OpenAI", "purpose": "training", "allowed": true, "matchedBy": "wildcard (*) rule" }]
}
```

### How much does it cost?

| Event | Price |
|---|---|
| Actor start | $0.001 per run |
| Website checked | **$0.006** per website |

1,000 websites cost about **$6**. Unreachable websites are free.

### Notes

- Decisions follow the robots.txt standard (RFC 9309): the most specific user-agent group applies, and the longest matching path rule wins.
- robots.txt is a request, not a technical block. Some sites also block bots at the firewall, which robots.txt does not show.
- Only robots.txt, llms.txt, llms-full.txt and the page you enter are fetched. Crawler and company names are used only to identify the bots; this tool is not affiliated with any of them.

# Actor input Schema

## `websites` (type: `array`):

Websites or page URLs, one per line. robots.txt rules are evaluated for the path you enter (the home page for bare domains).

## `checkHomePageDirectives` (type: `boolean`):

Also read the page's meta robots tag and X-Robots-Tag header for noai / noimageai.

## `concurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many websites to check at the same time.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "websites": [
    "nytimes.com",
    "apify.com",
    "wordpress.org"
  ],
  "checkHomePageDirectives": true,
  "concurrency": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

One row per website with the decision for each AI crawler, llms.txt status and a policy summary.

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

Websites checked and failed.

# 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 = {
    "websites": [
        "nytimes.com",
        "apify.com",
        "wordpress.org"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("vex_workflow/ai-crawler-access-checker").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 = { "websites": [
        "nytimes.com",
        "apify.com",
        "wordpress.org",
    ] }

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

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "websites": [
    "nytimes.com",
    "apify.com",
    "wordpress.org"
  ]
}' |
apify call vex_workflow/ai-crawler-access-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,vex_workflow/ai-crawler-access-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/mAhRUpEymmikr6YLz/builds/Pk4lswE7JyrYR8l7y/openapi.json