What are AI Crawlers?
AI crawlers are automated software programs that systematically visit websites and online resources to collect data used by artificial intelligence systems. They operate without direct human control, following programmed rules to discover, read, and process content at scale.
Unlike manual data collection, AI crawlers can scan millions of pages efficiently, making them a core component of modern AI development and deployment.
What is the purpose of AI crawlers?
The primary purpose of AI crawlers is to gather large volumes of information that help AI systems (models) learn, improve, and function effectively. They used the data they collect to:
Train AI models to understand language, images, or code
Improve their accuracy, relevance, and general knowledge
Keep AI systems aligned with real-world information
Power AI-driven features like chatbots, summarization tools, and recommendations
Without crawlers, many AI systems would rely on static or outdated datasets.
How are AI crawlers different from traditional web crawlers?
Traditional web crawlers (search engine crawlers) focus on indexing content so users can find webpages in search results. Instead, AI crawlers are designed to learn from the content they crawl, not just index it. From this ‘learning’ crawlers enable:
Machine learning models to be trained and fine-tuned
Pattern analysis across huge datasets
Extraction of meaning from crawled content, not key keywords
Put simply, search engine crawlers organize information for retrieval, while AI crawlers help machines understand information.
What kind of data do AI crawlers collect?
AI crawlers collect a wide range of publicly available data, including:
Written content like articles, blogs, documentation, forums, and reports
Images, diagrams, or other media
Code snippets and technical references
Metadata like page structure, headings, and links
Responsible AI crawlers are designed to avoid private, gated, or sensitive information unless explicitly authorized.
Do AI crawlers interact with websites like human users?
Not exactly. AI crawlers request web pages the same way browsers do, but they do not:
Click buttons or fill out forms like humans
Interpret content emotionally or subjectively
Engage in conversations or transactions
Instead, they programmatically request pages, analyze the responses, and move on according to predefined logic.
Can website owners control or block AI crawlers?
Yes. Website owners have several tools to manage crawler access, including:
Robots.txt files, which specify what crawlers are allowed or disallowed - this does assume, however, that the crawlers are adhering to the rules, which is not always the case
Authentication requirements or paywalls
Rate limiting and traffic controls
Bot management and security solutions
These controls help site owners decide how their content is accessed and used.
Are AI crawlers respectful of privacy?
AI crawlers are generally designed to collect publicly available information, not private or personal data. However, privacy concerns can arise if:
Sensitive data is unintentionally made public
Crawlers fail to respect access rules (see the Robot.txt comments above)
Data is reused in unintended ways
This is why responsible AI development emphasizes transparency, consent, and compliance with privacy regulations.
How can AI crawler traffic be identified?
AI crawler activity can often be detected through the following:
User-agent strings that identify the crawler
High-volume or patterned requests
Known IP address ranges associated with AI providers
Not all crawlers clearly identify themselves though, which can make detection and attribution an ongoing challenge without the right bot management solution in place.
How can you prevent AI from crawling your website?
Preventing AI crawlers from accessing your website involves a combination of policy signals, technical controls, and traffic management. No single method is perfect on its own, but layered defenses are effective. A good security program will include most or all of the following bot management strategies:
Use robotx.txt files to block AI crawlers. These files are placed at the root of a website, allowing organizations to block all or some AI crawlers by name (called their ‘user agent’). Responsible AI crawlers will respect this limitation and check the file before attempting to access a website's content. But that is not always the case. That’s why orgs need several defenses in place.
Block or Filter Known AI Crawlers by User-Agent. AI crawlers often identify themselves using a ‘user-agent string’ (basically a name) in HTTP headers. Orgs can decide to deny requests from known AI crawler user-agents, or to allow search engine crawlers but block AI-specific bots. Orgs can apply different rules depending on the bot type. This can be accomplished at the web-server level, at the CDN or edge layer, or by using bot management tools.
Use IP-Based Blocking or Rate Limiting. Some AI providers publish IP ranges used by their crawlers. This allows you to block or throttle requests from known IP ranges. You can also rate-limit suspiciously high-volume traffic and restrict access by geography or network origin.
Require Authentication or Paywalls. AI crawlers usually cannot access login-protected content, subscription-only pages or token.session-based access controls. This is another good way to limit their access to your content.
Use Bot Management and Security Tools. Perhaps the most helpful strategy - an advantaged bot management solution. Bot management tools help to detect automated behavior patterns, helping to distinguish humans, search bots, and AI crawlers. They can challenge or block unwanted bots automatically and adapt to new or unidentified crawlers. Because these tools operate at the edge, they are the best strategy for high-traffic sites.
How Fastly can help
Fastly’s Next-Gen WAF offers built-in bot management capabilities to protect your applications from malicious bots while enabling legitimate ones. Prevent bad bots from performing malicious actions against your websites and APIs by identifying and mitigating them before they can negatively impact your bottom line or user experience.
Learn more about the Next-Gen WAF and its bot management capabilities.