Applebot

Last updated 15 hours ago.

What is Applebot?

About

Applebot is a web crawler used by Apple to index search results that allow the Siri AI Assistant to answer user questions. Siri's answers normally contain references to the website.

Detail

Operator Apple
Documentation http://apple.com/go/applebot

Type

AI Search Crawler
Indexes web content for AI-powered search results

Expected Behavior

AI search crawlers do not adhere to a fixed visitation schedule for websites. The frequency of visits varies widely based on many factors, and can even happen on-demand in response to a user query.

Insights

Activity on Your Website

Half of your website's traffic probably comes from artificial agents, and there are more of them every day. Track their activity with the API or WordPress plugin.

Set Up Agent Analytics

Other Websites

2%
of top websites are currently blocking Applebot in some way
Learn How →

Access Control

Should I Block Applebot?

Probably not. AI search crawlers power AI search engines, which are a useful way for users to discover your website. AI search engine assistants usually cite their sources and provide links to their results.

Using Robots.txt

User Agent Token Description
Applebot Should match instances of Applebot

You can block Applebot or limit its access by setting user agent token rules in your website's robots.txt.

# robots.txt
# This should block Applebot

User-agent: Applebot
Disallow: /

Instead of doing this manually, you can generate a robots.txt using the API or WordPress plugin that stays up to date with the agent list automatically. The WordPress plugin can also enforce your robots.txt and block agents who try to ignore the rules.

Set Up Your Robots.txt