AI Crawler Index · OpenAI · OAI-SearchBot
Which news websites block OAI-SearchBot?
As of 2026-10-03, 68 of the 394 news websites whose robots.txt we could read (17.3%) block OAI-SearchBot, OpenAI's AI search crawler, on the home page, compared with 5.7% of all sites; 21 more block it on some paths.
17.3%
of 394 news websites block OAI-SearchBot
5.7%
of all sites
68
sites block it
All 68 news websites that block OAI-SearchBot
| # | Site | Policy | Crawlers blocked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | nytimes.com | Blocks some AI search | 18 of 29 |
| 95 | bbc.com | Blocks some AI search | 16 of 29 |
| 209 | cnbc.com | Blocks some AI search | 14 of 29 |
| 262 | usatoday.com | Blocks some AI search | 24 of 29 |
| 276 | telegraph.co.uk | Blocks some AI search | 18 of 29 |
| 313 | dailymail.com | Blocks some AI search | 19 of 29 |
| 328 | cnet.com | Blocks some AI search | 21 of 29 |
| 369 | lefigaro.fr | Blocks some AI search | 12 of 29 |
| 401 | nbcnews.com | Blocks some AI search | 16 of 29 |
| 442 | elmundo.es | Blocks some AI search | 6 of 29 |
| 495 | huffpost.com | Blocks some AI search | 17 of 29 |
| 496 | bfmtv.com | Blocks some AI search | 19 of 29 |
| 500 | marca.com | Blocks some AI search | 6 of 29 |
| 534 | economist.com | Blocks some AI search | 12 of 29 |
| 537 | theconversation.com | Blocks some AI search | 24 of 29 |
| 540 | ad.nl | Blocks some AI search | 14 of 29 |
| 547 | nu.nl | Blocks some AI search | 14 of 29 |
| 548 | elconfidencial.com | Blocks some AI search | 13 of 29 |
| 583 | hln.be | Blocks some AI search | 14 of 29 |
| 613 | spiegel.de | Blocks some AI search | 13 of 29 |
| 618 | actu.fr | Blocks some AI search | 17 of 29 |
| 644 | sapo.pt | Blocks some AI search | 18 of 29 |
| 666 | huffingtonpost.com | Blocks some AI search | 17 of 29 |
| 680 | dw.com | Blocks some AI search | 15 of 29 |
| 684 | iltalehti.fi | Blocks some AI search | 20 of 29 |
| 713 | ekstrabladet.dk | Blocks some AI search | 15 of 29 |
| 802 | sportfilm800.com | Blocks all AI search | 29 of 29 |
| 889 | zdnet.com | Blocks some AI search | 21 of 29 |
| 1324 | express.co.uk | Blocks some AI search | 6 of 29 |
| 1327 | news.com.au | Blocks some AI search | 27 of 29 |
| 1345 | expressapisv2.net | Blocks all AI search | 29 of 29 |
| 1446 | newscientist.com | Blocks some AI search | 19 of 29 |
| 1521 | chicagotribune.com | Blocks some AI search | 18 of 29 |
| 1568 | ctvnews.ca | Blocks some AI search | 5 of 29 |
| 1662 | newsbreak.com | Blocks some AI search | 16 of 29 |
| 1754 | nzherald.co.nz | Blocks some AI search | 28 of 29 |
| 2016 | nydailynews.com | Blocks some AI search | 18 of 29 |
| 2126 | sportradarserving.com | Blocks all AI search | 29 of 29 |
| 2328 | seattletimes.com | Blocks some AI search | 17 of 29 |
| 2588 | feednews.com | Blocks all AI search | 29 of 29 |
| 2903 | deccanherald.com | Blocks some AI search | 10 of 29 |
| 2912 | lapresse.ca | Blocks some AI search | 14 of 29 |
| 2986 | chinatimes.com | Blocks some AI search | 12 of 29 |
| 2990 | expressen.se | Blocks some AI search | 19 of 29 |
| 3064 | mercurynews.com | Blocks some AI search | 18 of 29 |
| 3409 | ibtimes.com | Blocks some AI search | 10 of 29 |
| 3459 | news24.com | Blocks some AI search | 18 of 29 |
| 3664 | denverpost.com | Blocks some AI search | 18 of 29 |
| 3758 | ura.news | Blocks some AI search | 28 of 29 |
| 3974 | sandiegouniontribune.com | Blocks some AI search | 25 of 29 |
| 4338 | buzzfeednews.com | Blocks some AI search | 17 of 29 |
| 4457 | manchestereveningnews.co.uk | Blocks some AI search | 7 of 29 |
| 4920 | hochi.news | Blocks some AI search | 16 of 29 |
| 5139 | tokyo-sports.co.jp | Blocks some AI search | 9 of 29 |
| 6386 | detroitnews.com | Blocks some AI search | 24 of 29 |
| 6607 | inews.co.uk | Blocks some AI search | 19 of 29 |
| 6726 | dailystar.co.uk | Blocks some AI search | 7 of 29 |
| 7109 | posteo.de | Blocks some AI search | 15 of 29 |
| 7113 | lexpress.fr | Blocks some AI search | 16 of 29 |
| 7682 | dailyrecord.co.uk | Blocks some AI search | 7 of 29 |
| 8004 | bostonherald.com | Blocks some AI search | 18 of 29 |
| 8837 | expresso.pt | Blocks some AI search | 20 of 29 |
| 8952 | heraldscotland.com | Blocks some AI search | 17 of 29 |
| 9096 | dailytelegraph.com.au | Blocks some AI search | 27 of 29 |
| 9271 | talksport.com | Blocks some AI search | 26 of 29 |
| 9353 | belfasttelegraph.co.uk | Blocks some AI search | 20 of 29 |
| 9492 | townnews.com | Blocks some AI search | 11 of 29 |
| 9683 | heraldsun.com.au | Blocks some AI search | 27 of 29 |
Popular news websites that allow OAI-SearchBot
Other AI crawlers and news websites
- GPTBot 31.5%
- ClaudeBot 32%
- PerplexityBot 27.7%
- Google-Extended 26.6%
- CCBot 35.8%
- Bytespider 33.2%
- Applebot-Extended 28.7%
OAI-SearchBot in other segments
- .nl (Netherlands) websites 20.8%
- .fr (France) websites 20%
- social websites 19.2%
- .au (Australia) websites 18.9%
- .uk (United Kingdom) websites 16.7%
- .es (Spain) websites 13.9%
- .app websites 13.3%
- .ch (Switzerland) websites 8.3%
- .net websites 8%
- .it (Italy) websites 7.3%
- .ca (Canada) websites 7.1%
- reference websites 6.7%
- .de (Germany) websites 6.4%
- .com websites 5.7%
FAQ
- Which news websites block OAI-SearchBot?
- nytimes.com, bbc.com, cnbc.com, usatoday.com, telegraph.co.uk, dailymail.com, cnet.com, lefigaro.fr, and 60 more (full list on this page).
- How many news websites block OAI-SearchBot?
- As of 2026-10-03, 68 of the 394 news websites whose robots.txt we could read (17.3%) block OAI-SearchBot, OpenAI's AI search crawler, on the home page, compared with 5.7% of all sites; 21 more block it on some paths.
- How do I block or allow OAI-SearchBot on my site?
- Add "User-agent: OAI-SearchBot" followed by "Disallow: /" to https://<your-site>/robots.txt to block it, or "Allow: /" to allow it. Check the result with the free AI crawler checker at tools.yukai.uk/free/ai-crawler-checker.