What is Meta-ExternalAgent?

Meta-ExternalAgent is Meta's AI training crawler: it collects pages to train AI models. It is the #5 most blocked of the 29 AI crawlers in the index.

How do I block Meta-ExternalAgent in robots.txt?

Add these lines to https:// /robots.txt: "User-agent: Meta-ExternalAgent" followed by "Disallow: /". To allow it, use "Allow: /" instead. Well-behaved crawlers read robots.txt before fetching pages; firewall rules are needed to stop crawlers that ignore it.

How do I check whether my site blocks Meta-ExternalAgent?

Use the free AI crawler checker at tools.yukai.uk/free/ai-crawler-checker: it shows the status of Meta-ExternalAgent and 28 other AI crawlers with the exact robots.txt rule.

AI crawler · Meta · Training

Which websites block Meta-ExternalAgent?

As of 2026-10-01, 123 of the 853 popular websites whose robots.txt we could read (14.4%) block Meta-ExternalAgent, Meta's AI training crawler, on the home page; 23 more block it on some paths. Among the top 100 sites: 24.1%.

14.4%

of 853 readable sites block Meta-ExternalAgent

24.1%

of the top 100

most blocked of 29 AI crawlers

707

sites allow it on the home page

Blocked by category

Category	Sites read	Block Meta-ExternalAgent
News & media	126	38.9%
Social	48	29.2%
Reference	43	18.6%
Entertainment	68	13.2%
Other	260	12.3%
E-commerce	58	10.3%
Travel	13	7.7%
Government	33	3%
Tech	154	1.9%
AI	9	0%
Education	20	0%
Finance	16	0%
Telecom	5	0%

Trend

The daily series for Meta-ExternalAgent starts on 2026-10-01; a trend appears here as days accumulate.

Latest changes

dailymotion.com: blocked → allowed
syosetu.com: allowed → blocked
1mg.com: allowed → blocked

Block or allow Meta-ExternalAgent

User-agent: Meta-ExternalAgent
Disallow: /

Replace Disallow: / with Allow: / to let it in. A site that blocks training crawlers but wants to be cited in AI answers usually keeps the search and user-triggered crawlers allowed.

FAQ

How many websites block Meta-ExternalAgent?: As of 2026-10-01, 123 of the 853 popular websites whose robots.txt we could read (14.4%) block Meta-ExternalAgent, Meta's AI training crawler, on the home page; 23 more block it on some paths. Among the top 100 sites: 24.1%.
What is Meta-ExternalAgent?: Meta-ExternalAgent is Meta's AI training crawler: it collects pages to train AI models. It is the #5 most blocked of the 29 AI crawlers in the index.
How do I block Meta-ExternalAgent in robots.txt?: Add these lines to https://<your-site>/robots.txt: "User-agent: Meta-ExternalAgent" followed by "Disallow: /". To allow it, use "Allow: /" instead. Well-behaved crawlers read robots.txt before fetching pages; firewall rules are needed to stop crawlers that ignore it.
How do I check whether my site blocks Meta-ExternalAgent?: Use the free AI crawler checker at tools.yukai.uk/free/ai-crawler-checker: it shows the status of Meta-ExternalAgent and 28 other AI crawlers with the exact robots.txt rule.

Other AI crawlers

Also from Meta: meta-webindexer (6.3%), meta-externalfetcher (8.7%), meta-externalads (3.8%).