robots.txt rules
Copy the group you need into the robots.txt file at the root of your site. Keep only one option per bot.
At a glance
| Detail | DuckAssistBot |
|---|---|
| Operator | DuckDuckGo |
| Type | User triggered fetcher |
| What it does | Fetches pages for DuckDuckGo's AI assisted answers. |
| robots.txt token | DuckAssistBot |
| Example user agent | DuckAssistBot/1.2; (+http://duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.html) |
| Follows robots.txt | DuckDuckGo says disallowing DuckAssistBot in robots.txt opts a site out of its AI assisted answers, taking effect after about 72 hours. |
| How to verify | Check the request IP against duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.json. |
| If you block it | Your pages stop being used in DuckDuckGo's AI assisted answers. Normal DuckDuckGo results are not affected. |
| Source | DuckDuckGo help pages |
User agent version numbers change over time. Match on the token, not the full string.
What DuckAssistBot does
DuckAssistBot retrieves pages to support AI assisted answers in DuckDuckGo search. DuckDuckGo says the data is not used to train AI models.
Should you allow or block it?
Allow it if DuckDuckGo users matter to you.
If you block it: Your pages stop being used in DuckDuckGo's AI assisted answers. Normal DuckDuckGo results are not affected.
- Training crawlers decide whether your content helps build future models. Blocking them does not remove you from AI search today.
- Search crawlers decide whether AI engines can find and cite your pages. Blocking them usually costs visibility.
- User triggered fetchers read a page because a person asked. Blocking them stops the AI reading you at the moment someone is interested.
How to find DuckAssistBot in your logs
Search your server or CDN access logs for the token DuckAssistBot. This command counts visits by IP, path and status code in a standard access log:
grep -i "DuckAssistBot" access.log | awk '{print $1, $7, $9}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head
A run of 403 or 503 status codes means your firewall or bot protection is blocking it, even if robots.txt allows it. That is one of the most common hidden reasons sites lose AI visibility.
How to tell if a visit is genuine
Anyone can put DuckAssistBot in a user agent string, so the name alone proves nothing. Check the request IP against duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.json.