ANSWERS

OAI-SearchBot vs GPTBot vs ChatGPT-User: what's the difference?

OpenAI runs three distinct bots. GPTBot crawls content that may be used to train future models. OAI-SearchBot supports ChatGPT's search feature. ChatGPT-User fetches a page when a user asks ChatGPT to open it, and robots.txt rules may not apply to it. Training and search permissions are set separately. ye5's GEO Web audit checks which of the three can reach your site.

What each OpenAI bot does

—GPTBot is OpenAI's training crawler. It gathers site content that may be used to train future models, separate from any single conversation (see: What is GPTBot and what does it do with my content?).
—ChatGPT-User serves user-triggered actions inside a live conversation. It fetches a specific page when the user asks ChatGPT to open it, and robots.txt rules may not apply to it.
—OAI-SearchBot supports ChatGPT's search feature, indexing pages so ChatGPT can retrieve and cite them. It is permissioned independently of GPTBot, though OpenAI may reuse one crawl when both uses are allowed.

How the three compare

Bot	Purpose	Trigger	robots.txt token
GPTBot	Content may be used to train future models	Crawl of site content	GPTBot — permissioned independently of OAI-SearchBot
ChatGPT-User	Fetches one page live	A user's in-conversation request	ChatGPT-User — rules may not apply
OAI-SearchBot	Supports ChatGPT search	Crawl for search indexing	OAI-SearchBot — permissioned independently of GPTBot

Which bot shapes your AI visibility

You set training access and search access separately, though OpenAI may reuse one crawl when both uses are allowed. Disallowing GPTBot restricts collection of content for future model training. Disallowing OAI-SearchBot can reduce eligibility for ChatGPT's search answers and citations, the retrieval path site owners care about (see: Does blocking AI training bots hurt my visibility in AI search?). A Disallow for ChatGPT-User may not stop user-triggered fetches.

Logs show requests, not a complete access test or proof of use (see: How do I check which AI bots visit my site?). ye5's GEO Web audit checks machine access, including whether GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, and OAI-SearchBot can reach your pages .

FAQ

Does OAI-SearchBot follow robots.txt rules?

OAI-SearchBot reads disallow rules under its own user-agent token, and its permission is set independently of GPTBot's. ChatGPT-User is different: robots.txt rules may not apply to its user-triggered fetches.

Can I block GPTBot without blocking ChatGPT-User?

GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot carry separate permissions, so a training rule and a search rule are set on their own. ChatGPT-User serves user-triggered actions, and robots.txt rules may not apply to it.

Does OAI-SearchBot train OpenAI's models?

No. OAI-SearchBot supports ChatGPT's search feature, while content collected by GPTBot may be used to train future models. OpenAI may reuse one crawl when both uses are allowed.