What is DuckAssistBot?
DuckAssistBot is DuckDuckGo's AI search index crawler. Powers DuckDuckGo's AI-assisted answers.
What does DuckAssistBot do with your content?
Powers DuckDuckGo's AI-assisted answers. Like most AI crawlers, DuckAssistBot reads your pages as plain HTML — it does not run JavaScript — so content that only appears after scripts execute is invisible to it.
Should you block DuckAssistBot?
Blocking DuckAssistBot makes your business invisible to DuckDuckGo's AI when customers ask it for recommendations. If you want to be found, allow it; block it only if you have a specific reason to keep DuckDuckGo's AI away from your content.
How do you allow or block DuckAssistBot in robots.txt?
Add one of these snippets to the robots.txt file at the root of your site. The first explicitly allows DuckAssistBot everywhere; the second blocks it completely.
# Allow DuckAssistBot
User-agent: DuckAssistBot
Allow: /
# Block DuckAssistBot
User-agent: DuckAssistBot
Disallow: /Is robots.txt enough?
Not always. CDNs and firewalls (Cloudflare in particular) can block crawlers at the network level regardless of what robots.txt says — Cloudflare blocks AI crawlers by default for many accounts. If you want DuckAssistBot to reach your site, check your CDN's bot settings too. SeeGeo's free audit checks both.
Frequently asked questions
What is DuckAssistBot?
DuckAssistBot is DuckDuckGo's AI search index crawler. Powers DuckDuckGo's AI-assisted answers.
Should I block DuckAssistBot?
Blocking DuckAssistBot makes your business invisible to DuckDuckGo's AI when customers ask it for recommendations. If you want to be found, allow it; block it only if you have a specific reason to keep DuckDuckGo's AI away from your content..
Does DuckAssistBot run JavaScript?
No. DuckAssistBot, like most AI crawlers, reads raw HTML without executing JavaScript. If your content only renders client-side, it is effectively invisible to it.