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Search Crawler

Applebot

Operated by Apple · Powers Siri, Spotlight & Safari

✓ GEO Recommendation: Keep Open

Applebot crawls the web to power search technology across Apple's ecosystem, including Spotlight, Siri, and Safari. Apple states data crawled by Applebot may also help train Apple's generative AI foundation models — a use publishers can separately control via Applebot-Extended.

Owner
Apple
Trigger
Automated crawl
Used for AI Training
May be used — controlled separately via Applebot-Extended
robots.txt control
Yes
Impact if blocked
Blocking Applebot can prevent website content from being crawled for Apple search experiences such as Spotlight, Siri, and Safari
How to identify
User-Agent: Applebot

What it does

The data crawled by Applebot powers the search technology integrated into many Apple experiences, including Spotlight, Siri, and Safari. Enabling Applebot in robots.txt allows website content to appear in these products for Apple users.

Apple states data crawled by Applebot may also help train Apple foundation models powering generative AI features, including Apple Intelligence. Whether that use is allowed is controlled separately, by the Applebot-Extended token.

Why we recommend keeping it open

  • Needed for content to be crawled for Spotlight, Siri, and Safari Suggestions
  • Apple Intelligence training use is controlled separately via Applebot-Extended, so blocking Applebot is not required just to opt out of that
  • Apple's documentation is explicit that these controls don't override one another

Identification & robots.txt

User-Agent identifier
Applebot
Verification

Additional verification information is available in Apple's official documentation.

Robots.txt guidance — Allow rule
User-agent: Applebot Allow: /