Meta · Search crawler guide
Meta-WebIndexer: who runs it and how to allow or block it
Meta-WebIndexer navigates the web to improve Meta AI search result quality for users. Meta states that allowing it in robots.txt helps Meta cite and link to your content in Meta AI's responses.
Meta-WebIndexer at a glance
- Operator
- Meta
- Purpose
- Search It builds the search index behind AI answers.
- Kind
- Crawler. Visits your pages under its own user agent and reads the robots.txt group that names Meta-WebIndexer.
- What it feeds
- Meta AI search results
- What Meta says about robots.txt
- Meta documents a robots.txt disallow rule as the way to block Meta-WebIndexer and notes its crawlers may cache robots.txt for up to 24 hours.
- User agent string
meta-webindexer/1.1- Verified
- against Meta's official docs (opens in a new tab).
robots.txt lines
Allow or block Meta-WebIndexer.
Paste one group into the robots.txt at the root of your domain. A group that names Meta-WebIndexer replaces your * group for Meta-WebIndexer, so copy any * Disallow lines you still want applied into it.
User-agent: Meta-WebIndexer
Allow: /
User-agent: Meta-WebIndexer
Disallow: /
# AI crawler access, generated by Suede AI Agent Studio
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /
User-agent: Claude-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Claude-User
Allow: /
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Perplexity-User
Allow: /
User-agent: Amzn-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Amzn-User
Allow: /
User-agent: Meta-WebIndexer
Allow: /
User-agent: Meta-ExternalFetcher
Allow: /
Opens Meta-WebIndexer together with the other crawlers behind live answers in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Alexa and Meta AI, in one paste.
Precedence
How Meta-WebIndexer reads your robots.txt
Major crawlers apply the robots.txt standard (RFC 9309) the same way. Three rules decide every path.
- A named group beats *. When a group says
User-agent: Meta-WebIndexer, Meta-WebIndexer follows that group and ignores the * group entirely. With no named group, the * group applies; with neither, every path is allowed. - The longest matching rule wins. Inside the group, the Allow or Disallow line with the longest matching path decides, so
Allow: /checkout/helpoverridesDisallow: /checkoutfor the help pages.*matches any run of characters and$marks the end of the path. - Allow wins a tie. When an Allow and a Disallow match with the same length, the path is allowed.
User-agent: *
Disallow: /
User-agent: Meta-WebIndexer
Disallow: /checkout
Allow: /checkout/help
Disallow: /*.pdf$
| Path | Result | Deciding rule |
|---|---|---|
/ | Allowed | No rule in the Meta-WebIndexer group matches, so it is allowed |
/checkout/cart | Blocked | line 5: Disallow: /checkout |
/checkout/help | Allowed | line 6: Allow: /checkout/help |
/menu.pdf | Blocked | line 7: Disallow: /*.pdf$ |
Line 2 still blocks every crawler without a group of its own. Meta-WebIndexer reads only lines 4 to 7, which is why the homepage stays open to it.
Your site
See which line decides Meta-WebIndexer on your site.
FAQ
Meta-WebIndexer, answered.
What is Meta-WebIndexer?
Meta-WebIndexer navigates the web to improve Meta AI search result quality for users. Meta states that allowing it in robots.txt helps Meta cite and link to your content in Meta AI's responses. Meta-WebIndexer is run by Meta and builds the search index behind AI answers.
How do I allow Meta-WebIndexer in robots.txt?
Add a group that names it: a line reading "User-agent: Meta-WebIndexer" followed by "Allow: /". A group that names Meta-WebIndexer replaces your * group for Meta-WebIndexer, so repeat any Disallow lines from your * group that should still apply to it. To block it instead, use "Disallow: /" in that group.
Does blocking Meta-WebIndexer remove me from Meta AI search results?
It can. Meta-WebIndexer builds the index behind Meta AI search results, so blocking it keeps your pages out of that index and out of the answers drawn from it. Meta documents a robots.txt disallow rule as the way to block Meta-WebIndexer and notes its crawlers may cache robots.txt for up to 24 hours.
Related crawlers
Crawlers to set alongside it.
Every crawler, its operator and its docs are in the full AI crawler list.
Last updated .
Keep Meta-WebIndexer where you want it. Every Monday.
Run the free check for the full crawler table and ranked fixes, unlock the $9.99 fix kit for paste-ready files, then let the AI Visibility Watch template read your robots.txt weekly and flag any answer bot that becomes blocked.