Fetches a page when someone opens a link inside ChatGPT. OpenAI states robots.txt rules may not apply because the request is user-triggered.
Safe to allow — but note robots.txt may not apply
ChatGPT-User fetches a page when a user opens a link inside ChatGPT. OpenAI documents it as a user action rather than automatic crawling, and states that robots.txt rules may not apply to it.
Blocking it does not change whether you are cited in search answers — that is OAI-SearchBot's job. What blocking breaks is the in-chat click-through experience for your links.
User-agent: ChatGPT-User Allow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User Disallow: /
OpenAI states robots.txt may not apply to this user-triggered fetch, so a Disallow here is not a guarantee of blocked access.
Official source Operator documentation — last verified against operator docs 2026-09-12
https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots
"Should you block it?" below is our own interpretation, not the operator's recommendation.
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