See it on a real storeBots, pages and people sent by AI on an example store. No sign-up.AI training, run by Allen Institute for AI.
What is AI2Bot? Allen Institute for AI's crawler that collects AI training data. It can't be verified beyond its name.
Run by Allen Institute for AI.
Purpose: AI training. A visit means your content is being collected, possibly for training.
robots.txt name: AI2Bot.
Name only: no published list to check a visit against.
At a glance, the facts in one table.
AI2Bot at a glance. Taken from SenseGap's open bot directory, the same data that sorts every visit in the dashboard.
All bots| AI2Bot | |
|---|---|
| Operator | Allen Institute for AI |
| Purpose | AI training |
| User agent contains | AI2Bot |
| robots.txt name | AI2Bot |
| Verification | Name only |
| Documentation | None listed |
Purpose, what it does and why it came.
What AI2Bot does. SenseGap sorts every visit by purpose. AI2Bot is in the AI training group.
AI2Bot is Allen Institute for AI's crawler that collects web content that may be used to train AI models.
What a visit means
A visit means your content is being collected, possibly for training. Nobody asked about you; training crawlers read the web in bulk and don't link back.
Training crawls say nothing about what people ask right now. SenseGap keeps them apart from visits made while answering a person, so a crawl spike never looks like demand.
Detection, the header SenseGap matches.
How SenseGap recognizes AI2Bot. By its User-Agent header. A separate check then decides whether the visit is real.
Every request carries a User-Agent header naming the software that sent it. SenseGap counts a request as AI2Bot when that header contains AI2Bot, in any letter case. The header is plain text, so any script can copy it. Matching the name is where recognition starts, not where trust starts.
/AI2Bot/iVerification, how to tell a real visit from a fake.
AI2Bot can't be fully verified. SenseGap knows of no published IP ranges or DNS names for it, so the name is all there is.
How we verify botsNot beyond the user agent. SenseGap knows of no published IP ranges or DNS names for AI2Bot, so anyone can send its name. SenseGap marks these visits Unverified rather than calling them real.
robots.txt, rules you can copy.
Block or allow AI2Bot in robots.txt. Its robots.txt name is AI2Bot. Paste a group into the robots.txt at your site's root.
User-agent: AI2Bot
Disallow: /User-agent: AI2Bot
Allow: /User-agent: AI2Bot
Disallow: /private/One rule catches people out. Under the robots.txt standard (RFC 9309), a crawler that finds a group naming it follows only that group and ignores your User-agent: * rules. If you add a AI2Bot group, repeat in it anything from the catch-all group you still want applied.
robots.txt is a request, not a lock. To enforce a block, match the User-Agent header at your server or CDN. In nginx:
# nginx, inside a server block
if ($http_user_agent ~* "AI2Bot") {
return 403;
}SenseGap reads your robots.txt and shows, bot by bot, what you allow and which bots fetched pages you disallowed. See what you get.
Trade-off, what blocking changes.
Should you block AI2Bot? It depends on what you want from Allen Institute for AI. Here is what each choice means.
If you allow it
Future models may learn from your content, so they know your products, prices and wording.
If you block it
New content stops reaching that company's training data. It doesn't remove what was already collected, and because training crawlers don't send visitors, it costs no clicks directly.
AI training, other bots with the same job.
Other AI training crawlers. Same purpose, different companies.
Browse the directoryFAQ, AI2Bot in short answers.
AI2Bot, answered plainly
What is AI2Bot?
AI2Bot is Allen Institute for AI's crawler that collects web content that may be used to train AI models.
Who runs AI2Bot?
Allen Institute for AI. SenseGap's directory has no documentation link for it yet.
What does a visit from AI2Bot mean?
A visit means your content is being collected, possibly for training. Nobody asked about you; training crawlers read the web in bulk and don't link back.
What user agent does AI2Bot use?
Its User-Agent header contains "AI2Bot". SenseGap matches it regardless of letter case.
How do I block AI2Bot?
Add "User-agent: AI2Bot" followed by "Disallow: /" to your robots.txt. robots.txt is a request, not a lock; to enforce it, block the user agent at your server or CDN.
Can I verify that a visit is really AI2Bot?
Not beyond the user agent. SenseGap knows of no published IP ranges or DNS names for AI2Bot, so anyone can send its name. SenseGap marks these visits Unverified rather than calling them real.
Does Allen Institute for AI publish IP ranges for AI2Bot?
No. SenseGap knows of no published list of addresses for AI2Bot.
What happens if I block AI2Bot?
New content stops reaching that company's training data. It doesn't remove what was already collected, and because training crawlers don't send visitors, it costs no clicks directly.