See it on a real storeBots, pages and people sent by AI on an example store. No sign-up.AI search index, run by You.com.
What is YouBot? You.com's crawler for AI search answers. It can't be verified beyond its name.
Run by You.com.
Purpose: AI search index. A visit means your page is being added to, or refreshed in, an index that AI answers draw on.
robots.txt name: YouBot.
Name only: no published list to check a visit against.
At a glance, the facts in one table.
YouBot at a glance. Taken from SenseGap's open bot directory, the same data that sorts every visit in the dashboard.
All bots| YouBot | |
|---|---|
| Operator | You.com |
| Purpose | AI search index |
| User agent contains | YouBot |
| robots.txt name | YouBot |
| Verification | Name only |
| Documentation | None listed |
Purpose, what it does and why it came.
What YouBot does. SenseGap sorts every visit by purpose. YouBot is in the AI search index group.
YouBot is You.com's crawler that builds the index You.com uses to find pages for AI search answers.
What a visit means
A visit means your page is being added to, or refreshed in, an index that AI answers draw on. Nobody asked a question at that moment; it is preparation for future answers.
Detection, the header SenseGap matches.
How SenseGap recognizes YouBot. 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 YouBot when that header contains YouBot, 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.
/YouBot/iVerification, how to tell a real visit from a fake.
YouBot 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 YouBot, 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 YouBot in robots.txt. Its robots.txt name is YouBot. Paste a group into the robots.txt at your site's root.
User-agent: YouBot
Disallow: /User-agent: YouBot
Allow: /User-agent: YouBot
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 YouBot 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 ~* "YouBot") {
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 YouBot? It depends on what you want from You.com. Here is what each choice means.
If you allow it
Your pages can be found, cited and linked in that company's AI answers.
If you block it
Your pages become less likely to appear, or to be described accurately, in that company's AI answers.
AI search index, other bots with the same job.
Other AI search crawlers. Same purpose, different companies.
Browse the directoryFAQ, YouBot in short answers.
YouBot, answered plainly
What is YouBot?
YouBot is You.com's crawler that builds the index You.com uses to find pages for AI search answers.
Who runs YouBot?
You.com. SenseGap's directory has no documentation link for it yet.
What does a visit from YouBot mean?
A visit means your page is being added to, or refreshed in, an index that AI answers draw on. Nobody asked a question at that moment; it is preparation for future answers.
What user agent does YouBot use?
Its User-Agent header contains "YouBot". SenseGap matches it regardless of letter case.
How do I block YouBot?
Add "User-agent: YouBot" 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 YouBot?
Not beyond the user agent. SenseGap knows of no published IP ranges or DNS names for YouBot, so anyone can send its name. SenseGap marks these visits Unverified rather than calling them real.
Does You.com publish IP ranges for YouBot?
No. SenseGap knows of no published list of addresses for YouBot.
What happens if I block YouBot?
Your pages become less likely to appear, or to be described accurately, in that company's AI answers.