ChatGPT-User: purpose, robots.txt rules and access checks
ChatGPT-User fetches pages for certain actions a person requests in ChatGPT. A server block can prevent an on-demand fetch. This agent does not control ChatGPT search inclusion.
Aditya R. Singh maintains Let The Bots In, a technical AI-readiness scanner and reference site.
Technical reference
| Operator | OpenAI |
|---|---|
| Class | User-triggered browsing |
| HTTP User-Agent | Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko); compatible; ChatGPT-User/1.0; +https://openai.com/bot |
| Citation impact | A server block can prevent an on-demand fetch. This agent does not control ChatGPT search inclusion. |
| IP verification | Official IP ranges or verification reference |
Header versions can change. Use the product token for robots.txt matching and consult the OpenAI crawler documentation before changing enforcement. Reference checked on 18 October 2026.
OpenAI says robots.txt rules may not apply to these user-initiated requests.
How do I allow ChatGPT-User?
Merge this group into the robots.txt served from the page's origin. Keep any path exclusions that still apply. A named group may stop inheriting the wildcard group's exclusions.
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /Allow retrieval and block training
This example separates the operator's documented identities where possible. It changes crawl or data-use preferences; it does not grant server access. User-triggered agents may follow a different robots.txt policy.
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /Use the interactive robots.txt builder for a per-bot policy. Test the final file against the exact page path before deploying it.
What if the CDN returns HTTP 403?
A robots.txt allow rule cannot override an HTTP 403, a login gate or a JavaScript challenge. Compare the returned body with the public page and locate the request in CDN security events. Grant an exception only after verifying the sender, scoped to the affected public routes.
The scanner uses its own network. A successful header probe does not verify OpenAI access, and a refused probe does not establish a vendor-wide block. See the WAF troubleshooting guide.
Check your site's rules for ChatGPT-User
Frequently asked questions
What does ChatGPT-User do?
OpenAI operates ChatGPT-User. ChatGPT-User fetches pages for certain actions a person requests in ChatGPT.
Does blocking ChatGPT-User affect citations?
A server block can prevent an on-demand fetch. This agent does not control ChatGPT search inclusion.
How do I verify a ChatGPT-User request?
Use the operator's published verification reference linked on this page. Match the source IP, not just the User-Agent header. A scanner probe comes from its own network.
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