Agent Grade / AI bots by site / bbc.com
Does bbc.com block ChatGPT?
bbc.com is open to Google but blocks ChatGPT search, Perplexity. ChatGPT search is blocked, and OpenAI's training bot is blocked. From its public robots.txt, checked 23 to 24 October 2026. It ranks #213 on the Tranco list of top sites.
| Bot | What it does | Home page | Deciding rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Googlebot | Google Search | Allowed | no rule blocks it |
| Bingbot | Bing / Copilot | Allowed | no rule blocks it |
| OAI-SearchBot | ChatGPT search | Blocked | User-agent: OAI-SearchBot / Disallow: / |
| ChatGPT-User | ChatGPT (user asks) | Blocked | User-agent: ChatGPT-User / Disallow: / |
| GPTBot | OpenAI training | Blocked | User-agent: GPTBot / Disallow: / |
| Claude-SearchBot | Claude search | Allowed | no rule blocks it |
| Claude-User | Claude (user asks) | Allowed | no rule blocks it |
| ClaudeBot | Anthropic training | Blocked | User-agent: ClaudeBot / Disallow: / |
| PerplexityBot | Perplexity search | Blocked | User-agent: PerplexityBot / Disallow: / |
| Perplexity-User | Perplexity (user asks) | Blocked | User-agent: Perplexity-User / Disallow: / |
| Google-Extended | Gemini training | Blocked | User-agent: Google-Extended / Disallow: / |
| Applebot-Extended | Apple AI training | Blocked | User-agent: Applebot-Extended / Disallow: / |
| CCBot | Common Crawl | Blocked | User-agent: CCBot / Disallow: / |
| meta-externalagent | Meta AI | Blocked | User-agent: meta-externalagent / Disallow: / |
| Bytespider | ByteDance | Blocked | User-agent: Bytespider / Disallow: / |
"Blanket rule": bbc.com never names that bot; a rule for every bot (User-agent: *) applies. llms.txt: No. robots.txt is what a site asks bots to do; some sites also block bots at the network edge.
Questions
Does bbc.com block ChatGPT search?
Yes. bbc.com's robots.txt keeps OAI-SearchBot, the crawler behind ChatGPT search, off its home page (User-agent: OAI-SearchBot / Disallow: /), as checked 23 to 24 October 2026.
Does bbc.com block GPTBot?
Yes. bbc.com blocks GPTBot, OpenAI's training crawler (User-agent: GPTBot / Disallow: /).
Does bbc.com block Claude?
ClaudeBot (Anthropic training): blocked. Claude-SearchBot (Claude search): allowed. Claude-User (fetches for a person): allowed.
Does bbc.com have an llms.txt file?
We did not find an llms.txt file on bbc.com, or its robots.txt did not allow us to fetch it.
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