Usually, yes. Squarespace leaves AI crawlers allowed unless you tick "Block known artificial intelligence crawlers" in Settings, then Crawlers. That box asks 26 named bots to stay away, mostly ones that collect training data, such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot and Google-Extended. It does not list OAI-SearchBot, which ChatGPT search uses, PerplexityBot or Googlebot, so ticking it does not ask ChatGPT search, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews to leave. Checked October 2026.
Can ChatGPT see a Squarespace website?
Yes, unless you have told it not to. A public Squarespace site can be read by any crawler that visits, and Squarespace does not add any AI exclusions unless you ask it to. ChatGPT's search feature uses a crawler called OAI-SearchBot to find sites to show in its answers, and Squarespace's AI setting does not block it.
Being readable is not the same as being recommended. Nothing in these settings makes an AI tool mention your business. They only decide whether the door is open.
Where is the AI crawler setting in Squarespace?
Open the Settings panel and click Crawlers. There are two boxes there, and they do very different jobs (Request that AI models exclude your site):
- Block known artificial intelligence crawlers. Adds a "do not crawl" request to your site's robots.txt file for a named list of AI bots. It is unticked by default.
- Block Search engine crawlers. Adds a rule asking every crawler to stay out of the whole site, so search engines stop indexing it (Hiding your site from search results). Leave this unticked on any site you want people to find.
Squarespace is clear about the limits of the AI box. It is a request, not a lock, and Squarespace says malicious crawlers may ignore it. It does not remove content collected before you ticked it, and it cannot be set page by page.
Which bots does Squarespace's AI setting block?
When I checked in October 2026, Squarespace's help page listed 26: AI2Bot, Ai2Bot-Dolma, aiHitBot, Amazonbot, anthropic-ai, Applebot-Extended, Bytespider, CCBot, ClaudeBot, cohere-ai, cohere-training-data-crawler, DuckAssistBot, FacebookBot, Google-Extended, GoogleOther, GoogleOther-Image, GoogleOther-Video, GPTBot, img2dataset, Meta-ExternalAgent, MyCentralAIScraperBot, omgili, omgilibot, Quora-Bot, TikTokSpider and YouBot.
Squarespace says it may add more as things change. The bots that matter most for AI search are the ones not on the list: OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User from OpenAI, PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User, Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User from Anthropic, and Googlebot.
Some bots read your site to train a model. Others read it to answer a question.
What is the difference between AI training bots and AI search bots?
A training bot collects pages that may be used to build future AI models. A search bot reads pages so the tool can find, quote and link to them when someone asks a question. Blocking one does not block the other.
| Bot | Company | What it is for | In Squarespace's AI list? | What blocking it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPTBot | OpenAI | Content that may be used to train its models | Yes | Says your content should not be used for training |
| OAI-SearchBot | OpenAI | Showing sites in ChatGPT search | No | Your site is not shown in ChatGPT search answers |
| Google-Extended | Training future Gemini models, and grounding in some of Google's other systems | Yes | No effect on Google Search inclusion or ranking | |
| Googlebot | Google Search, which AI Overviews and AI Mode draw on | No | Stops Google crawling your site for Search | |
| ClaudeBot | Anthropic | Content that could be used for training | Yes | Future content is excluded from training |
| Claude-SearchBot | Anthropic | Improving Claude's search results | No | Stops your content being indexed for Claude's search |
| PerplexityBot | Perplexity | Showing and linking sites in Perplexity's results; not used for training | No | Perplexity recommends allowing it if you want to appear |
| DuckAssistBot | DuckDuckGo | Real-time crawling for DuckDuckGo's AI answers; not used for training | Yes | DuckDuckGo says it does not affect normal search rankings |
Sources: OpenAI crawlers, Google's common crawlers, Anthropic's crawlers, Perplexity crawlers and DuckAssistBot.
There are also user bots, such as ChatGPT-User, Claude-User and Perplexity-User, which fetch a page when someone asks about it. OpenAI says robots.txt rules may not apply to ChatGPT-User, and Perplexity says Perplexity-User generally ignores them, because a person asked for the page.
So ticking Squarespace's box mostly opts you out of training, along with DuckDuckGo's AI answers. It does not ask ChatGPT search, Perplexity or Claude's search to leave.
How do you keep a site out of Google's AI Overviews?
Not through Squarespace. Google says the robots.txt rules for Googlebot are the control site owners have over AI Overviews and AI Mode, and that there are no extra technical requirements to appear beyond being indexed and eligible for a snippet (AI features and your website). Blocking Google-Extended does not change this.
Google's own control is in Search Console, under Settings, then Search generative AI. Google says it rolled this out to all websites on 31 August 2026. Excluding a site means no traffic or impressions from AI Overviews, AI Mode or the AI features in Discover. Google says the site still appears in ordinary results, and the setting is not used as a ranking signal (Search generative AI control).
Should you block AI crawlers on your Squarespace site?
It depends what you want from them. They are two separate questions:
- Do you want AI tools to find and recommend you? Then leave the search bots and Googlebot allowed. On Squarespace, that is the default.
- Do you mind your words and images being used to train AI models? If you do, ticking the box sends that request to the training bots on Squarespace's list, without asking ChatGPT search or Perplexity to stay away.
For most service businesses that want enquiries, I recommend leaving the search side open and deciding on training as a matter of principle. Photographers, illustrators and writers whose work is the product may reasonably feel differently. Either way, it is a request that well-behaved bots follow, not a guarantee.
What should a Squarespace owner check?
- Open Settings, then Crawlers. Make sure "Block Search engine crawlers" is unticked unless you mean to hide the whole site.
- Decide on "Block known artificial intelligence crawlers", knowing it covers training bots and DuckDuckGo's AI answers, not ChatGPT search or Perplexity.
- Visit yourdomain.com/robots.txt in a browser to see what your site is asking crawlers to do.
- Check the SEO tab in each important page's settings, and make sure "Hide page from search results" is off on pages you want found.
- Verify your site in Google Search Console, and check Settings, then Search generative AI, is set the way you want.
- Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini to describe your business, and note what they get right and wrong. Squarespace suggests this test, and shows AI traffic under Traffic Sources in the Analytics panel (Optimise your site for AI-powered search engines).
- Write pages that answer the questions customers ask, in plain words with clear headings. That helps people as much as it helps machines.
- Check again every few months. The bot lists and the settings both change.
Questions people also ask
Does Squarespace block AI crawlers by default?
No. The "Block known artificial intelligence crawlers" box is unticked by default. Squarespace says this is so a site is not dropped from chat answers and sources without the owner choosing it.
Does blocking GPTBot remove my site from ChatGPT?
Not from ChatGPT search. OpenAI says GPTBot collects content that may be used to train its models, and OAI-SearchBot is the one used to show sites in ChatGPT search. OpenAI says each setting is independent.
Will ticking the box remove my content from AI models that already have it?
No. Squarespace says the setting does not remove content that was collected before you ticked it.
Can I block AI crawlers on some pages only?
Not with this setting. Squarespace says it is not currently possible to ask AI crawlers to skip only certain pages. A page you want no crawler to see needs to be private, for example behind a password.
Sophie is an independent designer based in the UK and the founder of S Evans Design, working across brand, web and product for founders and brand teams. Her career work includes projects for Arsenal, DreamWorks, BBC, Sky, Channel 4, Barclays and the NHS, and she is a Squarespace Circle Gold partner. More about Sophie.
