Perplexity is an AI-powered search engine. It searches the web the moment someone asks a question, then compiles the most relevant points into one answer. That's how Perplexity finds sources: each answer links to numbered citations pointing back to the original websites.
How Perplexity searches and cites sources
According to the Perplexity Help Center, Perplexity describes itself as "an AI-powered search engine." Its content is "sourced from the web in real-time as you ask your questions." The Perplexity Help Center also explains that Perplexity interprets the question. It pulls material from articles, websites, and journals. Then it compiles the most relevant points into one answer. Each answer includes "numbered citations linking to the original sources." Readers can check claims or click through to the website behind them.
Two crawlers with two different jobs
Perplexity operates two separate crawlers, and each one has its own role. According to Perplexity Docs, PerplexityBot is "designed to surface and link websites in search results on Perplexity." It is "not used to crawl content for AI foundation models." Perplexity recommends allowing PerplexityBot in robots.txt and permitting its published IP ranges. A robots.txt change can take up to 24 hours to apply.
Perplexity-User works differently. It handles live user requests, visiting a page to answer a question and link back to it. Because a person asked for that page directly, this bot "generally ignores robots.txt rules." Both bots publish their IP ranges in JSON files, named perplexitybot.json and perplexity-user.json. Perplexity advises matching both the user agent and the IP address in firewall rules.
Our guide to blocking AI crawlers in robots.txt covers robots.txt rules for AI crawlers. Our guide on how ChatGPT search finds websites covers how ChatGPT search finds websites.
What happens if you block PerplexityBot
If a website disallows PerplexityBot, the Perplexity Help Center says it will not index the page text. The website may still show up with its domain, headline, and a brief factual summary. Perplexity says it does not create foundation models, so content from a website is not used for model pre-training. Perplexity also relies on third-party crawlers for part of its index. It says it updated those agreements so they respect robots.txt. This applies particularly on news publisher websites.
What to check on your website
- Check that robots.txt and your firewall or content delivery network aren't blocking PerplexityBot or its published IP ranges.
- Keep service, price, and location facts in plain page text so a live fetch can read and cite them.
- Publish clear answers to the questions customers ask, since Perplexity compiles answers from the most relevant points it finds.
- Retailers with large catalogs can look at the free Merchant Program, covered below.
Programs for publishers and retailers
Perplexity offers separate programs for publishers and retailers. The Perplexity blog announced the Publishers' Program on July 30, 2024. It offered revenue share, API access, and Enterprise Pro for news and media partners such as TIME and Fortune. Interested publishers can reach the company at publishers@perplexity.ai.
On August 25, 2025, Perplexity introduced Comet Plus, a paid subscription. Perplexity says it distributes the revenue to participating publishers, minus a small share for compute. This is based on human visits, search citations, and agent actions.
For retailers, the Perplexity blog introduced the Merchant Program on November 18, 2024. It is free for large retailers that share product data, and Perplexity says fuller details improve the chance of being recommended. Product cards aren't sponsored.
Frequently asked questions
Does Perplexity use my website to train its AI models?
Perplexity says PerplexityBot is not used for AI foundation models and that it does not pre-train on website content. This applies to the search crawler, separate from Perplexity-User.
If I block PerplexityBot, will my website disappear from Perplexity completely?
Not entirely. Perplexity may still show the domain, headline, and a brief factual summary, even when the page text is blocked. Perplexity-User can also visit pages directly since it generally ignores robots.txt rules. Perplexity also uses third-party crawlers for part of its index.
How long does a robots.txt change take to apply to Perplexity?
Perplexity says changes to robots.txt can take up to 24 hours to apply. Checking the setting again the next day gives a clearer picture of whether it worked.
Can a business pay to be cited in Perplexity answers?
The Merchant Program is free to join, and Perplexity says its product cards aren't sponsored. This program is separate from Perplexity's sponsored-question ads. Retailers that join still need to share accurate product data, since Perplexity says fuller details improve the chance of being recommended.
How does Perplexity show where an answer's information came from?
Each Perplexity answer includes numbered citations that link to the original source pages. Readers can follow those links to check the information or read more.
Perplexity finds sources by searching the web as questions arrive and crediting each answer with numbered citations. Whether a website shows up depends on robots.txt rules and firewall settings for both PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User.
For help reviewing these settings alongside the rest of your website's setup, see TygerLabs' SEO, AEO and GEO services.
