AI crawlers / DuckAssistBot
DuckAssistBot: what it is and how to block or charge it
DuckAssistBot is run by DuckDuckGo. Fetches pages for DuckAssist, DuckDuckGo's AI-generated answers.
| Operator | DuckDuckGo |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Fetches pages live when a user asks |
| User-agent contains | DuckAssistBot |
| Official IP list | duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.json (486 ranges). Verify an address |
Block DuckAssistBot in robots.txt
User-agent: DuckAssistBot
Disallow: /robots.txt is a request, not a lock: well-behaved crawlers follow it. To block by user agent at the server, match DuckAssistBot in the User-Agent header.
Or charge DuckAssistBot per page
Instead of blocking it, answer DuckAssistBot with HTTP 402 Payment Required and a price. Crawlers and agents that support x402 pay a fraction of a cent in USDC straight to your wallet and get the page; people and search engines browse free. Set it up free on pay-per-crawl in about five minutes.
Is DuckAssistBot reading your site?
See the full list of AI crawlers. Facts here follow each operator's own documentation; tell us if one changes.