Perplexity-User user agent: what it is and how it behaves
Perplexity-User is the Perplexity user agent that visits a web page when a user asks a question and the page may help answer it. Its token is Perplexity-User. Perplexity says it generally ignores robots.txt because the fetch is user-requested, and is not used for web crawling or collecting training content.
| Operator | Perplexity, for Perplexity |
|---|---|
| Purpose | User-triggered |
| robots.txt token | Perplexity-User |
| User agent | Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Perplexity-User/1.0; +https://perplexity.ai/perplexity-user) |
| Follows robots.txt | No. Perplexity says Perplexity-User generally ignores robots.txt rules because a user requested the fetch. |
| Runs JavaScript | Not documented |
| IP ranges | Published list |
| Documentation | Perplexity |
What Perplexity-User does
Perplexity-User supports user actions within Perplexity. When a user asks a question, it may visit a page to help answer and link to that page. Perplexity says it is not used for web crawling or for collecting training content.
Should you block Perplexity-User?
Allow Perplexity-User at the firewall level so Perplexity can open your pages when users ask about them, and do not expect robots.txt to stop it. Perplexity says robots.txt rules are generally ignored by Perplexity-User because the fetch is user-requested, so a robots.txt block is not a reliable control. A WAF or firewall rule can stop it, using the published IP list.
User-agent: Perplexity-User
Allow: /User-agent: Perplexity-User
Disallow: /robots.txt is not a reliable control for Perplexity-User. To keep content away from it, put the content behind a login or block the requests at your server or CDN.
Rules that apply
- Rule 11: Don't rely on robots.txt to stop ChatGPT-User or Perplexity-User; they fetch on a user's behalf
- Rule 01: Allow OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and Claude-SearchBot in robots.txt if you want AI citations
- Rule 03: Audit your CDN and WAF bot settings; they can block AI crawlers that robots.txt allows
Questions
What is the Perplexity-User user agent string?
Perplexity documents it as: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Perplexity-User/1.0; +https://perplexity.ai/perplexity-user). The version number may change.
Does Perplexity-User respect robots.txt?
Perplexity says it generally ignores robots.txt rules because a user requested the fetch.
Is Perplexity-User the same as PerplexityBot?
No. PerplexityBot surfaces and links websites in Perplexity search results. Perplexity-User fetches a page on demand when a user action needs it.
How can I verify Perplexity-User requests?
Perplexity publishes the source IP ranges at perplexity.ai/perplexity-user.json and says the file is the source of truth.
Sources
- Perplexity Crawlers · Perplexity
Checked against the operators' documentation every Monday. Last reviewed Nov 2, 2026.