DuckAssistBot: user agent, IP ranges and robots.txt

DuckAssistBot crawls pages in real time for DuckDuckGo's AI-assisted answers, which cite their sources. DuckDuckGo says the data isn't used to train AI models.

Operator
DuckDuckGo
Type
AI search · Indexes pages so an assistant can cite them in answers
robots.txt token
DuckAssistBot
Follows robots.txt
Yes
IP list
https://duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.json
Official docs
duckduckgo.com

DuckAssistBot user agent

User agent

DuckAssistBot/1.2; (+http://duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.html)

How to block or allow DuckAssistBot in robots.txt

Disallow DuckAssistBot in robots.txt to opt out; DuckDuckGo says changes take effect after 72 hours.

Block DuckAssistBot

User-agent: DuckAssistBot
Disallow: /

Allow DuckAssistBot

User-agent: DuckAssistBot
Allow: /

Put the rules in /robots.txt at the root of each host. Check the result with our AI Crawler Checker, which also catches firewall and CDN blocks that robots.txt doesn't show.

Should you block DuckAssistBot?

Allow it: it isn't a training crawler, and DuckAssist answers link to their sources.

How to verify real DuckAssistBot traffic

Check the request IP against DuckDuckGo's published list.

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To check every request in your server log at once, use the free AI Bot Log Analyzer. It runs in your browser and flags requests that use a bot's name from outside its official IP list.

Frequently asked questions

What is DuckAssistBot?

DuckAssistBot crawls pages in real time for DuckDuckGo's AI-assisted answers, which cite their sources. DuckDuckGo says the data isn't used to train AI models.

How do I block DuckAssistBot?

Add "User-agent: DuckAssistBot" followed by "Disallow: /" to your robots.txt. To block only part of the site, disallow those paths instead of "/". Disallow DuckAssistBot in robots.txt to opt out; DuckDuckGo says changes take effect after 72 hours.

Is a request claiming to be DuckAssistBot really from DuckDuckGo?

Not necessarily: anyone can copy a user agent. Check the request IP against DuckDuckGo's published list.

Checked against DuckDuckGo's documentation on 2026-11-06. Vendors change user agents and policies, so confirm in the official docs before relying on them.

Related crawlers

Is DuckAssistBot allowed on your site?

The free AI Crawler Checker tests robots.txt and firewall rules for 14 AI crawlers in one run.

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