Your Website Quietly Shutting Out ChatGPT and Claude Crawlers?

Nearly one in five of the top 100,000 websites block at least one major AI crawler, according to the article, and the brands behind those sites can end up paying for it in how they’re represented by AI answers. The piece points to self-inflicted causes: robots.txt rules, CDN settings, and legacy bot filters that prevent AI tools from accessing owned content. It also warns that gaps may be filled by third-party coverage, archived pages, or stale copies that can misrepresent a brand. OpenAI’s crawlers are cited as being blocked most often. The article argues that AI access policies need a clear owner, testing, and periodic review.