Developer Relations: Unblock AI Crawlers from Your Website
How developer relations can identify and solve the problem of ai crawlers blocked by robots.txt. Role-specific strategies and action items.
Why This Matters for Developer Relations
For Developer Relations, your robots.txt is preventing AI systems from accessing your content. This simple fix can dramatically improve your AI visibility. This directly impacts your ability to succeed in your role as AI becomes a primary discovery channel.
Signs Developer Relations Should Recognize
AI crawlers can't access your content
Robots.txt configuration blocks AI bots
Technical setup prevents AI discovery
No AI-referred traffic due to crawler blocks
Solutions for Developer Relations
Strategies tailored for developer relations:
Add explicit allow rules for GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot
Review and update robots.txt to allow AI crawlers
Remove overly broad disallow rules
Test robots.txt with Google's testing tool
Monitor server logs to confirm AI crawlers are accessing your site
Consider creating an llms.txt file for AI-specific guidance
Action Items for Developer Relations
Start with these concrete steps:
Test how AI coding assistants describe your tool
Add SoftwareApplication schema to documentation
Create a "Why choose [tool]" page with clear differentiation
Structure tutorials with clear step-by-step formatting
Include use case examples AI can reference
Helpful Resources
Developer Relations Guide
Complete guide for developer relations