Perplexity answers a question by reading the web and citing a short list of sources with numbered links. It has worked this way from the start, giving publishers credit and letting users check the work. That means a Perplexity citation is a real click back to your page. Earning one splits into two jobs: get crawled, then be worth quoting.
Perplexity runs two different crawlers
This is the part that catches people out. Perplexity documents two user agents, and they follow different rules.
- PerplexityBot builds Perplexity’s search index. Perplexity describes it as “designed to surface and link websites in search results on Perplexity,” and notes it is “not used to crawl content for AI foundation models.” It respects
robots.txt. This is the one you want to let in. - Perplexity-User fetches a live page when a user’s question sends Perplexity to it. Because it acts on a person’s request in the moment, Perplexity says it “generally ignores robots.txt rules.”
So the crawler you can influence is PerplexityBot, and the way you influence it is robots.txt.
Getting eligible
- Allow PerplexityBot in
robots.txt. If you block it, you keep yourself out of the index that Perplexity searches. See AI crawler access for how to check your rules without accidentally blocking anything you want in. - Let it through your firewall. If you run a WAF or bot-protection layer, a well-meaning security rule can quietly block the crawler even when
robots.txtallows it. Perplexity publishes its crawler IP ranges (atperplexitybot.json) precisely so you can allow them. This is a common silent failure.
Being worth quoting
Getting crawled makes you eligible. It does not make you cited. Perplexity synthesizes an answer from a handful of sources, so the contest is to be one of the clearest, most trustworthy pages on the question. Two habits do most of the work:
- Look like a source worth trusting. Real authors, original information, and linked proof. See authority and proof.
- Write so a passage can be lifted whole. Answer the question directly, keep the answer self-contained, and back it with specifics. See writing content AI can quote.
An honest note
No engine promises a citation, and Perplexity is no exception. Allowing the crawler and writing quotable pages removes the reasons to skip you and gives it reasons to choose you; it cannot guarantee the pick.
Where to start
Check two things first, because they are the gate: your robots.txt for PerplexityBot, and your firewall allowlist for Perplexity’s published IPs. Your Free Scan report checks AI crawler access, which is the fastest way to catch a block you did not know was there.