# DuckAssistBot

> Fetches pages in real time for AI-assisted answers in DuckDuckGo Search, which show their sources. DuckDuckGo says the data is not used to train AI models and opting out does not affect organic rankings.

Canonical page: https://getrankroot.com/ai-bots/duckassistbot · Facts checked against DuckDuckGo docs on 2026-10-20

| Operator | Used for | Type | Obeys robots.txt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DuckDuckGo | DuckDuckGo AI answers | AI search index | Yes |

## Should you allow it?

Allow it.

**If you block it:** Your pages stop being used in DuckDuckGo's AI-assisted answers (within about 72 hours). Organic rankings are unaffected.

DuckDuckGo says opt-outs take about 72 hours.

## robots.txt rules

Allow DuckAssistBot:

```
User-agent: DuckAssistBot
Allow: /
```

Block DuckAssistBot:

```
User-agent: DuckAssistBot
Disallow: /
```

Disallow DuckAssistBot from one folder only:

```
User-agent: DuckAssistBot
Disallow: /private/
Allow: /
```

A bot follows the most specific User-agent group that names it and ignores the generic `User-agent: *` group, so repeat any shared Disallow lines inside it.

## User agent string

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

## How to verify it's really DuckAssistBot

Find its requests in your server logs:

```
grep -i "DuckAssistBot" access.log
```

DuckDuckGo publishes DuckAssistBot's source IP addresses.

Published IP list: https://duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.json

## Common mistakes

- Writing a User-agent: DuckAssistBot group and expecting your User-agent: * rules to still apply. A crawler follows only the most specific group that matches it and ignores the others, so repeat any shared Disallow lines inside the DuckAssistBot group.
- Leaving a CDN or host "block AI bots" setting on and only checking robots.txt. Those settings block requests at the network edge. Cloudflare, for example, changed its defaults on September 15, 2026 for customers who did not opt out: bots it classifies as Training or Agent are blocked on pages that display ads, and multi-purpose crawlers that combine Search and Training are affected by the Training block.
- Trusting the user agent header alone. Anyone can send "DuckAssistBot" in a request; verify the source IP as shown above before allowlisting or blocking.

## FAQ

### What is DuckAssistBot?

Fetches pages in real time for AI-assisted answers in DuckDuckGo Search, which show their sources. DuckDuckGo says the data is not used to train AI models and opting out does not affect organic rankings.

### Does DuckAssistBot respect robots.txt?

Yes, according to DuckDuckGo.

### What happens if I block DuckAssistBot?

Your pages stop being used in DuckDuckGo's AI-assisted answers (within about 72 hours). Organic rankings are unaffected.

### Should I block DuckAssistBot?

Allow it.

## Sources

- [Official documentation from DuckDuckGo](https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/duckassistbot)
- [Published IP addresses for DuckAssistBot](https://duckduckgo.com/duckassistbot.json)

Check whether DuckAssistBot can reach a site: https://getrankroot.com/tools/ai-crawler-checker or `GET https://getrankroot.com/api/bots?url=example.com`. Full list: https://getrankroot.com/ai-bots.md