Squarespace AI crawler blocking and llms.txt: what to turn on

What the AI crawler checkbox does

The setting is in Settings > Crawlers. When you check Block known artificial intelligence crawlers, Squarespace adds lines to your robots.txt asking these bots not to crawl your site (Squarespace: request that AI models exclude your site, checked October 2026):

• AI2Bot, Ai2Bot-Dolma, aiHitBot, Amazonbot, anthropic-ai, Applebot-Extended, Bytespider, CCBot, ClaudeBot, cohere-ai, cohere-training-data-crawler, DuckAssistBot, FacebookBot, Google-Extended, GoogleOther, GoogleOther-Image, GoogleOther-Video, GPTBot, img2dataset, Meta-ExternalAgent, MyCentralAIScraperBot, omgili, omgilibot, Quora-Bot, TikTokSpider, YouBot.

Squarespace says it may add more bots over time. Two things to know:

1. robots.txt is a request. Well-behaved bots follow it. Others may not.
2. It is all or nothing. You cannot pick bots one by one, because Squarespace's robots.txt cannot be edited.

Which AI bots the setting blocks, and which it does not

The list targets bots that collect training data. Several search and user bots are not on it:

Sources: OpenAI: bots, Perplexity crawlers.

So turning the box on mainly keeps your text out of training data. ChatGPT search and Perplexity can still find and cite you.

Does it affect Google Search?

No. Google says Google-Extended controls whether your content is used for Gemini models, and that it "does not impact a site's inclusion in Google Search nor is it used as a ranking signal" (Google's common crawlers). Googlebot, which crawls for Search and AI Overviews, is not on the list.

GoogleOther is used by Google teams for research and is not Search either. Blocking it has no effect on rankings.

How to decide

For most businesses that want customers, the default is right.

llms.txt on Squarespace

An llms.txt file is a plain Markdown summary of your most important pages, meant for AI assistants. On version 7.1, open the SEO/AI Visibility panel, click SEO Settings, then the LLMS.txt tab. It is off by default. Adding text to the field turns it on (Squarespace: create an llms.txt file).

Is it worth it? It takes 15 minutes and does no harm. But be realistic: Google says you do not need any special file to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode (Google: AI features and your website). A short llms.txt with your services, prices, location and key pages is fine. Do not expect it to change rankings.

The AI Visibility checker

The same panel has an AI Visibility tool. Click Check results to see how your business shows up for branded and non-branded prompts. Use it as a rough signal, and run it again after you change pages.

What actually gets you cited

The settings above only allow or refuse access. What gets a business named in AI answers is the same work that earns Google clicks:

1. Pages that answer questions plainly. A two or three sentence answer at the top, then details.
2. Facts that match everywhere. Name, address, phone, prices and hours the same on your site, Google Business Profile and directories.
3. Clear structure. Headings, lists, tables and a short FAQ on service pages.
4. Being indexed. If Google cannot index a page, AI Overviews cannot use it. Check Search Console first.