Knocklog

Meta-WebIndexer

Meta's AI search crawler.

Operator
Meta
Type
AI search crawler
In the user agent
meta-webindexer
robots.txt token
meta-webindexer
Follows robots.txt
says it follows robots.txt
Official documentation
developers.facebook.com
Checked on
2026-11-04

What is Meta-WebIndexer?

Meta-WebIndexer is Meta's AI search crawler. It builds the index an AI assistant searches when it answers. If it cannot read your pages, the assistant cannot cite or recommend them.

The operator's description: Analyzes content to improve Meta AI search results and citations. (developers.facebook.com)

How do I block or allow Meta-WebIndexer?

With robots.txt, using the token meta-webindexer. Meta says it follows robots.txt. To block the whole site:

User-agent: meta-webindexer
Disallow: /

To allow it, use Allow instead of Disallow. Before blocking, weigh what it brings: without it, the assistant cannot find your pages to cite or recommend them.

How do I see whether Meta-WebIndexer visits my site?

In your server or CDN access logs, look for meta-webindexer in the user agent. Google Analytics does not show these visits: agents do not run its JavaScript.

Anyone can copy the name in a user agent, so counting log lines is not enough. Knocklog reads your site's traffic on any host, confirms who is who, and shows how often Meta-WebIndexer came, which pages it read and what that brought you.

How do I know it is really Meta-WebIndexer?

Meta does not publish a way to verify Meta-WebIndexer. Any program can use that name, so Knocklog shows these visits as “unverified”, never as genuine.

Does Meta-WebIndexer visit your site?

See in seconds how your site treats AI agents. Then connect your traffic to learn who really came.

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