In today's episode, Andrew Laws dives into a highly pertinent topic: whether or not to block AI crawlers from indexing your website. Starting off with a fundamental explanation of what crawling involves—essentially, search engines sending out bots to gather data from websites—Andrew discusses the conventional reasons why some might choose to restrict these digital explorers, including privacy concerns and control over content dissemination.

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However, Andrew argues against blocking these bots, particularly AI crawlers. He explains that allowing AI to index your site could bolster brand awareness and drive traffic, as AI's role in digital search evolves. Despite the fear that AI might misuse the gathered content, Andrew sees little evidence of such risks and suggests that enabling AI indexing might contribute positively to the internet's future.

Highlighting the significance of staying current with technological advances, he reflects on insights from a recent conference, emphasising the potential pitfalls of ignoring AI developments.

Conclusion: While the decision remains personal, Andrew leans towards keeping your website open to AI crawlers, viewing it as a step forward in harnessing AI's potential for positive impact.

Further Reading: Check the show notes for links to a detailed Moz article on this topic and more insights from the BizEx conference.

Connect: Join the discussion or reach out via yeseo.io or Andrew Laws on LinkedIn.

Further reading - https://moz.com/blog/who-should-block-ai-bots