What Is Applebot-Extended?
Applebot-Extended is Apple's robots.txt control token for AI training. Like Google-Extended, it is not a crawler— it is a permission signal that governs whether content Apple has already crawled may be used to train Apple's generative models. The base crawler, Applebot, is a separate agent.
Applebot vs. Applebot-Extended
Apple has crawled the web for years with Applebot, the agent that powers search-oriented features such as Siri suggestions and Spotlight. Applebot-Extended arrived as a distinct control specifically for the AI-training era. It does not fetch pages itself; instead, it lets you say whether the content Applebot already gathers can be used to train Apple's generative models. In practice, that means two independent levers: one for whether Apple can crawl you for search features, and one for whether that crawled content may feed AI training.
As of mid-2026, Apple documents Applebot-Extended and states that it respects the directive. Because token names and behaviors continue to evolve across the industry, confirm the current details in Apple's official Applebot documentation before relying on a rule.
What opting out does — and does not — do
Disallowing Applebot-Extended signals that Apple should not use your content for AI model training. It does not instruct Applebot to stop crawling for search features, and it does not remove you from Apple's search-oriented surfaces. This mirrors the Google-Extended model: the “-Extended” token is a training-use permission layered on top of a base crawler you control separately.
Keep search, opt out of training
Allow Applebot for search features while disallowing Applebot-Extended to keep your content out of Apple's generative model training.
Full opt-out
Disallow both Applebot and Applebot-Extended to restrict crawling for search features and training use together — a heavier decision that can reduce your presence in Apple's ecosystem.
How to set the rule
To opt out of Apple's AI training while keeping the base crawler's access, use robots.txt:
# Opt out of Apple AI training, keep Applebot search crawling User-agent: Applebot-Extended Disallow: / User-agent: Applebot Allow: /
As always, robots.txt is advisory. Reputable operators like Apple document that they respect it, but it cannot be technically enforced by robots.txt alone. And llms.txt plays no role here — it curates content for language models and does not block any crawler or control token.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Applebot-Extended a separate crawler?
No. Applebot-Extended is a robots.txt control token, not a distinct fetcher. Applebot is the base crawler that actually requests pages; Applebot-Extended governs whether content Applebot has already crawled may be used to train Apple's generative models.
What is the difference between Applebot and Applebot-Extended?
Applebot is the crawler behind Apple search features like Siri and Spotlight suggestions. Applebot-Extended is an additional permission layer that controls AI training use of that crawled content. They are separate tokens with separate purposes.
Will blocking Applebot-Extended remove me from Siri or Spotlight?
Blocking Applebot-Extended controls AI training use only. Apple's search-oriented features rely on the base Applebot crawler, which you control separately, so opting out of training does not by itself remove you from those search surfaces.
How do I opt out of Apple's AI training?
Add a robots.txt rule for User-agent: Applebot-Extended with Disallow: /. This signals that Apple should not use your crawled content for AI model training, while leaving the base Applebot crawler's access unchanged.
Is compliance guaranteed?
Apple documents that it respects the directive. Like all robots.txt controls, it is honored by policy rather than technically enforced, and the AI-crawler landscape is still evolving as of mid-2026.
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