{
  "source": "https://pickedbyrobots.com/guide/ai-shopping-assistants/",
  "checked": "2026-10-26",
  "note": "Crawler names come from each company's own crawler documentation. Shopping features come from the company's announcement or from news items in our log. 'Not in our sources' means we found nothing we could cite, not that the feature doesn't exist.",
  "rows": [
    {
      "id": "chatgpt",
      "name": "ChatGPT",
      "company": "OpenAI",
      "shopping": "Product discovery with merchant catalogs; buyers go to the merchant's checkout. Virtual try-on and Favorites added Oct 2026.",
      "checkout": "Merchant site",
      "search": [
        "OAI-SearchBot"
      ],
      "training": [
        "GPTBot"
      ],
      "user": [
        "ChatGPT-User"
      ],
      "visible": "Allow OAI-SearchBot. Opting out of it removes you from ChatGPT search answers (navigational links can still appear). Catalogs: Shopify connects automatically; others apply at chatgpt.com/merchants.",
      "sources": [
        [
          "OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI crawlers",
          "https://platform.openai.com/docs/bots"
        ],
        [
          "OpenAI: Powering product discovery in ChatGPT (Mar 24, 2026)",
          "https://openai.com/index/powering-product-discovery-in-chatgpt/"
        ],
        [
          "TechCrunch: ChatGPT virtual try-on (Oct 1, 2026)",
          "https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/01/chatgpt-can-now-virtually-try-on-clothes-for-you/"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "google",
      "name": "Google AI Mode, AI Overviews and Gemini",
      "company": "Google",
      "shopping": "Universal Cart (US, Oct 2026): one cart across Search, AI Mode and Gemini with price alerts and Google Pay checkout. AI Mode shopping ads now show promotions.",
      "checkout": "In the assistant",
      "search": [
        "Googlebot",
        "Storebot-Google"
      ],
      "training": [
        "Google-Extended"
      ],
      "user": [],
      "visible": "Allow Googlebot (it covers all Google Search features). Google-Extended controls Gemini training and grounding, and Google says it does not affect Search inclusion or ranking. Keep the Merchant Center feed clean.",
      "sources": [
        [
          "Google: List of Google's common crawlers",
          "https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/google-common-crawlers"
        ],
        [
          "Google: Universal Cart launch (Oct 15, 2026)",
          "https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/shopping/universal-cart-launch/"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "perplexity",
      "name": "Perplexity",
      "company": "Perplexity",
      "shopping": "Free US shopping experience with product cards and Instant Buy checkout through PayPal (launched Nov 25, 2025); the merchant stays merchant of record.",
      "checkout": "In the assistant",
      "search": [
        "PerplexityBot"
      ],
      "training": [],
      "user": [
        "Perplexity-User"
      ],
      "visible": "Allow PerplexityBot and its published IP ranges. Perplexity says PerplexityBot is not used to crawl content for AI foundation models.",
      "sources": [
        [
          "Perplexity: Perplexity crawlers",
          "https://docs.perplexity.ai/guides/bots"
        ],
        [
          "Perplexity: Shopping that puts you first (Nov 25, 2025)",
          "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/shopping-that-puts-you-first"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "copilot",
      "name": "Microsoft Copilot",
      "company": "Microsoft",
      "shopping": "Copilot Checkout (US, Jan 8, 2026): buy inside Copilot with PayPal, Stripe or Shopify; the merchant stays merchant of record. Shopify merchants are enrolled automatically after an opt-out window.",
      "checkout": "In the assistant",
      "search": [
        "Bingbot"
      ],
      "training": [],
      "user": [],
      "visible": "Allow Bingbot and verify in Bing Webmaster Tools. Bing's crawler page lists no separate Copilot crawler. Checkout needs a Microsoft Merchant Center account and a compliant feed.",
      "sources": [
        [
          "Bing: Which crawlers does Bing use?",
          "https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/which-crawlers-does-bing-use-8c184ec0"
        ],
        [
          "Microsoft Advertising: Copilot Checkout and Brand Agents (Jan 8, 2026)",
          "https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en/blog/post/january-2026/conversations-that-convert-copilot-checkout-and-brand-agents"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "amazon",
      "name": "Alexa for Shopping",
      "company": "Amazon",
      "shopping": "Replaced Rufus in May 2026; questions go straight into Amazon's main search bar. Amazon blocks outside shopping agents such as Meta's Muse.",
      "checkout": "On Amazon",
      "search": [
        "Amzn-SearchBot"
      ],
      "training": [
        "Amazonbot"
      ],
      "user": [
        "Amzn-User"
      ],
      "visible": "On Amazon: complete attributes and fact-based bullets. On the open web: allow Amzn-SearchBot, which makes content eligible for search experiences such as Alexa. Amazonbot may be used to train Amazon AI models.",
      "sources": [
        [
          "Amazon: About Amazonbot",
          "https://developer.amazon.com/amazonbot"
        ],
        [
          "Amazon: Alexa for Shopping (May 13, 2026)",
          "https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/alexa-for-shopping-ai-assistant"
        ],
        [
          "The Verge: Amazon blocks Meta's Muse (Sep 21, 2026)",
          "https://www.theverge.com/tech/998078/amazon-blocks-meta-muse-ai-agent-shopping"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "meta",
      "name": "Meta AI and the Muse agent",
      "company": "Meta",
      "shopping": "Meta says about 25% of Muse users use it to shop, with an average purchase around $200 (Oct 2026). Muse shops on retailer sites that let it in.",
      "checkout": "Retailer sites",
      "search": [
        "Meta-WebIndexer"
      ],
      "training": [
        "Meta-ExternalAgent"
      ],
      "user": [
        "Meta-ExternalFetcher"
      ],
      "visible": "Allow Meta-WebIndexer to be cited and linked in Meta AI answers. Meta-ExternalAgent covers training and indexing. Meta-ExternalFetcher fetches at a user's request and may bypass robots.txt.",
      "sources": [
        [
          "Meta: Meta web crawlers",
          "https://developers.facebook.com/docs/sharing/webmasters/web-crawlers/"
        ],
        [
          "Payments Dive: Shopping is Muse's top task (Oct 23, 2026)",
          "https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/shopping-is-muses-top-task-meta/833817/"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "walmart",
      "name": "Sparky and the Agent Gateway",
      "company": "Walmart",
      "shopping": "Agent Gateway (Oct 2026) gives assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini a sanctioned way to shop Walmart, with shopper-set limits through Agent Profiles.",
      "checkout": "On Walmart",
      "search": [],
      "training": [],
      "user": [],
      "visible": "Your Walmart listing content is what agents read. Our sources name no Walmart web crawler.",
      "sources": [
        [
          "Walmart: Making it possible for agents to shop on behalf of customers (Oct 21, 2026)",
          "https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2026/10/Making-It-Possible-for-Agents-to-Shop-on-Behalf-of-Customers"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "claude",
      "name": "Claude",
      "company": "Anthropic",
      "shopping": "Not in our sources.",
      "checkout": "Not in our sources",
      "search": [
        "Claude-SearchBot"
      ],
      "training": [
        "ClaudeBot"
      ],
      "user": [
        "Claude-User"
      ],
      "visible": "Allow Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User; Anthropic says disabling them may reduce your visibility in search results and user-directed web search. ClaudeBot covers training.",
      "sources": [
        [
          "Anthropic: Does Anthropic crawl data from the web? (Apr 7, 2026)",
          "https://support.claude.com/en/articles/8896518-does-anthropic-crawl-data-from-the-web-and-how-can-site-owners-block-the-crawler"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "apple",
      "name": "Siri, Spotlight and Apple Intelligence",
      "company": "Apple",
      "shopping": "Not in our sources.",
      "checkout": "Not in our sources",
      "search": [
        "Applebot"
      ],
      "training": [
        "Applebot-Extended"
      ],
      "user": [],
      "visible": "Allow Applebot to appear in Spotlight, Siri and Safari. Applebot-Extended does not crawl; it only controls training use, and Apple says it is not considered in Search ranking.",
      "sources": [
        [
          "Apple: About Applebot (Sep 4, 2026)",
          "https://support.apple.com/en-us/119829"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ]
}