Skip to content
Mikoshi SEO Mikoshi SEO

Technical SEO in 2026: what AI crawlers need from your site

BY DZAN VOLODER, FOUNDERLAST UPDATED 10 MIN READ

THE SHORT ANSWER

AI crawlers need the same basics as Google, with less patience: content in the initial HTML, fast responses, clear structure and no accidental blocks in robots.txt. Server-rendered pages with descriptive headings and schema are the safest setup.

Check what you block

Review robots.txt and firewall rules for AI crawler user agents. Decide on purpose what to allow, rather than blocking by accident. OpenAI and Anthropic both publish their crawler names and how to allow or block each one, and some crawlers serve search features while others collect training data.

  1. [1]Google Search Central: Introduction to robots.txt
  2. [2]OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI crawlers
  3. [3]Anthropic: How site owners can block Anthropic's crawler

Put content in the HTML

Many AI crawlers do not run JavaScript. Vercel's analysis of crawler traffic found that none of the major AI crawlers render it. If your key content only appears after scripts run, it may be invisible to them. Google can render JavaScript, but server-rendered HTML is still the most reliable setup.

  1. [4]Vercel: The rise of the AI crawler, December 2024
  2. [5]Google Search Central: JavaScript SEO basics

Structure and schema

Use one H1, descriptive H2s, and Organization, Product, FAQPage and Article schema where it applies. Keep structured data consistent with the visible text on the page.

  1. [6]Google Search Central: Introduction to structured data
  2. [7]Google Search Central: AI features and your website

Speed still matters

Slow responses can cut crawls short. Aim for fast server response and pass Core Web Vitals on key templates.

  1. [8]Google Search Central: Core Web Vitals and Google Search results

FAQ

It is a business decision. Blocking them can reduce your chance of being cited. We help you decide crawler by crawler.

FREE // AI VISIBILITY SNAPSHOT

See who AI recommends instead of you.

Free snapshot within 2 business days.