meta-externalagent: what this bot is and how to allow or block it
meta-externalagent is a bot from Meta that collects pages to train AI models. It does not affect Meta AI answers with search: you can block it without losing visibility in AI search.
meta-externalagent User-Agent
Meta publishes the full User-Agent string in the bot's documentation. In robots.txt the token meta-externalagent is enough.
How to allow meta-externalagent
Add this group to robots.txt at the site root. Close service sections in the same group: a bot with its own group does not read the «User-agent: *» rules.
User-agent: meta-externalagent Allow: /
robots.txt is not everything. If your site uses Cloudflare or other bot protection, it may serve meta-externalagent a 403 error or a challenge page even when robots.txt allows everything.
How to block meta-externalagent
To block the whole site, add the group below to robots.txt. The rule works for bots that respect robots.txt.
User-agent: meta-externalagent Disallow: /
What happens if you block meta-externalagent
New model versions will not learn from your pages. Visibility in answers with search does not change — search bots are responsible for that.
How to check whether meta-externalagent visits your site
Search the web server logs for the token. The User-Agent string is easy to fake, so to be sure, check the IP address against the ranges if Meta publishes them.
grep "meta-externalagent" /var/log/nginx/access.log
Does your site let meta-externalagent in
Free 15-second check: we read your robots.txt and request your site as AI bots — you see which ones the server and bot protection let in and which they block.
Other Meta AI bots
meta-webindexersearchmeta-externalfetcheron request
Questions and answers
Should I block meta-externalagent?
It is your call. Blocking meta-externalagent does not remove your site from AI answers with search, but models will not learn about you in training either. If content is your main asset, block it; if awareness matters, leave it open.
How do I know whether meta-externalagent visits my site?
Search the web server logs for the token. The User-Agent string is easy to fake, so to be sure, check the IP address against the ranges if Meta publishes them.
Is it enough to allow meta-externalagent in robots.txt?
robots.txt is not everything. If your site uses Cloudflare or other bot protection, it may serve meta-externalagent a 403 error or a challenge page even when robots.txt allows everything.