LanguageHow to get cited by Perplexity:
what its own docs say
How to get cited by Perplexity, from its docs: allow PerplexityBot in robots.txt and your firewall, know what Perplexity-User does, write quotable pages.
In this note9 sections
To get cited by Perplexity, first make sure PerplexityBot can reach your site: allow it in robots.txt and let its published IP ranges through your firewall. Perplexity says that is what it needs to show your site in its results. Then write pages that answer one question clearly, with facts it can quote and link to.
Perplexity doesn’t publish how it picks which sources to cite, so nobody can promise a citation. What it does publish is how it crawls and how it answers, and that is what this guide uses.
In short
- Perplexity searches the web for each question and adds “numbered citations linking to the original sources” (Perplexity).
- PerplexityBot surfaces and links sites in Perplexity’s search results. Perplexity recommends allowing it in robots.txt and allowing its IP ranges. It isn’t used to train AI foundation models (Perplexity).
- Perplexity-User fetches a page when a user’s question needs it, and “generally ignores robots.txt rules”.
- robots.txt changes can take up to 24 hours to show up in Perplexity’s systems.
- The Publishers’ Program and Comet Plus are revenue programmes for publishers and media, not a way for a SaaS company to get cited.
- Track Perplexity referrals in analytics and ask your buyer questions in Perplexity yourself.
How Perplexity builds an answer
Perplexity’s help centre describes four steps: it works out what you’re asking, searches the web for “authoritative sources like articles, websites, and journals”, summarizes the most relevant points, and cites each source with a numbered link (Perplexity). Its Research mode, it says, “performs dozens of searches automatically” and reads hundreds of sources for a report.
It calls itself an answer engine: a tool that answers by “searching the web, identifying trusted sources, and synthesizing information into clear, up-to-date responses” (Perplexity).
Two things follow. Your page has to be reachable when Perplexity searches, and it has to contain a clear answer worth quoting. The first is technical and fully in your control. The second is content, where Perplexity gives no ranking rules.
Step 1: let PerplexityBot in
Perplexity’s crawler docs list two user agents.
| User agent | What it does | robots.txt |
|---|---|---|
| PerplexityBot | Surfaces and links websites in Perplexity search results. Not used to crawl content for AI foundation models. | Follows it. Perplexity recommends allowing it. |
| Perplexity-User | Visits a page when a user asks a question, and may link it in the answer. Not used for crawling or training. | “Generally ignores robots.txt rules”, because a user asked for the fetch. |
To be safe, allow PerplexityBot explicitly in robots.txt:
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /If you have no rule that blocks it, you don’t need this, but an explicit line protects you from a later User-agent: * block. Perplexity says each setting works independently and changes can take up to 24 hours to take effect.
Perplexity says PerplexityBot isn’t used to crawl content for AI foundation models, so allowing it is a search decision, not a training one. If you want to block AI training elsewhere, do it per bot. AI crawlers and robots.txt covers the other companies, and the free AI crawler checker shows what your robots.txt allows right now.
Step 2: check your firewall
robots.txt isn’t the only gate. A bot-protection rule on your CDN can block PerplexityBot before it reads robots.txt at all. Perplexity’s docs give steps for Cloudflare and AWS WAF: create an allow rule that matches the user agent (PerplexityBot or Perplexity-User) and the source IP, using its published lists:
- PerplexityBot:
https://www.perplexity.com/perplexitybot.json - Perplexity-User:
https://www.perplexity.com/perplexity-user.json
Perplexity says to match both the user agent and the IP, to refresh the IP lists regularly because they change, and to watch your logs after a change. Matching the IP matters because anyone can fake a user agent string.
Then check your server or CDN logs for PerplexityBot requests. If you allow it and it never shows up, or only gets errors, something upstream is blocking it.
Step 3: write pages Perplexity can quote
Perplexity doesn’t say how it ranks sources, so treat this section as good practice, not a formula. It is based on what Perplexity says it does: search, summarize and cite.
- Answer in the first lines. If someone asks “what’s the best X for Y”, the page that says plainly what the product does, who it’s for and how it compares is easier to summarize than one that opens with a slogan.
- Put facts in text. Pricing structure, integrations, limits and supported platforms should be on the page as text, not only in images or behind a login. A crawler can’t quote what it can’t read.
- Cite your own sources. Perplexity says it looks for authoritative sources. Linking the docs or data behind your claims makes your page easier to trust and to check.
- Cover the questions buyers ask. Comparison pages, alternatives pages and how-to guides match the questions people take to an answer engine. SaaS comparison pages shows the format.
- Keep it current. Perplexity says it gives up-to-date answers. Show when a page was last updated and keep facts like plans and features correct.
The same pages work for Google and ChatGPT. How to get cited in AI answers covers the cross-engine version, and AEO vs SEO vs GEO explains why the work overlaps.
What about the Perplexity Publishers’ Program?
Perplexity has two programmes for publishers. The Publishers’ Program, announced in July 2024, offers revenue sharing when a partner’s content is referenced, API access and Enterprise Pro for staff. Its first partners were media groups such as TIME, Der Spiegel and Fortune, plus WordPress.com. Comet Plus, announced in August 2025, is a subscription that pays participating publishers based on human visits, search citations and agent actions.
Both are about paying publishers for content Perplexity already uses. Neither is described as a way to get cited more, and both are aimed at publishers and journalists. For most SaaS companies, crawler access and good pages are the route.
Step 4: measure it
There is no Perplexity equivalent of Search Console, so measure from two sides.
- Visits. Perplexity’s citations are links. In GA4, look for
perplexity.aias a session source. Tracking ChatGPT traffic in GA4 shows how to group it with other AI assistants and tie it to sign-ups. - Answers. Pick the questions your buyers ask, ask them in Perplexity on a fixed schedule, and log whether you’re named and which pages are cited. How to track AI visibility sets up the log.
When you’re missing, look at who is cited instead. Those pages tell you what Perplexity found useful for that question.
FAQ
How do I get my website cited by Perplexity?
Allow PerplexityBot in robots.txt and your firewall so Perplexity can find your pages, then publish pages that answer buyer questions plainly, with facts in text and sources linked. Perplexity doesn’t publish ranking rules, so no one can guarantee a citation.
What is PerplexityBot?
Perplexity’s search crawler. Perplexity says it surfaces and links websites in its search results and isn’t used to crawl content for AI foundation models. Its IP ranges are published at perplexity.com/perplexitybot.json.
What is the difference between PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User?
PerplexityBot crawls to build Perplexity’s search results and follows robots.txt. Perplexity-User fetches a page when a user’s question needs it, and Perplexity says it generally ignores robots.txt because a user asked for it.
Does blocking PerplexityBot stop Perplexity using my content?
It stops PerplexityBot from crawling. Perplexity says to allow PerplexityBot if you want to appear in its search results, so blocking it works against that. It may not stop Perplexity-User, which generally ignores robots.txt. A firewall rule is the only way to enforce a block.
Does Perplexity use my content to train AI models?
Perplexity says neither PerplexityBot nor Perplexity-User is used to collect content for training AI foundation models.
Can I pay or join a programme to get cited by Perplexity?
Perplexity’s Publishers’ Program and Comet Plus share revenue with publishers whose content is used. They are aimed at media publishers and aren’t described as a way to earn citations. Crawler access and clear pages are what you control.
Want to show up in Perplexity’s answers?
Ignura automates SEO and GEO, and you approve what goes out. Our Perplexity SEO page covers the Perplexity work itself, our citations page shows how we work on AI answers more broadly, and if you’re a devtools company, that page covers your buyers. How we price it is on the pricing page.
