Introducing the good bot scan

We built the good bot scan to help website managers better understand bots and know whether their websites are accessible to good bots.

What is a good bot?

A good bot is an automated agent that performs useful functions on the web, such as indexing content for search engines or chatbots, monitoring website performance, or providing accessibility features.

Why this matters

Good bots are important because they help improve user experience and ensure that information and services are easily discoverable.

For governments, it's important to ensure that your websites are accessible to good bots. If they are not, it will negatively impact access to public services. For example, if your website blocks ChatGPT or Claude, people using those tools to understand government information and services will not get accurate results in their chats.

Access is nuanced

If ScanGov can't scan your site (via ScanGovBot), it doesn't mean your site is inaccessible to good bots. It means we can't scan it, even though we follow good bot protocols. This should be a red flag to check your site settings and make sure good bots are allowed.

Examples

Two example results from the good bot scan (at the time of writing):

• ca.gov allows good bots
• nv.gov blocks good bots

Test your site

Does your website allow good bots? Try the good bot scan.