How to get cited by Claude
Claude, Anthropic's assistant, can search the web and cite the pages it uses. To appear in those citations, allow Claude-SearchBot (which indexes pages for search) and Claude-User (which fetches pages for a user's question), rank for the searches Claude runs, and be mentioned on the sources it reads for your topic.
Updated · Citable
How Claude uses the web
Claude added web search in 2025. When a question needs current information, Claude searches, reads results and answers with citations. Users can also paste or ask for a specific URL, which Claude fetches.
Anthropic's help center lists three agents and what blocking each does:
| Agent | Purpose | If you block it |
|---|---|---|
| ClaudeBot | Collects public web content for model training | Your future content is excluded from training data |
| Claude-SearchBot | Crawls to improve search result quality | Anthropic cannot index your content for search; may reduce visibility in Claude's search results |
| Claude-User | Fetches pages when a Claude user asks | Claude cannot retrieve your pages for user queries; may reduce visibility |
Anthropic notes that blocking by IP address may not work reliably; use robots.txt.
Step 1: allow the search agents
User-agent: Claude-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Claude-User
Allow: /
# Optional: opt out of training only
User-agent: ClaudeBot
Disallow: /If you want Claude's future models to know your brand from training, leave ClaudeBot allowed too. See AI crawlers and robots.txt.
Step 2: be in the index Claude searches
Anthropic has not published which search providers Claude uses. Brave Search was widely reported as one after it appeared on Anthropic's subprocessor list in 2025. Brave runs its own independent index, so check that your important pages appear in Brave Search results; if not, Brave's crawler may not have found them yet, and links from other indexed sites are the usual fix.
Step 3: give Claude something precise to quote
Claude's users skew toward professionals asking detailed, technical or analytical questions. Pages that get used are precise: exact specifications, documented limits, real prices, clear definitions, and comparisons that state trade-offs honestly. Marketing language without facts gives an assistant nothing to cite. See how to write content AI assistants cite.
Step 4: build the footprint Claude knows from training
Without search, Claude answers from training data. Brands that were written about across many sites before the training cutoff are the ones it can describe. News coverage, directory listings, documentation, GitHub, and community discussions all contribute. A press release and directory listings are quick ways to add many indexed mentions.
Questions people ask
Does Claude cite sources?
Yes, when it searches the web it shows citations for the information it uses.
Can I check what Claude says about my company?
Yes: ask Claude your buyers' questions with web search on and off, and compare. See how to check what AI assistants say about your brand.