Claude is Anthropic’s AI assistant and can search the web when needed. Three bots matter for your visibility: Claude-SearchBot for the search index, Claude-User for fetches on user request and ClaudeBot for training. Blocking the first two costs you visibility. Beyond that, the same basics apply as for other AI systems: clear content, external evidence and unambiguous details. As a tool, Claude helps with audits, briefs and structured data, provided you check the results.
What does Claude SEO mean?
Claude is the AI assistant from the US company Anthropic. Many people use it for research, writing and coding, and increasingly for buying decisions: “Which accounting software suits a small trade business?” When Claude answers with specific providers, the same question arises as with ChatGPT: am I included?
“Claude SEO” therefore covers two topics:
- Visibility in Claude: what can you do so that Claude knows your business and names it for relevant questions?
- Claude as an SEO tool: how does Claude help you analyse, plan and implement your search engine optimisation?
For ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity there are separate guides: ChatGPT SEO, Gemini SEO and Perplexity SEO.
How Claude searches the web
Claude answers many questions from its training knowledge. For current or very specific questions it uses web search, which users can switch on and off in the input area or settings. Claude then retrieves search results, reads the pages and cites them as sources.
Anthropic has not described in detail which search engine sits behind this. In March 2025 Brave Search appeared in Anthropic’s list of subprocessors, and analyses showed that Claude’s sources matched Brave’s results exactly (TechCrunch, 21 March 2025). Whether that still applies in the same form today has not been publicly confirmed.
ClaudeBot, Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User
In its help article on crawlers (as of 7 April 2026), Anthropic lists three bots with different jobs:
All three can be controlled separately in robots.txt, for example like this:
User-agent: ClaudeBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: Claude-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Claude-User
Allow: /This example only excludes training and allows search and fetches. According to Anthropic, blocking Claude-SearchBot or Claude-User means your website may appear less often or less accurately in Claude’s answers. Anthropic does not recommend blocking by IP address, because the bots then cannot read your robots.txt. For an overview of all AI bots, see our guide to AI crawlers.
How your business gets named in Claude
There is no trick that makes Claude recommend you. As with other AI systems, clear signals from several sources help:
- Be reachable. Allow Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User, and publish key content as text rather than in images or PDFs.
- Say clearly what you do. One page per service that answers the question first: what, for whom, where, on what terms.
- Be clearly identifiable. Company name, address and offer the same everywhere, with Organization schema on your website. More in our guide to entity SEO.
- Get mentioned by others. Articles, directories, reviews and comparison pages show that your details are correct. How to do this without bought links is explained in digital PR for GEO.
- Be visible on Brave. Search your most important customer questions directly on search.brave.com. If you do not appear there, Claude is missing a foundation.
Test 1: What does Claude know about you?
Ask: “What do you know about [company name] in [town]?” – once with and once without web search. The difference shows what Claude knows from training and what from the web.
Test 2: Are you recommended?
Ask without your company name: “Which [provider] in [town] would you recommend?” Note who is named.
Test 3: Which sources does Claude use?
Look at the sources. Are they directories, review platforms or competitors’ websites? That is where your presence pays off.
Test 4: Are the facts right?
Check opening hours, services and prices in the answer. Errors point to outdated sources, see AI hallucinations.
Using Claude as an SEO tool
The second meaning of “Claude SEO” is working with Claude. Claude can read long documents, analyse tables and write structured text. These tasks suit it especially well:
| Task | How | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Content brief | paste customer questions, audience and the existing page, ask for an outline | supply facts and figures yourself |
| Page audit | paste a page’s HTML or text, ask what answers are missing | add a technical check with real tools |
| Structured data | have it draft JSON-LD for Organization, LocalBusiness or FAQ | validate with the Rich Results Test |
| Search Console analysis | upload an export as CSV and ask for patterns | do not upload personal data |
| Editing text | have paragraphs made shorter and clearer | keep your own experience and examples |
Advanced users work with “Skills”, saved instructions for recurring tasks, or with Claude Code. There are many ready-made SEO skills online, for example on GitHub. Check third-party skills before using them, because they contain instructions and sometimes code that Claude runs. A good starting point for briefs is our GEO content brief template.
Keeping an eye on Claude
Claude’s answers vary like those of other AI systems. A single question says little. A fixed set of customer questions that you ask and record at regular intervals makes more sense: named or not, who instead, which sources. The template is in our guide to measuring AI visibility.
Nalqerio currently measures ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overview automatically, not Claude. The basics that lead to mentions there also work for Claude. The free AI check shows in about a minute whether ChatGPT already names you.
Frequently asked questions
Which search engine does Claude use?
Anthropic has not disclosed this in detail. In March 2025 Brave Search appeared in its list of subprocessors, and analyses showed matching results. Whether that still applies unchanged today has not been publicly confirmed.
Should I block ClaudeBot in robots.txt?
ClaudeBot collects content for training. According to Anthropic, blocking it does not affect web search. You should allow Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User, however, if you want to appear in Claude’s answers.
How do I turn on web search in Claude?
Web search can be switched on and off in Claude’s input area or settings. When it is off, Claude answers only from its training knowledge.
Can I use Claude for SEO?
Yes. Claude works well for briefs, page audits, structured data and analysing Search Console exports. Always check facts, figures and technical results yourself.
What are Claude SEO skills?
Skills are saved instructions, often with examples or scripts, that Claude uses for recurring tasks. Many SEO skills are freely available. Check third-party skills before using them.
Does Nalqerio measure Claude?
Not at the moment. Nalqerio measures ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overview. The basics for getting named are the same for Claude.
Sources and further reading
- Anthropic Support: Does Anthropic crawl data from the web, and how can site owners block the crawler?
- TechCrunch: Anthropic appears to be using Brave to power web searches for its Claude chatbot (21 Mar 2025)
- Google Search Central: Rich Results Test
- Nalqerio: AI crawlers at a glance
Methods, product scope and sources reflect the publication date shown. Examples are not measurements of your website. Linked product pages provide current plan and provider details.
