Websites Blocking AI Crawlers Often Overlook Bot Response Times

The article investigates how sites use robots.txt to block AI training crawlers. It shows that many of these sites focus on denying access but ignore latency. The analysis highlights that response time for legitimate bots is often left unchecked. Researchers measured the impact on bot performance across a sample of sites. Findings suggest that ignoring answer time can degrade search engine indexing. The piece recommends balancing crawler restrictions with proper response handling. Site operators are urged to consider both access control and performance. Future work may track how these practices evolve as AI training demands grow.