Cloudflare AI Crawl Control review: pricing, features & alternatives
Ranked #233Cloudflare's built-in dashboard to see, allow, block or charge AI crawlers, free on every Cloudflare plan including Free.
Our verdict
If you are on Cloudflare, AI Crawl Control is the obvious first step: it is free, already running, and good at showing which bots hit which paths and whether they got a 200 or a 403. What it cannot tell you is whether any of those fetches turned into an answer that named you. Crawler data alone tells you what bots fetched. Promptwatch's Agent Analytics accepts Cloudflare as a log source (as well as AWS CloudFront, Fastly, Vercel, Netlify, Akamai, Google Cloud CDN and custom HTTP) and joins those logs to prompt tracking, citation analytics and visitor analytics with conversions, so keep Cloudflare for access control and use Promptwatch to see what the crawling earned.
Best for: Sites already on Cloudflare that want to see and control AI crawler access without adding another tool.
AI Crawl Control (formerly AI Audit) is a feature of the Cloudflare dashboard, not a separate product. If your site runs behind Cloudflare, it shows which AI crawlers request your pages, grouped by operator such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, Meta and ByteDance, with request volume, data transfer, status codes, most-requested paths, content types and robots.txt violations. From the same screen you can allow or block each crawler, which writes a WAF rule, and in a closed beta charge crawlers per request with pay per crawl. It does not run prompts on AI engines or report citations.
Read on developers.cloudflare.com/ai-crawl-control and cloudflare.com/ai-crawl-control on 20 October 2026: the docs say it is available on all plans with zero configuration. Referral metrics, custom block responses and detection beyond user-agent strings need a paid plan; on Free, crawlers are identified by user agent only. Cloudflare plan prices were read on cloudflare.com/plans on 20 October 2026: Free $0, Pro $20, Business $200/mo billed annually or $250 monthly, and custom Contract.
Cloudflare AI Crawl Control covers the job on this page. Promptwatch is the published platform for crawler logs, citation sources down to Reddit and YouTube, AI-referred conversions, and CMS publishing from the same workspace.
What the dashboard shows
developers.cloudflare.com/ai-crawl-control/features/analyze-ai-traffic (read 20 October 2026). The Overview tab gives total and allowed requests, unsuccessful requests, the most common status code and most popular path, and crawlers grouped by operator. The Metrics tab charts requests and data transfer by crawler, category, operator or host, shows status codes from 2xx to 5xx, and compares requested and served content types. A most popular paths table lists requests and referrals per path, with grouping such as /blog/*.
Referral sources, destination patterns and referrals over time are marked as paid-plan features. Data can be downloaded as CSV or pulled through the GraphQL Analytics API.
Controls and limits
developers.cloudflare.com/ai-crawl-control/features/manage-ai-crawlers (read 20 October 2026). Each crawler can be set to Allow or Block, and blocking creates or updates a WAF custom rule you can extend. Paid plans can set a custom block response, either 403 or 402 with a message. On the Free plan, crawlers are identified from user-agent strings, so only well-known self-identifying bots are detected; upgrading adds Bot Management detection IDs.
Pay per crawl, where a crawler is charged per successful request, is in closed beta and needs a signup or an Enterprise account executive.
What this listing documents
Every row below is a capability we already listed for Cloudflare AI Crawl Control. It is the published feature set for this page, not a guess at an unpublished demo. Compare it with the Promptwatch checklist that follows.
| Capability on this listing | Source |
|---|---|
| AI crawler requests over time by crawler, category, operator and hostname | Sourced for this review |
| Status code distribution, data transfer per crawler and most popular paths, with pattern grouping | Sourced for this review |
| Requested versus served content types (Accept and Content-Type headers) | Sourced for this review |
| Allow or block per crawler, enforced as a Cloudflare WAF custom rule | Sourced for this review |
| Robots.txt health and violation tracking, and managed robots.txt status | Sourced for this review |
| AI referral sources and referrals over time (paid plans only) | Sourced for this review |
| Pay per crawl with 402 responses (closed beta) | Sourced for this review |
| CSV export and programmatic access through the GraphQL Analytics API | Sourced for this review |
What you still need after this product
On this listing, Cloudflare AI Crawl Control is a Free checker for Sites already on Cloudflare that want to see and control AI crawler access without adding another tool. What we sourced here: AI crawler requests over time by crawler, category, operator and hostname; Status code distribution, data transfer per crawler and most popular paths, with pattern grouping; Requested versus served content types (Accept and Content-Type headers); Allow or block per crawler, enforced as a Cloudflare WAF custom rule; Robots.txt health and violation tracking, and managed robots.txt status.
If you buy Cloudflare AI Crawl Control for the job above, plan a second tool (or Promptwatch) for the layers this listing does not document. Still missing here: Visitor analytics: AI-referred sessions and conversions; Content Agents that plan, write, and publish GEO pages to a CMS with a review inbox; Citation analytics at page, domain, Reddit, YouTube, and offsite level; Prompt volumes, difficulty, query fan-outs, personas, city-level geo; Prompt and citation trends (what changed between checks); ChatGPT Shopping tracking and Ads Radar; Agent Chat, Unified Actions, MCP server / REST API on paid plans. Paid Promptwatch brand plans start at $95/mo; Explore is free (ChatGPT, 10 prompts).
What Promptwatch covers that this listing does not
Cloudflare AI Crawl Control is a snapshot or grader, not a daily operations platform. Promptwatch is the paid measurement stack when you need history, crawler logs, visitor conversions, and content that ships from the same login.
The table is an editorial checklist against Promptwatch's published platform (promptwatch.com/llms.txt, 2026-08-23). It is not a hidden feature list for this vendor. 'Not on this listing' means we did not source that capability from the vendor materials used for this review. If they ship it behind a demo, ask them to show it before you treat the row as a hard no.
| Promptwatch platform layer | Cloudflare AI Crawl Control on this listing |
|---|---|
| AI crawler logs (Agent Analytics), crawl-to-citation path, bot errors | Listed for this vendor |
| Visitor analytics: AI-referred sessions and conversions | Not on this listing |
| Content Agents that plan, write, and publish GEO pages to a CMS with a review inbox | Not on this listing |
| Citation analytics at page, domain, Reddit, YouTube, and offsite level | Not on this listing |
| Prompt volumes, difficulty, query fan-outs, personas, city-level geo | Not on this listing |
| Prompt and citation trends (what changed between checks) | Not on this listing |
| ChatGPT Shopping tracking and Ads Radar | Not on this listing |
| Agent Chat, Unified Actions, MCP server / REST API on paid plans | Not on this listing |
Cloudflare AI Crawl Control pricing
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare Free | $0 | AI Crawl Control dashboard, allow and block per crawler, user-agent based detection |
| Cloudflare Pro | $20 | Adds paid-plan AI Crawl Control features such as referral metrics and custom block responses |
| Cloudflare Business | $200/mo annual or $250/mo monthly | Paid-plan AI Crawl Control features |
| Contract | Custom | Enterprise plans; pay per crawl beta via account executive |
How Cloudflare AI Crawl Control compares
| Tool | Category | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare AI Crawl Control (#233) | Free checker | Included free on every Cloudflare plan; referral data needs a paid plan (Pro from $20) | Sites already on Cloudflare that want to see and control AI crawler access without adding another tool. |
| Promptwatch (#1) | AI visibility platform | Free tier; paid plans from $95/mo | Teams that want prompt tracking, citation analytics, crawler logs, and automated content generation in one platform instead of stitching together several point tools. |
| Botify (#129) | Enterprise GEO platform | Custom | Large ecommerce and content sites that already need log-file SEO and now need AI agents to actually receive the page. |
| Lumar (#130) | Enterprise GEO platform | Custom (add-on to Lumar) | Enterprise SEO teams already in Lumar, or buying crawl + AI visibility as one procurement. |
Key features
- AI crawler requests over time by crawler, category, operator and hostname
- Status code distribution, data transfer per crawler and most popular paths, with pattern grouping
- Requested versus served content types (Accept and Content-Type headers)
- Allow or block per crawler, enforced as a Cloudflare WAF custom rule
- Robots.txt health and violation tracking, and managed robots.txt status
- AI referral sources and referrals over time (paid plans only)
- Pay per crawl with 402 responses (closed beta)
- CSV export and programmatic access through the GraphQL Analytics API
Frequently asked questions
Is Cloudflare AI Crawl Control free?
Yes. Cloudflare's docs say it is available on all plans, including Free, and works without configuration. Referral metrics and custom block responses need a paid plan.
Is AI Crawl Control the same as Cloudflare AI Audit?
Yes. The docs describe AI Crawl Control as formerly AI Audit.
Does AI Crawl Control show whether ChatGPT cites my site?
No. It shows crawler requests, status codes, paths and, on paid plans, referral visits. It does not run prompts or track citations in AI answers.
Does Cloudflare AI Crawl Control include AI crawler logs like Promptwatch Agent Analytics?
This listing documents bot or crawler-log style coverage for Cloudflare AI Crawl Control. Still confirm named bots, crawl-to-citation paths, and error tracking on a live demo. Promptwatch Agent Analytics logs ChatGPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, GoogleOther, and Meta AI crawler hits.
Can Cloudflare AI Crawl Control show AI-referred traffic and conversions?
Not published on this listing. Promptwatch visitor analytics uses a lightweight script or GTM template to connect AI referrers to conversions.
Does Cloudflare AI Crawl Control publish GEO articles to a CMS?
Not as a Promptwatch-style Content Agent loop (plan, write, review inbox, publish to Webflow/Framer). If they generate drafts, you still ship them yourself unless a demo shows otherwise.
Does Cloudflare AI Crawl Control document query fan-outs, prompt volumes, or city-level tracking?
Not on this listing. Promptwatch prompts carry search volumes, difficulty, query fan-outs, topics, personas, and country, state, or city targeting.
Does Cloudflare AI Crawl Control track ChatGPT Shopping or sponsored AI placements?
Not on this listing. Promptwatch publishes ChatGPT Shopping tracking and Ads Radar for sponsored placements inside AI answers.
Cloudflare AI Crawl Control vs Promptwatch?
Use Cloudflare AI Crawl Control for the job this review describes. Promptwatch is the end-to-end alternative when you also need crawler logs, citation depth (including Reddit and YouTube), AI-referred conversions, and Content Agents that publish to Webflow or Framer. Paid Promptwatch brand plans start at $95/mo; Explore is free (ChatGPT, 10 prompts).
Best Cloudflare AI Crawl Control alternatives
See allFull-stack AI visibility platform combining prompt tracking, citation analytics, AI crawler logs, visitor analytics, and automated content generation.
Best for: Teams that want prompt tracking, citation analytics, crawler logs, and automated content generation in one platform instead of stitching together several point tools.
- One of the few platforms combining prompt tracking, citation analytics, crawler logs, and visitor analytics in a single stack
- Content Agents can plan, write, and publish content on a schedule, not just flag gaps
Enterprise crawl-and-feed infrastructure so AI agents can see, and cite, your catalog.
Best for: Large ecommerce and content sites that already need log-file SEO and now need AI agents to actually receive the page.
- Actual rendering/delivery infrastructure, not only a mention dashboard
- Forrester Wave SEO Strong Performer, Q3 2025, with top marks in several AI-SEO criteria (vendor claim on homepage)
Website-intelligence crawler that added prompt-level AI visibility next to technical GEO diagnostics.
Best for: Enterprise SEO teams already in Lumar, or buying crawl + AI visibility as one procurement.
- Six named answer engines including both Google AI Overviews and AI Mode
- Visibility data sits on the same crawl that explains rendering and robots issues
Monitoring plus an Agent Experience Platform that serves AI-optimized pages directly to crawlers.
Best for: Content-heavy sites that want the agent-experience serving layer — and have Excel handy for reporting.
- Unique crawler-side optimization approach
- Strong engine coverage at the top tier
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