--- title: Get started description: Learn how to set up AI Crawl Control. image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/core-services-preview.png --- > Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-crawl-control/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. [Skip to content](#%5Ftop) # Get started This guide instructs you on how to: * View AI crawlers that are interacting with pages in your domain (a [Cloudflare zone](https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/concepts/accounts-and-zones/#zones)). * Use AI Crawl Control to block individual crawlers from accessing your content. ## Prerequisites 1. Sign up for a [Cloudflare account ↗](https://dash.cloudflare.com/sign-up/). 2. [Connect your domain to Cloudflare](https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/manage-domains/add-site/). 3. Make sure your domain is [proxying traffic through Cloudflare](https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/concepts/how-cloudflare-works/#cloudflare-as-a-reverse-proxy). ## 1\. Monitor AI crawler activity at a glance 1. Go to **AI Crawl Control**. [ Go to **AI Crawl Control** ](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/:zone/ai) 2. Review the snapshot of your AI crawler activity in the **Overview** tab. 3. Use the filters to view activity by specific date ranges, crawlers, operators, hostnames, or paths. ## 2\. Block specific AI crawlers * [ All plans ](#tab-panel-4343) * [ Paid plans ](#tab-panel-4344) To block specific AI crawlers: 1. Go to **AI Crawl Control**. [ Go to **AI Crawl Control** ](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/:zone/ai) 2. Review which AI crawlers are accessing your domain in the **Crawlers** tab. 3. In the **Action** column, select **Block**. Quality of AI crawler detection On the free plan, AI Crawl Control identifies AI crawlers based on their [user agent strings ↗](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Headers/User-Agent). This enables AI Crawl Control to detect well-known, self-identifying AI crawlers. Upgrade your plan to enable a more thorough detection using Cloudflare's [Bot Management detection ID](https://developers.cloudflare.com/bots/reference/bot-management-variables/#ruleset-engine-fields) field. To block specific AI crawlers: 1. Go to **AI Crawl Control**. [ Go to **AI Crawl Control** ](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/:zone/ai) 2. Review which AI crawlers are accessing your domain in the **Crawlers** tab. 3. In the **Action** column, select **Block**. For more information, refer to [Manage AI crawlers](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-crawl-control/features/manage-ai-crawlers/). You can also create more complex rules when taking action on AI crawlers, using [Cloudflare WAF](https://developers.cloudflare.com/waf/). For more information on creating more specific rules, refer to [Create a custom rule in the dashboard](https://developers.cloudflare.com/waf/custom-rules/create-dashboard/). ## 3\. Explore detailed metrics * [ All plans ](#tab-panel-4342) For more detailed analytics, use the **Metrics** tab. 1. Go to **AI Crawl Control**. [ Go to **AI Crawl Control** ](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/:zone/ai) 2. Review detailed breakdowns by date range, crawler, operator, status code, hostname, or path in the **Metrics** tab. Note that on free plans, the **Metrics** tab only displays metrics for the past 24 hours. ## Plan comparison | All plans | Enterprise plans with Bot Management | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | AI crawler detection via [user agent strings ↗](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Headers/User-Agent) | Advanced AI crawler detection via [Bot Management detection ID](https://developers.cloudflare.com/bots/reference/bot-management-variables/#ruleset-engine-fields) | | Maximum 24-hour analytics window | Configurable analytics timeframes | | Allow/block controls | Allow/block controls, and the ability to charge AI crawlers using [pay per crawl](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-crawl-control/features/pay-per-crawl/what-is-pay-per-crawl/) | ## Next steps * [Manage AI crawlers](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-crawl-control/features/manage-ai-crawlers/) with granular allow/block controls. * [Analyze AI traffic](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-crawl-control/features/analyze-ai-traffic/) to understand crawler patterns and content popularity. * [Explore pay per crawl](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-crawl-control/features/pay-per-crawl/what-is-pay-per-crawl/) to test content monetization options (private beta). ## Related resources Refer to the following related resources: * Cloudflare blog: [Start auditing and controlling the AI models accessing your content ↗](https://blog.cloudflare.com/nl-nl/cloudflare-ai-audit-control-ai-content-crawlers/) * Block AI crawlers that do not adhere to recommended guidelines using [Cloudflare AI Labyrinth](https://developers.cloudflare.com/bots/additional-configurations/ai-labyrinth/). * [Direct AI crawlers with managed robots.txt](https://developers.cloudflare.com/bots/additional-configurations/managed-robots-txt/). ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/directory/","name":"Directory"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/ai-crawl-control/","name":"AI Crawl Control"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"/ai-crawl-control/get-started/","name":"Get started"}}]} ```