What is Browserbase?

Browserbase is an AI agent in the AI assistants and agents category, operated by Browserbase.

Bot name
Browserbase
Operator
Browserbase
Type
AI agent
Respects robots.txt
Not confirmed
robots.txt user agent
Browserbase
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
Yes

About Browserbase

Browserbase helps AI use the web. Autonomously reads, writes, and performs tasks on the web with a serverless browser.

AI assistants fetch pages on demand when a user asks a chatbot or an agent to read, summarise or act on a URL. Each request is tied to a person, but the visit carries no ad impressions or analytics. Decide per agent whether the value is worth the load.

Browserbase user agent

Anyone can copy a user agent string. Transfon Security also checks where each request comes from, so a request that claims to be a known crawler but comes from the wrong network is treated as a fake, not as the real crawler.

How to block Browserbase in robots.txt

We have not confirmed whether Browserbase follows robots.txt. Add a rule, then check your logs to see that it stopped. robots.txt is a plain text file at the root of your domain, such as https://example.com/robots.txt.

Block Browserbase from the whole site

User-agent: Browserbase
Disallow: /

Block Browserbase from some folders

User-agent: Browserbase
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /search

Allow Browserbase only on some folders

User-agent: Browserbase
Allow: /blog/
Disallow: /

Allow Browserbase and block other crawlers

User-agent: Browserbase
Allow: /

User-agent: *
Disallow: /

Things to know

  • Each host needs its own file. Rules on www.example.com do not apply to shop.example.com.
  • A crawler obeys only the most specific group that names it. Once you add a User-agent: Browserbase group, Browserbase ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take Browserbase from Browserbase's user agent; check Browserbase's own documentation if it publishes a different robots.txt name.
  • Crawlers cache robots.txt, so changes can take up to a day to apply. Disallow stops crawling but does not remove pages already collected or indexed.

Limits of robots.txt

  1. Browserbase may not follow the rule. robots.txt is a request that nothing enforces, and we have not confirmed that Browserbase follows it. Check your logs after adding a rule.
  2. The user agent could be fake. robots.txt matches the name a request claims. Anyone can send Browserbase's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by Browserbase's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real Browserbase from a fake one.

Treat robots.txt as a statement of your policy, and enforce it where requests arrive.

Who should care about Browserbase

Publishers

Browserbase reads pages for a person who asked an AI about them. The visit carries no ad impressions, so exclude it from ad requests and decide whether it may read paywalled content.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

Agent visits can click through landing pages and fill in forms. Exclude Browserbase from conversions so campaign optimisation is based on people.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

Agents like Browserbase can compare prices and may soon place orders. Decide whether agents may reach checkout, and verify them before they do.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

Browserbase can sign up, log in and call endpoints on a user's behalf. Rate limit it on sign-up and API routes, where fake trials and abuse start.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block Browserbase with Transfon Security

robots.txt is a request, not an enforcement. Transfon Security shows Browserbase by name in the Top Bots report, so you can see how often it visits and which pages it reads. Block or allow it with a User Agent rule, or slow it down with a rate limit decision rule.

Transfon Security

Control Browserbase on your site

  • See every Browserbase visit and the pages it reads
  • Spot bots that fake trusted crawler names
  • Block, allow or rate limit Browserbase with one rule
  • Works with or without robots.txt support

Frequently asked questions

What is Browserbase?

Browserbase is an AI agent in the AI assistants and agents category, operated by Browserbase. Browserbase helps AI use the web. Autonomously reads, writes, and performs tasks on the web with a serverless browser.

Does Browserbase respect robots.txt?

We have not confirmed whether Browserbase follows robots.txt. Add a robots.txt rule, then check your logs to see that it stopped, and block it by user agent if it did not.

How do I block Browserbase?

Add "User-agent: Browserbase" followed by "Disallow: /" to the robots.txt file at the root of your site. To enforce it, block requests whose user agent contains "Browserbase" at your WAF. In Transfon Security that is one User Agent block rule.

Is robots.txt enough to block Browserbase?

No. robots.txt is voluntary, so Browserbase may not follow it, and anyone can send Browserbase's user agent, so a fake Browserbase ignores your rule. Enforce the rule where requests arrive, at your WAF, and check the source network.

Should I block Browserbase?

AI assistants fetch pages on demand when a user asks a chatbot or an agent to read, summarise or act on a URL. Each request is tied to a person, but the visit carries no ad impressions or analytics. Decide per agent whether the value is worth the load.

Related bots

All AI assistants and agents · Full bot directory

See Which Bots Visit Your Site

Transfon Security identifies every bot in this directory in your traffic reports, flags fake search crawlers, and lets you allow, block or rate limit each bot.

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