Engines · DeepSeek
Visibility in DeepSeek: Internet search and measurement
In DeepSeek’s chat interface, internet search can be switched on and off. With it on, the answer is compiled from the web; with it off, it is written from the model’s own knowledge. For site owners, DeepSeek publishes no crawler documentation.
DeepSeek added internet search to its chat interface in December 2024; users get real-time answers when they switch it on. DeepSeek does not publish an official crawler name that site owners can manage with robots.txt. So we measure DeepSeek separately with search on and off.
How does DeepSeek reach the web?
According to DeepSeek’s announcement of 10 December 2024, internet search went live in its chat interface; users can switch on “Internet Search” for real-time answersSource 1: DeepSeek-V2.5-1210 Release: Internet Search is now live (10 Dec 2024).
We found no section in DeepSeek’s documentation explaining which crawler or search infrastructure this search uses, or how site owners can manage it (checked 26 September 2026).
How do we measure DeepSeek?
- The question set is asked in two modes, with internet search on and off; each question twice in each mode. That separates answers drawn from the web from those drawn from the model’s own knowledge.
- With search on, the sources shown are recorded; with search off, we check whether the brand is represented correctly in the model’s knowledge.
- Every result is recorded with the date and the interface used.
Frequently asked questions
01Can I block DeepSeek with robots.txt?
We found no official crawler name in DeepSeek’s documentation to target. We cannot recommend a rule based on unverified names.
02Does DeepSeek know our brand with search off?
That depends on the model’s training data and cannot be changed from outside. Measuring with search off shows whether the brand is represented correctly in the model; measuring with search on shows how well current web information is reached.
Sources
- [1]DeepSeek-V2.5-1210 Release: Internet Search is now live (10 Dec 2024)DeepSeek API Docs · accessed: 26 September 2026
How to cite this page
Kaynaq. (26 September 2026). Visibility in DeepSeek: Internet search and measurement. https://kaynaq.pages.dev/en/ai-engines/deepseek
Updates and corrections
No corrections on this page yet. If you spot an error, write to us; we publish every fix here with its date.