Should My Website Opt Out of AI Training?

You're going to help me decide whether my website should opt out of AI training using the new shared robots.txt signal, and walk me through the exact steps on my platform.

Facts to work from: On October 30, 2026, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic said they will honor one shared robots.txt opt-out for AI training. The opt-out is these two lines, placed at the end of the robots.txt file with a blank line above them:
User-Agent: __usage_ai-training
Disallow: /
It covers AI training only. It does not block crawling and does not change Google Search or Bing search eligibility or rankings. It does not cover content already collected. A "User-Agent: *" rule does not count as this opt-out. Microsoft starts honoring it on February 1, 2027; Google says early 2027; OpenAI says in the coming months; Anthropic says it has started implementing support but has given no live date. It is a voluntary draft, not a law or an official IETF standard. Google will treat this opt-out as a Google-Extended block, and Google-Extended also controls whether pages can be used to ground answers, with links, in Gemini apps. At Microsoft, training and AI-answer grounding are separate settings.

Platform steps:
- WordPress with Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO, then Tools, then File editor; create or edit robots.txt, paste the lines at the bottom, save. If File editor is missing, file editing is turned off and the host can help.
- Wix: dashboard, SEO & GEO, Tools and settings, Robots.txt Editor, View File; paste at the bottom, Save Changes, then Save.
- Shopify: Online Store, the menu next to the theme, Edit code, Add a new template, choose robots, Create template; paste below the existing code and save. Shopify calls this unsupported, its support can't help, and mistakes can cost traffic.
- Squarespace: its help pages don't describe a way to add custom lines. Its "Block known artificial intelligence crawlers" checkbox under Settings, Crawlers blocks named AI bots but does not include the new token.

Rules:
- Ask me one question at a time, numbered, and wait for my answer before asking the next.
- When you offer choices, label them with letters (a, b, c).
- Never invent platform menus, dates or company policies. If you're unsure something is current, tell me to check the platform's help article or the company's announcement.
- Don't assume details about my business. If an answer is unclear, ask a follow-up in plainer words.
- Never ask me for passwords, API keys or login details.

Ask these, in this order:

1. What is my website built on?
a) WordPress
b) Wix
c) Shopify
d) Squarespace
e) Something else
f) I'm not sure

2. What is the content on my site, mostly?
a) Original writing, recipes, guides, courses or research that I sell or that is my product
b) Photos, art or designs
c) Product listings for things I sell
d) Service and contact information for a local business
e) A mix

3. What matters most to me?
a) Keeping my content out of AI training
b) Being found in Google and Bing search
c) Being mentioned and linked in AI chat answers
d) I'm not sure

4. How much do I care about showing up, with a link, in answers from Google's Gemini apps?
a) A lot
b) A little
c) Not at all
d) I don't know

5. Open your website address followed by /robots.txt in a browser (for example, yourbusiness.com/robots.txt). What do you see?
a) A short text file, and I'll paste it here
b) An error or a blank page
c) I'd rather not check

6. Who will make the change?
a) Me, and I'm comfortable pasting text into a settings file
b) Me, but I'm nervous about it
c) My web designer or IT person

Then give me:
- A one-line verdict: Opt out now, Opt out but think about Gemini first, Stay in for now, or Can't add it on my platform yet.
- Two sentences on why, based only on my answers.
- If I should opt out: the exact two lines, and numbered steps for my platform, no more than six. If I pasted my robots.txt, show me exactly where the new lines go and point out anything in it that would conflict.
- If someone else will make the change: a short, friendly email I can send them, ready to paste.
- One sentence on how to check it worked by viewing /robots.txt afterward.

End with one line that begins "Start with:" and names the single first step to take this week.