01 · Operator
Who operates AdkernelTopicCrawler
- Company
- AdKernel
- Type
- Other bot
- Official docs
- adkernel.com
02 · Behavior
What AdkernelTopicCrawler does
It analyzes site content and discovers new content. AdKernel uses the results to categorize publisher inventory for contextual bidding.
03 · Impact
Why AdkernelTopicCrawler matters for your site
If you allow it
- Can help ad monetization for publishers using AdKernel
- Respects robots.txt
If you block it
- No benefit if you do not sell ads through AdKernel partners
04 · Allow
How to allow AdkernelTopicCrawler
robots.txt
User-agent: AdkernelTopicCrawler
Allow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "AdkernelTopicCrawler")
Action: Skip › All Super Bot Fight Mode rules
# Also check Security › Bots: "Block AI bots" can block it regardless of robots.txt.WordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: AdkernelTopicCrawler
Allow: /nginx
# nginx serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure no rule like this blocks it:
# if ($http_user_agent ~* "AdkernelTopicCrawler") { return 403; }Apache
# Apache serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure .htaccess has no rule like this:
# RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} AdkernelTopicCrawler [NC]
# RewriteRule .* - [F,L]05 · Block
How to block AdkernelTopicCrawler
AdkernelTopicCrawler follows robots.txt, so one rule is enough. Use a server or CDN rule only to stop spoofed copies.
robots.txt
User-agent: AdkernelTopicCrawler
Disallow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "AdkernelTopicCrawler")
Action: BlockWordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: AdkernelTopicCrawler
Disallow: /nginx
# In your server { } block:
if ($http_user_agent ~* "AdkernelTopicCrawler") {
return 403;
}Apache
# .htaccess
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} AdkernelTopicCrawler [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>06 · User agents
User agents we see for AdkernelTopicCrawler
The user agent published by the operator:
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; AdkernelTopicCrawler/1.0; +http://adkernel.com/robot/)07 · Verification
Is it really AdkernelTopicCrawler?
AdkernelTopicCrawler’s operator publishes no IP ranges or hostnames, so requests cannot be verified. Treat the user agent as a claim, and watch your logs for unusual request rates.
FAQ
Questions about AdkernelTopicCrawler
What is AdkernelTopicCrawler?
It is AdKernel's crawler that analyzes page topics for contextual advertising.
How do I block AdkernelTopicCrawler?
AdKernel says it respects robots.txt. Add "User-agent: AdkernelTopicCrawler" with "Disallow: /".
Last reviewed Oct 7, 2026