---
title: "Bot Detection for Links: Route Humans, Bots, AI Agents"
description: "Bot detection for QR codes and links: send people, search and preview bots, AI agents and automated browsers down different paths."
canonical: "https://linkbreakers.com/workflow-steps/device-actor-condition"
---

# Bot Detection for Links: Route Humans, Bots, AI Agents

> Bot detection for QR codes and links: send people, search and preview bots, AI agents and automated browsers down different paths.

Device Actor · Device condition

# Bot detection for links: people, bots and AI agents apart

Bot detection on a link tells a person from a bot, an AI agent or a browser driven by software. The Device Actor condition reads who is behind each visit and sends each kind down its own path, so people get the real page and bots get theirs.

[Start free](https://app.linkbreakers.com/workspace/sign-up/wizard?ref=workflow-steps-device-actor-condition)[See every step](https://linkbreakers.com/workflow-steps)

What it does

## How bots and AI agents are detected

The options are Human, Bot, AI Agent, Automated and Unknown. Each is an exit. Anything else takes Other Actors.

Bots and AI agents are recognised by the name they send. Headless browsers are caught on every visit. A visible browser driven by software is recognised from its next visit once data collection is set to Advanced.

What you end up with

People get the real experience, while bots, link previews and AI summaries get a page made for them, so your forms and offers stay about people.

Use it when

* A shared document that people should read themselves, not through an AI summary.
* Keeping link previews and crawlers away from a form or an offer.
* Giving AI agents a page written for them.

Worked example

## A shared document people should read themselves

1. 1Share a Linkbreakers link instead of the document's address, with a Device Actor condition first.
2. 2Connect Human to a Redirect to the document.
3. 3Connect AI Agent and Automated to a short page written for agents, and Other Actors to the same.

Coworkers open the document themselves, and AI assistants that fetch the link get a page meant for them.

How it fits

## Where the actor condition sits

The condition usually comes right after the scan or click. Each actor is a path, and Other Actors catches the rest.

[![Bot detection for links and QR codes in a workflow, as a diagram: a scan or click, then Device Actor. Human goes to Form; AI Agent goes to Redirect; Other Actors goes to Redirect.](https://linkbreakers.com/images/workflow-steps/device-actor-condition/flow.webp)](https://linkbreakers.com/images/workflow-steps/device-actor-condition/flow.webp)

The values

## What it can tell apart

Five kinds of visitor, and a path for everything else.

[![Bot detection for links and QR codes, every value you can route on: Human, Bot, AI Agent, Automated, Unknown, and Other Actors for everything else.](https://linkbreakers.com/images/workflow-steps/device-actor-condition/detail.webp)](https://linkbreakers.com/images/workflow-steps/device-actor-condition/detail.webp)

In the dashboard

## Actor types and settings

Named as you will find them in the app.

Actor Type Options

Each option has an optional rule name and an actor: Human, Bot, AI Agent, Automated or Unknown.

Add Option

Adds another option, and another path.

### Where visitors go next

One exit per option

Visits from that kind of actor, checked in order.

Other Actors

All other actors.

Works well with

## What to pair with Device Actor

[![](https://linkbreakers.com/images/workflow-steps/form/cover-sm.webp)FormShow forms and offers to people only.Lead capture form for a QR code](https://linkbreakers.com/workflow-steps/form)[![](https://linkbreakers.com/images/workflow-steps/device-browser-condition/cover-sm.webp)Device BrowserThen route people by browser or app.Route in-app browser visitors](https://linkbreakers.com/workflow-steps/device-browser-condition)[![](https://linkbreakers.com/images/workflow-steps/device-brand-condition/cover-sm.webp)Device BrandKeep crawlers out before routing by brand.Redirect by device brand](https://linkbreakers.com/workflow-steps/device-brand-condition)[![](https://linkbreakers.com/images/workflow-steps/redirect/cover-sm.webp)RedirectSend AI agents to a page written for them.QR code URL redirect](https://linkbreakers.com/workflow-steps/redirect)

Good to know

## Limits and details

* An AI agent that drives a real browser is Automated when it is caught, otherwise Human.
* To treat AI agents and automated browsers alike, connect both options to the same step.

FAQ

## Bot detection questions

How are AI agents detected?

AI agents that name themselves when they fetch a page are recognised by that name, and so are search and link preview bots.

Can it catch a browser driven by software?

Headless browsers are caught on every visit. A visible automated browser is recognised from its next visit once data collection is set to Advanced, on paid plans and the trial.

Do people in a social app's browser count as human?

Yes. In-app browsers count as Human.

Does it block bots?

It routes them: each kind of visitor goes down its own path, to whatever page you choose.

Learn more

## Guides and examples

* [How Linkbreakers detects AI agents and automated browsers](https://linkbreakers.com/help/article/how-linkbreakers-detects-ai-agents-and-automated-browsers)
* [How to route AI agent and human link traffic differently](https://linkbreakers.com/help/article/how-to-route-ai-agent-and-human-link-traffic-differently)
* [How to make sure coworkers read a shared link themselves, not an AI summary](https://linkbreakers.com/help/article/how-to-make-sure-coworkers-read-a-shared-link-themselves-not-an-ai-summary)

## Put a Device Actor step behind your next QR code.

Build the workflow yourself, or describe it in one sentence and the AI Assistant builds it. Free plan, no card.

[Start free](https://app.linkbreakers.com/workspace/sign-up/wizard?ref=workflow-steps-device-actor-condition)

---

Source: https://linkbreakers.com/workflow-steps/device-actor-condition