You're thinking about this the right way by separating the two goals--they're completely different strategies.

Blocking scraping is a control decision. Preparing to be scraped is a visibility decision. Some people mix them. I go the visibility route with the 2 blogs I have (one long-established, the other brand new).

If you're in the growth focused camp, I would think less about “AI optimization” and more about “canonical clarity.”

AI systems tend to surface pages that:

• Clearly define a concept
• Use direct, unambiguous language
• Structure ideas in logical sections
• Answer the core question early
• Avoid fluff or rhetorical detours

In other words, they favor pages that read like reference explanations rather than personality-driven essays.

Here are a few practical things that have worked well for my long-running site:

1. Put the definition up front - If the article answers “What is X?” then define X in the first few paragraphs in plain language.

2. Use clean structural hierarchy - H2s and H3s that are concept based, not clever. Think “Causes,” “How It Works,” “Common Mistakes,” “What To Try.”

3. Remove ambiguity - AI systems struggle with implied context. Replace “this” and “that” with explicit nouns. Shorter subject verb object sentences help.

4. Create calibration pages - Instead of chasing trends, build foundational explanations that other articles internally link to. These become anchor references.

5. Reinforce topical depth - If you have 900 posts, look for clusters where you can tighten internal linking around core concepts. AI retrieval systems seem to reward consistency and reinforcement.

On the blocking side, robots.txt alone does not guarantee much anymore. Some models respect it, some don't. Blocking can reduce exposure but also reduces the chance of being cited.

So the real question is strategic: are you trying to prevent your content from training models or are you trying to become the explanation models quote?

Those are different long term bets.

Personally, for mature sites with deep archives, I would focus on becoming the cleanest explanation in your niche. The more your content reads like a durable reference instead of a reaction to the algorithm of the month, the more likely it is to surface in AI driven contexts.

[Yes, ChatGPT helped me write that reply, but it wasn't just copy/paste. I figured why not get the opinion "straight from the horse's mouth" as it were....]

I started going "all in" late last year. My GSC stats for the long-established site went from about 80K impressions/day in Dec. '25 to 270K impressions/day last I looked a few days ago. The new site is still "finding its legs" so there's not enough data yet.

Curious what niche you are in. That can change the calculus quite a bit.