Understanding why robots stop working
Custom robots may stop working properly for several reasons:
Website structure changes: Websites frequently update their layouts, class names, or HTML structure.
Login sessions expire: If your robot accesses password-protected content, session cookies may expire.
New security measures: Websites may implement new CAPTCHA or bot detection systems.
Content loading changes: Sites may change how they load content (lazy loading, AJAX, etc.).
Temporary website issues: The target website may be experiencing technical problems.
Browse AI's technology automatically adapts to many website changes, with most custom robots functioning properly without intervention. However, occasionally you'll need to perform some maintenance.
Simple troubleshooting steps
For Prebuilt Robots
Prebuilt Robots are maintained by our automation specialists.
If you encounter issues with these robots contact our support team immediately so we can investigate and fix the issue.
For Custom Robots
Retrain your robot
Retraining is the most effective solution when website structures change:
Navigate to your robot's detail page.
Click on the Settings tab.
Click the Re-train robot button.
Follow the guided process to retrain your robot (typically takes just a few minutes).
Run a test task to confirm the robot is now working correctly.
Learn more about retraining your robot here.
Update the session cookie
If your robot needs to access content behind a login:
Navigate to your robot's detail page.
Click on the Settings tab.
Find and click the Update Session Cookies button.
Follow the instructions to refresh your login credentials.
Run a test task to confirm the robot can now access the content.
Learn more about updating cookies, and cookie troubleshooting here.
When to contact support
If you've tried the steps above and:
Your robot continues to fail after retraining.
You find yourself retraining the robot frequently (more than once a month).
You're unsure how to modify your robot training to make it more resilient.
Our support team can help analyze your specific situation and recommend more advanced solutions.