Google-Extended
Controls content use for Gemini training and grounding; it does not control Google Search inclusion.
Content-use policyPolicy control · no separate crawlerWeb search
Googlebot
Crawls pages for Google Search using desktop and smartphone variants.
Operated by Google
See your agent traffic PurposeWeb search
HTTP identifierGooglebot
IdentityVerify beyond the name
THE SIGNAL
What this visit tells you
Search crawling measures access to content. Report search impressions and clicks separately rather than treating each crawl as a user.
Canonical page coverage
Crawl errors
Search Console clicks separately
Your next move
Prioritize failures on canonical pages intended for search. An intentionally removed URL returning 404 is not automatically a defect.
The technical details
MarkdownHow to identify it
Look for the Googlebot identifier in a request’s User-Agent. This is a name match, not identity verification. Version strings may change.
How to check identity
Use the official IP ranges or forward-confirmed reverse DNS described in Google’s crawler documentation.
Access and robots.txt
The operator documents robots.txt controls for this identifier.
Optional full-site opt-out. Merge with existing rules only if intended. robots.txt does not secure private content.
User-agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /Seeing 403 or 404 responses?
403 means access was denied; 404 means the resource was not found. Compare the public path, request time, edge security event and origin response to find the cause.
Separate intended restrictions and secret-file probes from pages that should work. A User-Agent name alone does not justify allowing a request.
SourcesReviewed 2026-09-14
Identity and purpose are based on these sources. Analytics interpretation and suggested checks are Apostl guidance.
APOSTL PulseSee Googlebot in context
See their requests. Find the pages that matter.
See your agent trafficKEEP EXPLORING
Different bots, different intent
Apple
Applebot
Indexes content for Apple search experiences including Siri, Spotlight and Safari.
Web search