APIs-Google
Developer ToolsVerify APIs-Google IP Address
Verify if an IP address truly belongs to Google, using official verification methods. Enter both IP address and User-Agent from your logs for the most accurate bot verification.
APIs-Google is a service crawler used by Google to verify and interact with endpoints tied to various Google APIs. It is typically triggered when applications, scripts, or integrations using Google services need to fetch or validate external resources. Common use cases include OAuth flows, link previews, data validation, push notification messages, and API-driven checks performed on behalf of Google products. Crawl activity is usually low-volume and event-driven, reflecting specific API operations rather than broad crawling or indexing associated with Google Search. It ignores the global user agent (*) rule. RobotSense.io verifies APIs-Google using Google’s official validation methods, ensuring only genuine APIs-Google traffic is identified.
User Agent Examples
Contains: APIs-Google (+https://developers.google.com/webmasters/APIs-Google.html)Robots.txt Configuration for APIs-Google
APIs-GoogleUse this identifier in your robots.txt User-agent directive to target APIs-Google.
Recommended Configuration
Our recommended robots.txt configuration for APIs-Google:
User-agent: APIs-Google
Allow: /Completely Block APIs-Google
Prevent this bot from crawling your entire site:
User-agent: APIs-Google
Disallow: /Completely Allow APIs-Google
Allow this bot to crawl your entire site:
User-agent: APIs-Google
Allow: /Block Specific Paths
Block this bot from specific directories or pages:
User-agent: APIs-Google
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /api/Allow Only Specific Paths
Block everything but allow specific directories:
User-agent: APIs-Google
Disallow: /
Allow: /public/
Allow: /blog/Set Crawl Delay
Limit how frequently APIs-Google can request pages (in seconds):
User-agent: APIs-Google
Allow: /
Crawl-delay: 10Note: This bot does not officially mention about honoring Crawl-Delay rule.
Put these rules to work
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is APIs-Google bot, and why is it visiting my website?
- APIs-Google is a service crawler from Google that verifies and interact with endpoints tied to various Google APIs. It is typically triggered when applications, scripts, or integrations using Google services need to fetch or validate external resources. Visits from APIs-Google bot are non-harmful and the crawl speed is moderate-to-low.
- Is APIs-Google a legitimate bot, or is it commonly spoofed?
- Yes, APIs-Google is a legitimate bot by Google. However, UA-based spoofing by malicious actors is common for this bot. You can use Google's recommended methods mentioned below to verify a legitimate visit, or use RobotSense.io API to easily verify APIs-Google bot visits.
- How can I verify that a request is really coming from APIs-Google bot?
- You can use Google's recommended official methods to verify APIs-Google bot visits, these include: - IP range checks - Reverse DNS → forward DNS Do not use User-Agent based detection as that can be easily spoofed. Alternatively, you can use RobotSense.io API to easily verify APIs-Google bot and all other bots from Google and other operators.
- Should I allow or block APIs-Google bot on my website?
- As APIs-Google is a legitimate bot by Google, you can safely allow it to crawl your public pages. Google does not seem to use this crawler for search indexing purpose of any kind. If you are suddenly seeing too many visits, you can consider adding a small crawl-delay in your robots.txt before completely disallowing.
- How can I control or block APIs-Google bot using robots.txt or other methods?
- You can add a rule in your robots.txt, as given above to control (crawl-delay) or disallow APIs-Google bot. However, note that since this bot is mainly event-driven, it may not respect your robots.txt settings. Use better controls at your WAF, or in RobotSense enforcement settings.
- How often does APIs-Google bot crawl websites, and can it impact server performance?
- The APIs-Google bot does not crawl a website that frequently, as it is mostly event-driven. Observed load on servers is nearly minimal.
- What happens if I block APIs-Google bot? SEO, visibility, and feature impact explained.
- Blocking APIs-Google bot has no direct impact on SEO, Search Visibility, and Search Ranking. However, it may impact below in an undesired way: - Property verifications flow as is used by Google Search Console - Google Indexing API (JobPosting, LiveStreams) and Instant indexing use cases - Google Ads conversion tracking - Merchant center syncs - Offline conversion uploads - Enhanced conversions, and - Feed validations
- Does APIs-Google collect, scrape, or use my content for training or reuse?
- No, APIs-Google has no officially documented AI purpose.
Other Google Bots
Google operates other crawlers you may also need to configure.
AdsBot
AdsAdsBot-Google is Google’s crawler responsible for evaluating landing pages used in Google Ads campaigns. It performs desktop-focused checks on page quality, load speed, relevance, and policy compliance. These assessments directly influence ad quality scores, cost efficiency, and overall eligibility. Blocking AdsBot prevents Google from reviewing landing pages, which can degrade or disable ad performance. Crawl activity is selective and tied to active or recently modified ad campaigns rather than broad indexing. Its purpose is to ensure that advertisers maintain fast, trustworthy, and policy-compliant landing pages. It ignores the global user agent (*) rule. RobotSense.io verifies AdsBot/AdsBot-Google using Google’s official validation methods, ensuring only genuine AdsBot/AdsBot-Google traffic is identified.
AdsBot Mobile Web
Ads[This crawler is officially retired as per Google] AdsBot-Google-Mobile bot is Google’s mobile-focused crawler used to evaluate the landing page experience for Google Ads. It simulates mobile device conditions to assess page quality, load performance, mobile usability, and policy compliance. These evaluations directly influence Google Ads quality scores and ad eligibility. If you run ads, blocking it may negatively affect ad performance because Google cannot verify the mobile landing page experience. Crawl activity is targeted and low-volume, triggered when ads are created, updated, or actively running. Its purpose is ensuring advertisers provide fast, compliant, and user-friendly mobile pages. It ignores the global user agent (*) rule. RobotSense.io verifies AdsBot Mobile Web/AdsBot-Google-Mobile using Google’s official validation methods, ensuring only genuine AdsBot Mobile Web/AdsBot-Google-Mobile traffic is identified.
AdSense / Mediapartners-Google
AdsMediapartners-Google is Google’s crawler dedicated to evaluating webpages for Google AdSense. It scans pages to understand content, layout, and context so Google can deliver relevant ads and optimize revenue for publishers. Unlike Googlebot, this crawler does not index content for Search - its role is purely advertising-related. Blocking it may prevent AdSense from analyzing pages and serving targeted ads effectively. Crawl activity is generally light and focused on pages where AdSense code is present, helping Google match ad inventory with page themes and user interests. It ignores the global user agent (*) rule. RobotSense.io verifies AdSense / Mediapartners-Google using Google’s official validation methods, ensuring only genuine AdSense / Mediapartners-Google traffic is identified.
Chrome Web Store / Google-CWS
Developer ToolsChrome Web Store fetcher or Google-CWS is a Google user-agent associated with Chrome Web Services, typically used for link preview generation, safe browsing checks, and content fetching triggered by Chrome features. It performs lightweight requests to retrieve metadata, page titles, favicons, and safety signals from URLs that developers provide in the metadata of their Chrome extensions and themes. This bot is not a search crawler and does not influence Google Search indexing or rankings. Activity occurs when Chrome or Google services need to quickly inspect a URL for previews, safety evaluation, or rendering behavior. It ignores robots.txt rules. RobotSense.io verifies Chrome Web Store fetcher using Google’s official validation methods, ensuring only genuine Chrome Web Store fetcher traffic is identified.
DuplexWeb-Google
Others[This crawler is officially retired as per Google] DuplexWeb-Google is a Google crawler associated with Duplex and Assistant-related technologies that fetch web content to help generate conversational responses and perform task-oriented actions. It retrieves page information needed to understand structured data, business details, menus, appointment flows, and other interactive elements. Crawl activity is selective and generally tied to user-initiated tasks or systems that prepare content for automated assistance. Its purpose is to support natural-language interactions by ensuring Google’s assistant technologies can interpret and use real-time webpage information accurately. It ignores the global user agent (*) rule. RobotSense.io verifies DuplexWeb-Google using Google’s official validation methods, ensuring only genuine DuplexWeb-Google traffic is identified.
Feedfetcher
Developer ToolsFeedfetcher is Google’s crawler responsible for retrieving RSS and Atom feeds used in Google News, Google Reader (historically), and other syndication-based services. It fetches feed URLs rather than full webpages. The bot does not index content for Google Search and does not follow links within feeds; its role is purely to collect updates for subscribed users or Google systems that aggregate feed content. Most publishers allow it to ensure timely distribution of updates. Crawl activity is periodic and lightweight, triggered when feed subscribers or internal services request refreshes. It ignores robots.txt rules. RobotSense.io verifies Feedfetcher using Google’s official validation methods, ensuring only genuine Feedfetcher traffic is identified.