---
schema_version: "newruntime-reader-dossiers-v1"
type: "reader_dossier"
slug: "googlebot"
kind: "search"
operator: "Google"
researched_at: "2026-10-23"
confidence: "high"
json_url: "https://newruntime.com/readers/googlebot.json"
canonical_url: "https://newruntime.com/readers/googlebot/"
---

# Googlebot

> Generic name for Google Search's smartphone and desktop crawlers that fetch pages for the Google Search index (incl. Discover, Images, Video, News). Gemini training/grounding is controlled separately by the Google-Extended robots token.

## Dossier

- Kind: Search engines
- Operator: Google (https://www.google.com/)
- Documentation: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/googlebot
- robots.txt tokens: Googlebot, Googlebot-Image, Googlebot-Video, Googlebot-News
- Feeds: search index
- Respects robots.txt: Yes, per its documentation. robots.txt blocks crawling, not indexing; use noindex to keep pages out. Google-Extended token governs Gemini training/grounding without affecting Search.
- Verification: Published IP ranges and reverse DNS (https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/verifying-googlebot)
- Labels matched in our logs: googlebot

## Why it matters to New Runtime (our interpretation)

Googlebot coverage is the gate to Google Search and AI Overviews traffic; we currently have very few pages indexed, so its visit patterns are a direct indexing signal.

## Observed behaviour

- Baseline 2026-10-23 (93-day window): 1,788 requests on 73 days; first seen 2026-07-23, last seen 2026-10-23; Regular.
- Reading mix (crawler journeys): 0 content reads, 193 feed or discovery reads, 0 machine-consumption reads; 0 unique materials.
- Identity check: verified 193, claimed unverified 8 requests.
- Live numbers: https://newruntime.com/bot-traffic-history.json and https://newruntime.com/crawler-journeys.json

## Sources

- https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/googlebot
- https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/google-common-crawlers
- https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/verifying-googlebot
- https://developers.google.com/static/search/apis/ipranges/googlebot.json

Identity: A family name is what a client claims in its user agent. It is verified only when its request came from the operator's published IP ranges or passed forward-confirmed reverse DNS, as reported per family in /crawler-journeys.json. Anyone can claim any name.

All dossiers: https://newruntime.com/readers.md