APIs-Google
Google's other crawler.
Quick answer
APIs-Google is a Google crawler that delivers push notification messages on behalf of Google APIs a site owner's own integration requested. It's one of Google's special-case crawlers, built to support a specific technical function rather than general search indexing or AI training.
What it does
APIs-Google exists to support push notification delivery for Google APIs that a site owner has already integrated into their own site or app, so its activity is tied to functionality the site requested rather than to open-web discovery. Like other Google special-case crawlers, APIs-Google ignores the blanket '*' rule in a robots.txt file, since the site owner's own use of a Google API is treated as separate from general crawling permissions, but a rule written specifically for 'APIs-Google' still controls it. It follows robots.txt directives addressed to it directly, and Google publishes an IP range file covering this and other special-case crawlers so traffic can be verified as genuinely coming from Google.
Facts
Operator
Robots token
APIs-Google
User agent string(s)
- APIs-Google (+https://developers.google.com/webmasters/APIs-Google.html)
Purpose
Other
Respects robots.txt
Yes
IP ranges
https://developers.google.com/static/crawling/ipranges/special-crawlers.json
From Google's documentation, checked Oct 2026.
Should you block it?
APIs-Google only matters to sites that have integrated a Google API that relies on push notifications, so for most sites this bot has nothing to decide. If a site does use such an integration, blocking APIs-Google by addressing a rule to it specifically could break the delivery of those push notifications, since that's the function Google documents for this crawler. Because it ignores the general '*' robots.txt rule, a site can't accidentally block APIs-Google with a blanket disallow aimed at crawlers in general; blocking it takes a deliberate rule naming 'APIs-Google'. There's no connection here to search ranking or AI visibility, so the decision comes down entirely to whether the site depends on a Google API push-notification feature it wants to keep working.
How to block it
Add this to robots.txt, addressed specifically to APIs-Google since it ignores the general '*' rule: user-agent: APIs-Google disallow: / Most sites should leave this crawler alone unless they specifically want to break a Google API push-notification integration they've set up.
Frequently asked questions
What does APIs-Google actually do?
It delivers push notification messages on behalf of Google APIs that a site owner's own integration requested, according to Google's documentation on its special-case crawlers.
Will blocking APIs-Google hurt my search ranking?
No. APIs-Google has nothing to do with Google Search indexing or ranking. It supports a specific push-notification function tied to Google API integrations.
Can a general 'disallow all crawlers' rule block APIs-Google?
No. Google says APIs-Google ignores the global '*' user agent rule, so blocking it requires a robots.txt rule addressed specifically to 'APIs-Google'.
Related
- AI crawler directory — every AI crawler's robots.txt token, purpose and facts in one place.
- Free AI crawler checker — check which AI crawlers a domain's robots.txt actually allows or blocks.
- Glossary — definitions of the AI-visibility terms that come up alongside crawler behavior.
Sources
- APIs-Google crawling preferences affect delivery of push notification messages by Google APIs. Source: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/google-special-case-crawlers (checked Oct 2026)
- APIs-Google ignores the global '*' user agent rule in robots.txt. Source: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/google-special-case-crawlers (checked Oct 2026)
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