Google has recently introduced a new user agent, called Google-Agent, which signals when AI agents act on users’ behalf, marking an early shift toward agent-driven web interactions. This development is significant, as it allows website owners and developers to identify and distinguish between traditional crawl activity and visits triggered by real users through AI agents.
What is Google-Agent and How Does it Work?
Google-Agent is a user agent that identifies requests made by AI agents running on Google infrastructure, including experimental tools like Project Mariner. It appears in HTTP requests when an AI agent visits a site to complete a user-initiated task. This is different from Googlebot and other crawlers, which run continuously in the background without direct user prompts.
Example Use Cases and IP Ranges
Google-Agent has several example use cases, including browsing pages, evaluating content, or taking actions such as submitting forms. To help website owners and developers identify Google-Agent traffic, Google has shared the IP ranges for its desktop and mobile agents. The desktop agent’s IP range is:
Leave a Comment