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Google SERP Changes That Broke Scrapers and Rank Trackers, 2025 to 2026
Collecting search results got much harder in 2025 and 2026. Google required JavaScript, removed the 100 results per page option, wrapped result links in redirects, and started answering suspected bots with complete but wrong results pages. Microsoft retired the Bing Search APIs, and Google closed its Custom Search JSON API to new customers.
Each change broke something different. Below they are in order, with what changed, who it affected, and where to read more. We will keep it updated as new changes appear.
The timeline at a glance
| Date | Change | What it broke |
|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | Google requires JavaScript for Search | Simple HTTP scrapers |
| January 2025 | Google deploys SearchGuard | Unsophisticated bots |
| April 2025 | Country domains redirect to google.com | Localization by domain |
| May 2025 | AI Mode launches in the US | Tools that only parse classic results |
| August 11, 2025 | Bing Search APIs retired | Official Bing access |
| September 13 to 14, 2025 | Google drops num=100 | Cheap top 100 tracking |
| December 19, 2025 | Google sues SerpApi | Legal certainty for SERP APIs |
| March 2026 | First partial query results | Query relevance |
| Summer 2026 | /goto redirect links, broad rollout in late August | Destination URLs |
| September 2026 | Blocking tightens, then poisoned SERPs | Result accuracy |
| January 1, 2027 | Custom Search JSON API discontinued | Google's own search API |
January 2025: Google requires JavaScript
In January 2025, Google began requiring JavaScript to load search results. Nozzle dated the change to January 15, and TechCrunch reported it on January 17. A Google spokesperson said JavaScript lets Google "better protect our services and users from bots and evolving forms of abuse and spam."
Scrapers that fetched the HTML with a plain HTTP request stopped getting results. Many rank trackers moved to headless browsers, which cost more to run. Our guide to Google's JavaScript requirement covers what changed and why it still matters.
January 2025: SearchGuard
According to the complaint in its later lawsuit against SerpApi, as reported by IPWatchdog, Google deployed a system called SearchGuard in January 2025 to block automated access to Search. See what SearchGuard is and why it matters.
April 2025: country domains redirect to google.com
On April 15, 2025, Google announced that searches on country domains such as google.de or google.co.uk would redirect to google.com. Google said local results had been based on location since 2017, so separate country domains were no longer needed.
Anyone who localized results by choosing a country domain had to switch to explicit parameters. Our localization guide explains gl, hl, and uule.
May 2025: AI Mode and ads in AI answers
Google launched AI Mode in the US in May 2025. That same month, Google brought Search and Shopping ads to AI Overviews on desktop in the US and began testing ads in AI Mode. Tools that only parsed the classic blue links started missing a growing share of the page. See tracking AI Overview and AI Mode citations and ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
August 2025: Bing Search APIs retired
Microsoft announced in May 2025 that the Bing Search APIs would be retired on August 11, 2025. The suggested replacement, Grounding with Bing Search, only works inside Azure AI agents and does not give developers the raw results. See Bing Search API alternatives.
September 2025: Google drops num=100
Around September 13 and 14, 2025, Google stopped honoring the num=100 parameter that let tools load 100 results in one request. A top 100 check now takes 10 requests. Search Console impressions dropped for many sites, because tracker requests had been counted as impressions. See what Google's num=100 removal changed.
December 2025: Google sues SerpApi
On December 19, 2025, Google sued SerpApi under the DMCA's anti-circumvention rules, alleging it bypassed SearchGuard. The court dismissed the original complaint on July 20, 2026, and Google filed an amended complaint. Our post on the lawsuit and its double standard covers the case.
March 2026: partial query results begin
Nozzle recorded small bursts of results pages that answered only one word of the query from March 2026. A public issue on SerpApi's roadmap reported irrelevant results on May 4, 2026. The pattern grew sharply in September. See Google playing dumb.
Summer 2026: /goto redirect links
Google began replacing direct result links with google.com/goto redirect URLs whose destination is hidden in an opaque token. SISTRIX says it saw the change from June 2026 and that Google rolled it out broadly in late August. Every destination URL now costs an extra request to resolve. Read how the /goto change affected SERP APIs and the later verification delays.
September 2026: blocking tightens, then poisoned SERPs
On September 13, 2026, requests from rank trackers started failing in large numbers. From September 20, Nozzle saw Google answer many of the requests that got through with poisoned SERPs: complete pages with most of the keyword's usual sites swapped out. Partial query results spiked at the same time. Google's September 2026 spam update ran from September 24 to about October 8, which made it hard to separate real ranking changes from bad data. See poisoned SERPs and how to tell a Google update from a data problem.
January 1, 2027: Custom Search JSON API ends
Google's Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers, and existing customers have until January 1, 2027 to move to another solution. See our Custom Search JSON API migration guide.
What the changes have in common
The early changes were loud. A request without JavaScript got no results, and a tracker using num=100 got 10 results instead of 100. Teams noticed within a day.
The recent changes are quiet. A /goto link still clicks through, and a poisoned page still has ten results. Cloudflare has moved the same way, sending misbehaving crawlers into generated decoy pages. The failures show up only in the data. That shift is why we wrote about silent scraper failures and why any SERP pipeline in 2026 needs checks on the content it collects, as well as on whether each request succeeded.
Rankings themselves also became harder to compare. Tracked rankings often don't match what you see in Google, for reasons that have little to do with any of the changes above.
Frequently asked questions
What were the biggest Google SERP changes in 2025?
Google required JavaScript for Search in January 2025, redirected country domains to google.com in April, launched AI Mode in the US in May, and stopped honoring the num=100 parameter in September. Microsoft also retired the Bing Search APIs on August 11, 2025.
What changed for SERP scrapers in 2026?
Google rolled out /goto redirect links that hide destination URLs, tightened blocking of automated requests in September 2026, and began answering some suspected bots with poisoned SERPs and partial query results. Its Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers and ends on January 1, 2027.
Why did my rank tracker show big drops in September 2026?
Several things happened at once. Blocking tightened on September 13, poisoned and partial query results spiked from September 16 to 20, and Google's spam update ran from September 24 to about October 8. A drop from that period may be a data problem rather than a real ranking loss. Check it against Search Console.
Is there still an official Google search API?
Google's Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers and will be discontinued for existing customers on January 1, 2027. Google points site search users to Vertex AI Search, which searches up to 50 domains rather than the whole web.