Safe Reported AI & LLM Bots

Gemini URL Context

Q: What user-agent string does Gemini URL Context use?

Gemini URL Context is reported to identify itself with GoogleAgent-URLContext . Evidence that the spelling is in real use comes from our own robots.txt study: 10 of the 5,583 valid robots.txt files in the Tranco top 10,000 name it (fetched October 20, 2026), not from Google, which has not published crawler documentation naming it. Use it in robots.txt as the best available match, and treat a request carrying it as a clue rather than proof of who sent it.

Q: Is Gemini URL Context safe?

Gemini URL Context is rated Safe in this directory, meaning there are no credible public reports of abusive crawling under this name. It is a Reported token: Google has not published documentation for it, so its purpose, crawl rate and robots.txt behaviour are not confirmed by the operator, and anyone can send the same user-agent string. Allow or block it on its stated purpose, and back the robots.txt rule with a firewall rule if the traffic matters to you.

Q: Will blocking Gemini URL Context hurt my SEO?

✅ No SEO Impact - Blocking Gemini URL Context does not affect your rankings in Google, Bing, or any other search engine. Gemini URL Context is an AI crawler, not a traditional search indexer. You can freely block it via User-agent / Disallow: / without any SEO penalty.

Q: How do I block Gemini URL Context in robots.txt?

Add the following lines to your /robots.txt file: User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext Disallow: / This instructs Gemini URL Context not to crawl any path on your site. To block only specific sections, replace / with the path (e.g., Disallow: /blog/ ).

Q: How do I verify if Gemini URL Context is crawling my site?

Search your access logs for GoogleAgent-URLContext (for example grep -i "GoogleAgent-URLContext" /var/log/nginx/access.log ). Because the operator publishes no IP ranges or reverse-DNS pattern, a match shows that something used the name, not that Google sent it.

Operated by Google

Scout's quick take

GoogleAgent-URLContext (Gemini URL Context) visits a page only when a person asks Google's assistant to open it. It is not a background crawler. This profile is built from reported sightings, not vendor documentation.

# Block only if you really mean to
User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext
Disallow: /

Test AI crawler access Build a full robots.txt

Quick Facts

User-Agent:: GoogleAgent-URLContext
Category:: AI & LLM Bots
Operator:: Google
Safety:: Safe
Blocking Impact:: Low - No SEO ranking impact
SEO Impact Score:: 2/10
Official docs:: None published by Google
Evidence:: Verified by AI Crawler Check: in 10 top-10k robots.txt files

Reported, not operator documented

Google has not published a crawler page that names GoogleAgent-URLContext. It is listed here on our own evidence. Verified by AI Crawler Check: 10 of the 5,583 valid robots.txt files in the Tranco top 10,000 carry a rule for GoogleAgent-URLContext, so site owners treat it as a real crawler name (how we measure this). That proves the spelling is in use, not who sends it. Reported Gemini URL-context token. Not on Google's published crawler lists.

What that means for you: the GoogleAgent-URLContext rule on this page is the best available spelling, but Google has made no statement of purpose, crawl rate or robots.txt compliance. Treat a GoogleAgent-URLContext request in your logs as a clue, not proof of who sent it, and add a firewall rule if that traffic matters to you. If the operator publishes documentation, this profile moves to Official docs.

What is Gemini URL Context?

Gemini URL Context is an on-demand AI fetcher operated by Google. It retrieves a page only when a user explicitly asks an AI assistant or agent to read, summarize, or act on a specific URL. Because it is triggered by real user intent rather than bulk crawling, blocking it mainly prevents users from pulling your content into Google's assistant.
Gemini URL Context uses the user-agent token GoogleAgent-URLContext. You can control it via robots.txt, meta tags (noai), or the emerging llms.txt standard. Robots.txt is voluntary; for hard enforcement, combine it with server-level IP blocking.

What happens if you block Gemini URL Context?

✅ No SEO Impact - Blocking Gemini URL Context does not affect your rankings in Google, Bing, or any other search engine. Gemini URL Context is an AI crawler, not a traditional search indexer. You can freely block it via User-agent / Disallow: / without any SEO penalty.

Generally safe to allow; provides legitimate crawling value.

Want to see whether Gemini URL Context actually visits you? Read how do I monitor AI bot traffic to my website?

How to block Gemini URL Context with robots.txt

<code>User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext</code> - Matching is case-insensitive. Robots.txt is fetched from the root of each subdomain separately.

Block completely (robots.txt)

User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext
Disallow: /

Allow all (robots.txt)

User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext
Allow: /

Block private only (robots.txt)

User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /admin/
Allow: /

Nginx server block

# Nginx: Hard-block Gemini URL Context
if ($http_user_agent ~* "GoogleAgent-URLContext") {
    return 403 "Bot blocked";
}

Apache .htaccess

# Apache: Hard-block Gemini URL Context
SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent "GoogleAgent-URLContext" bad_bot
Order Allow,Deny
Allow from all
Deny from env=bad_bot

Meta robots tag

X-Robots-Tag header

X-Robots-Tag: noindex, nofollow

Is Gemini URL Context safe to allow?

Gemini URL Context is rated Safe in this directory, meaning there are no credible public reports of abusive crawling under this name. It is a Reported token: Google has not published documentation for it, so its purpose, crawl rate and robots.txt behaviour are not confirmed by the operator, and anyone can send the same user-agent string. Allow or block it on its stated purpose, and back the robots.txt rule with a firewall rule if the traffic matters to you.

Google publishes no IP ranges or reverse-DNS pattern for Gemini URL Context, so the user-agent string cannot be verified. Rate-limit unusual volume instead of trusting the name.

What does Gemini URL Context do?

Understanding Gemini URL Context's purpose helps you decide whether to allow or block it.

Fetches a page only when a user asks an AI assistant to read it
Summarizes or extracts the URL the user provided
Triggered by real user intent, not bulk crawling
Low traffic volume compared with training crawlers
Blocking it prevents users from pulling your content into the assistant

Gemini URL Context in context

Gemini URL Context is a user-triggered agent operated by Google. In plain terms, it fetches a page when a person asks an assistant or app to open it. Our database files it under AI and LLM crawlers and ranks it Tier 2, important crawlers from established AI and search operators. 74 of the 104 AI and LLM crawlers in our database share this tier.

Its safety rating is safe and its blocking impact is low. So the decision about Gemini URL Context rests on what you want from Google, not on its behaviour. How we rate safety and impact.

How site owners treat Gemini URL Context

In our own scan of the Tranco top 10,000 (5,583 valid robots.txt files), 10 files (0.2%) name GoogleAgent-URLContext in a User-agent line. That shows site owners treat the token as a real crawler worth a rule. It does not, on its own, prove who operates it.

Does it follow robots.txt?

Gemini URL Context's operator does not clearly document how it treats robots.txt. Write the Gemini URL Context rule anyway, then confirm in your logs that its requests stop.

Google crawlers and close alternatives

Gemini URL Context is one of 32 Google crawlers in our database. A User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext group controls Gemini URL Context only; the other Google tokens below need their own lines.

GoogleAgent-URLContext: this crawler (Tier 2)
AdsBot-Google: Google Ads Quality (Desktop), checks pages for an SEO, uptime or analytics service (Tier 3)
AdsBot-Google-Mobile: Google Ads Quality (Mobile), checks pages for an SEO, uptime or analytics service (Tier 3)
APIs-Google: APIs-Google, fetches a page when a person asks an assistant or app to open it (Tier 3)
Chrome-Lighthouse: Lighthouse Audit, checks pages for an SEO, uptime or analytics service (Tier 4)
FeedFetcher-Google: Google Feed Fetcher, builds a search or answer index (Tier 3)
Gemini-Deep-Research: Gemini-Deep-Research, fetches a page when a person asks an assistant or app to open it (Tier 3)
Google-Agent: Google Agent (Project Mariner), fetches a page when a person asks an assistant or app to open it (Tier 2)
Google-CloudVertexBot: Google Vertex AI, fetches a page when a person asks an assistant or app to open it (Tier 3)

To give Gemini URL Context the same answer as its siblings, stack User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext with their lines above one set of rules; to treat Gemini URL Context differently, give it its own group.

Other AI and LLM crawlers that do the same job (fetches a page when a person asks an assistant or app to open it) include ChatGPT Agent from OpenAI, ChatGPT Operator from OpenAI, ChatGPT-User from OpenAI, ChatGPT-User/2.0 from OpenAI, Claude-SearchBot from Anthropic, Claude-User from Anthropic. Deciding about Gemini URL Context is usually a decision about the whole group, so check how your file treats these too.

We first recorded GoogleAgent-URLContext on June 18, 2026. We could not find a page where Google names it, so treat the token as reported rather than documented.

Which rule Gemini URL Context actually follows

Gemini URL Context reads exactly one group in robots.txt, the most specific one that names GoogleAgent-URLContext, and never combines rules across groups. This short file shows the trap:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /private/

User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext
Disallow: /drafts/

Find the group. Gemini URL Context looks for a group naming GoogleAgent-URLContext. One exists, so it ignores User-agent: * completely.
Apply only that group. It is refused /drafts/ and nothing else.
The surprise. /private/ is open to Gemini URL Context, because that rule lives in the * group it no longer reads. To keep it out of both, repeat Disallow: /private/ inside its own group.

Test yourself: does a rule under User-agent: * apply to Gemini URL Context if the file also has a User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext group?

No. Once a group names it, Gemini URL Context reads only that group. Put every rule you want it to follow inside its own group.

Test yourself: will blocking Gemini URL Context remove your pages from AI answers?

Often, yes. Gemini URL Context is a user-triggered agent, so pages it cannot fetch can drop out of the answers or results it supports.

Test yourself: is User-agent: googleagent-urlcontext the same as User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext?

Yes. RFC 9309 makes user-agent matching case-insensitive. Paths are a different story: Disallow: /Blog/ does not block /blog/.

Should you allow Gemini URL Context? Decide by situation

Recommended setting for Gemini URL Context by type of site
If you are...	Recommended setting
You publish content and want AI answers to cite it	Allow it. Gemini URL Context fetches pages for answers, so blocking it can remove you from them.
You license content and want to stop AI training	Blocking it does not stop training, because Gemini URL Context is a user-triggered agent. Block the operator's training crawler instead.
You run an online shop	Allow it on product and category pages, which are the pages shoppers ask assistants about.
Your server is under load from bots	Rate-limit before blocking. It is rated safe in our database.

Check Gemini URL Context on your own site

Open /robots.txt on your domain and search for GoogleAgent-URLContext. If it is not named, it follows User-agent: *.
List the Disallow lines in the group Gemini URL Context follows and test your key URLs against them; the longest match wins, and Allow wins a tie.
Look beyond the file. A firewall or bot manager can refuse Gemini URL Context even when robots.txt allows it, and that never shows in the file.
Run our live AI crawler test to see how Gemini URL Context and every other crawler we track are treated in one pass, including firewall refusals.

Common mistakes with Gemini URL Context

The errors we see most often with Gemini URL Context in the files and firewalls we test:

Assuming a robots.txt rule will stop Gemini URL Context. User-triggered fetches act for a person, and some operators say robots.txt may not apply to them. Check the operator's statement above.
Blocking Gemini URL Context as if it were a bulk crawler. It fetches one page because a person asked; blocking it means that person's assistant cannot read your page.
Counting Gemini URL Context visits as crawl volume. Each request maps to a real user question, which makes the paths it requests a useful signal of what people ask about you.

All three hide inside a file that looks correct, so check Gemini URL Context from outside after every change.

Spotting Gemini URL Context in your logs

robots.txt says what Gemini URL Context may do; your access logs show what it actually did.

Count requests

On a server with standard Nginx or Apache logs, this counts matching requests per day (adjust the log path for your host):

grep -iE "GoogleAgent-URLContext" /var/log/nginx/access.log \
  | awk '{print $4}' | cut -d: -f1 | sort | uniq -c

And this shows which paths it requested most, which is the quickest way to see whether your Disallow lines are being respected:

grep -iE "GoogleAgent-URLContext" /var/log/nginx/access.log \
  | awk '{print $7}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20

Check the requests are genuine

Anyone can send the Gemini URL Context user-agent, so confirm the source before acting on a match:

GoogleAgent-URLContext: we hold no published IP list, so use reverse DNS where the operator documents a hostname and treat an unverifiable Gemini URL Context request with caution.

Frequently Asked Questions

What user-agent string does Gemini URL Context use?

Gemini URL Context is reported to identify itself with GoogleAgent-URLContext. Evidence that the spelling is in real use comes from our own robots.txt study: 10 of the 5,583 valid robots.txt files in the Tranco top 10,000 name it (fetched October 20, 2026), not from Google, which has not published crawler documentation naming it. Use it in robots.txt as the best available match, and treat a request carrying it as a clue rather than proof of who sent it.

Is Gemini URL Context safe?

Will blocking Gemini URL Context hurt my SEO?

How do I block Gemini URL Context in robots.txt?

Add the following lines to your /robots.txt file:

User-agent: GoogleAgent-URLContext
Disallow: /

This instructs Gemini URL Context not to crawl any path on your site. To block only specific sections, replace / with the path (e.g., Disallow: /blog/).

Does Gemini URL Context respect robots.txt?

Not documented. Google has published no statement that Gemini URL Context reads robots.txt. A rule for GoogleAgent-URLContext will stop a client that chooses to honour it; for enforcement, add a firewall or CDN rule as well.

How do I verify if Gemini URL Context is crawling my site?

Search your access logs for GoogleAgent-URLContext (for example grep -i "GoogleAgent-URLContext" /var/log/nginx/access.log). Because the operator publishes no IP ranges or reverse-DNS pattern, a match shows that something used the name, not that Google sent it.