Crawl and index controls
IndexNow
IndexNow is a protocol for instantly telling participating search engines that a URL on your site was added, updated or deleted.
In plain words
Normally, search engines find changes by crawling, which can take days or even weeks. With IndexNow you tell them yourself.
One submission is shared with all participating search engines. Each request carries your own IndexNow key, which proves the URLs belong to your site.
Example
After publishing a new page, a site sends one request like the one below. The participating engines listed by IndexNow are Amazon, Bing, Naver, Seznam.cz, Yandex and Yep.
GET https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url=https://example.com/new-page&key=your-keyWhy it matters for AI search
The IndexNow FAQ says faster indexing helps keep your content current in AI-powered search results.
Google is not among the listed engines, so for Google you still rely on normal crawling and your sitemap.
What you can do
- Check whether your CMS or CDN already supports IndexNow.
- Only submit real changes: new, updated or deleted URLs.
- Keep your XML sitemap for search engines that don’t use IndexNow.
Often confused with
- XML sitemap
- A sitemap lists all your pages and waits to be read. IndexNow actively pushes a single change.
Sources
Facts and sources last checked on 19 October 2026.
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