Google has begun routing search results through google.com/goto passthrough URLs, a technical layer designed to block third-party scraping of its search index. The change rewrites standard result links into a format like google.com/goto?url=[encoded destination], forcing a server-side redirect before users reach the intended page.
The mechanism mirrors Google's own analytics practices from the JavaScript-disabled era. Derek Perkins of Nozzle described the rollout as "nearly 100 percent across several residential IP providers," framing it as an anti-bot measure that replaces client-side links with server-side redirects.
The immediate target is AI and SEO scraping tools. By encoding URLs, Google makes it harder for external systems to parse and harvest its search engine results pages directly. Companies like Ahrefs, which analyze SERP data, are already detecting the pattern more frequently and adapting their collection methods accordingly.
The business pressure is real. Google has sued SerpAPI over scraping and recently lost a motion in that case—a signal that legal routes alone won't contain data extraction. This technical measure is the fallback: control the data pipeline itself.
There's a user experience cost. The passthrough URL obscures the final destination, removing the preview capability that lets searchers verify legitimacy before clicking. That trade-off reflects Google's calculus: search advertising margins are worth the friction.
Rollout status remains mixed. Alex Greenland first publicly identified the change on June 23, but noted difficulty replicating it consistently. Brodie Clark of SERPAlerts and other observers have confirmed seeing it, suggesting partial or geographic staging.
The move is about competitive moat defense. By controlling access to its search index and user interaction signals, Google raises the cost for any AI application—whether Claude, ChatGPT, or a startup—that wants to build a search alternative on public data. It's not a permanent wall, but each layer adds friction and pushes AI companies toward licensing deals or building their own index infrastructure.
