Google Search has introduced a new method for handling organic result links by rewriting them to use a redirect format starting with google.com/goto?url= instead of displaying the destination URL directly in the HTML. When users click a search result, Google redirects them to the actual page using a custom encoding for the URL parameter, which is not a simple base64 encoding but appears to be an opaque reference tied to Google's index.

This update, observed consistently since late August 2026 for users who are logged out or browsing in private mode, marks a shift from the previous redirect format (google.com/url?q=) where the target URL was visible in the query string. The new /goto links require an additional request to Google to resolve the destination URL from the HTTP Location header, rather than allowing offline decoding.

Google still includes copies of the destination URL on the page to generate search result page elements like domain names and favicons, but these are separate from the redirect mechanism. This change is significant for developers and companies that build search indexes from Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) because it complicates automated scraping.

The motivation behind this update aligns with Google's ongoing efforts to deter bulk automated extraction of search results, particularly by AI crawlers and SEO scrapers. Previously, scrapers could extract thousands of URLs directly from the HTML without interacting further with Google. Now, each URL requires a separate request to Google to resolve, increasing the time and network noise involved, and providing Google with signals to detect scraping behavior.

This move complements earlier measures such as removing the ability to display 100 results per page and tightening protections like BotGuard and SearchGuard, collectively raising the barrier for naive scraping techniques.

Autom.dev, a service that monitors Google Search behavior, first noticed the /goto links appearing sporadically but now reports consistent use in logged-out and private browsing sessions. Autom has updated its Google Search API to handle these new redirects by reading the Location header without following the redirect, ensuring that users of their API continue to receive usable destination URLs without needing to change their integration.

This development underscores the evolving challenges of accessing live search data as Google modifies its infrastructure to protect its search index from automated harvesting.