Google may be more successful in blocking AI scrapers, search scrapers and third-party tracking tools since around September 13th or so. This coincides with the September 4th and then September 12th reversals we reported and the September 15th update, and it also aligns with the methods Google has been using to block non-human behavior in its search results recently.
Derek Perkins from Nozzle told me that the majority of his tools attempts to grab/scrap data from Google Search have been blocked. He said he saw about an 80% drop in data he was able to get from Google. He also told me he noticed the same thing with data from DataForSEO.
The Sistrix status page noted a new issue:
2026-09-16: Google has made further changes to the way search results are delivered. As a result, our data collection is currently running at a reduced rate. We are adapting our processes accordingly and will provide further updates here.
Steve Paine from Sistrix told me:
Google has been continuously changing how search results are delivered for about a year now, currently at a very high pace. Our data collection is running at a reduced rate as a result, but data is flowing, the Toolbox is updating and we are adapting our processes. We're keeping our status page updated.
I reached out to the dozen or so other tools but I have not heard back yet.
But if you look at some of the charts Glenn Gabe posted, you see this weird drop in data and then it comes back. He validated the data with the actual site traffic, so the tools do seem to be right for him. Here is his post:
Google is blocking scrapers in new ways again... But here's the interesting part. I know 100% that certain sites dropped and some recovered with the 9/4 unconfirmed update. When checking one that dropped by nearly 100%, and then fully recovered, here is what the big 3 tools show.ahrefs picks up the recovery. Sistrix does NOT pick up the recovery. Semrush shows recovery, but it lagged a bit. So I think ahrefs is able to still scrape ok, Semrush is still scraping ok, but slower, and Sistrix is way behind. Stay tuned.
Google is blocking scrapers in new ways again... But here's the interesting part. I know 100% that certain sites dropped and some recovered with the 9/4 unconfirmed update. When checking one that dropped by nearly 100%, and then fully recovered, here is what the big 3 tools show.… https://t.co/FXTpjoke0m pic.twitter.com/P7jFSbKnYL
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) September 18, 2026
Something may be off with the data scraping from these tools and for now, I suspect Google is winning but I am sure the tools will figure it out.
I do not have confirmation from any other tool yet, I am working on that. But just be careful when looking at the data from these tools, they might be wrong.
As a reminder, Google is testing numerous ways to verify humans but the goto URL redirects seem to have died down...
Forum discussion at X.
Update: I updated the tweet from Glenn Gabe above.
