IndexNow Adoption

What this parameter measures

IndexNow is a push protocol that lets sites notify participating search engines the moment content changes, instead of waiting for a crawler to re-discover the update. friendly4AI checks whether your site has adopted it by looking for three signal types: (1) a key file accessible at the root (for example /your-key.txt) whose body matches the key value, (2) an indexnow-key: directive in robots.txt, and (3) an x-robots-tag: indexnow or indexnow-key HTTP response header on the homepage. The check is specific to the Bing, Yandex, Naver, Seznam, Yep, and Amazon ecosystems — Google does not participate in IndexNow and no Google coverage should be inferred.

Why it matters for AI-readiness

AI search systems need fresh content. When your pages change and IndexNow is not enabled, a crawler may not re-index the update for hours or days. Engines that use IndexNow — primarily Bing and its syndication partners — receive push notifications within seconds and re-fetch the updated page almost immediately. For AI-generated answers that draw on Bing's index, this means your corrected facts, new product details, or updated research reach end users faster. Without IndexNow, time-sensitive content is at higher risk of being cited in an outdated state by Bing-powered AI features such as Copilot.

How we score it

Under the v4.5 methodology this Discovery parameter runs a three-tier gradient. It passes (100) when a valid IndexNow key file is found at the root path and the file body matches the expected key value — the strongest adoption signal. It scores partial (50) when an IndexNow hint is present in robots.txt or in HTTP response headers but the key file could not be confirmed, for example because the file URL returns a non-200 status or the key value cannot be derived. It fails (0) when no IndexNow signal of any kind is detected: no key file, no robots.txt directive, and no header hint.

How to fix common issues

• Generate a 32-to-128-character alphanumeric key and place it at your domain root as /{key}.txt; the file must contain exactly that key string as its body.
• Register the key with Bing Webmaster Tools so Bing begins accepting your push pings.
• Optionally add indexnow-key: {key} to your robots.txt or set the x-robots-tag: indexnow-key={key} HTTP header; either hint raises the score to partial if the key file is not yet accessible.
• For CMS platforms (WordPress, Shopify, Next.js), install the official IndexNow plugin or use a Cloudflare worker that fires IndexNow pings on publish events.
• Re-scan after publishing the key file to confirm the file is accessible and the body exactly matches the key value.