Search Console gets its first writes — submit and delete sitemaps
A platform audit found one genuine gap among the read-only integrations. AdSense and AdMob are read-only because their APIs have no write endpoints — that is the shape of the product. Search Console was different: it has sitemap submission and deletion, we had been listing sitemaps since June, and the agent could watch a feed error without being able to do the one thing that fixes it.
What shipped
- `submit_sitemap` — resubmit a sitemap after a content release, or after seeing one error.
- `delete_sitemap`, for removing one that should no longer be crawled.
- The `webmasters` scope is now requested by default on new connections, alongside the read-only one.
- Sixteen redundant calls removed from the read path, which were asking Google the same question repeatedly within a single run.
The scope detail, and what it means for existing connections
Reading Search Console uses `webmasters.readonly`. Submitting or deleting a sitemap needs `webmasters` — a different, broader scope, not a superset the read grant happens to include. A connection authorized before this release therefore carries read access only, and the API's refusal reads like a generic permissions error rather than "the scope you granted months ago does not cover this".
If your Search Console connection predates this release, reconnect it once to pick up the write scope. New connections get both.
Why this was the only real gap
The audit that found it asked a narrow question of every read-only integration: is this read-only because the API has no writes, or because we never built them? AdSense and AdMob came back as the former — they are reporting APIs, and a write tool would be inventing an endpoint. Search Console came back as the latter, which is the kind of gap worth closing rather than explaining.
Frequently asked questions
- Can an AI agent submit a sitemap to Search Console?
- Yes — submit_sitemap and delete_sitemap both exist now. Neither sits behind a fence, because a submission is a hint Google acts on when it chooses and a deletion is undone by submitting again.
- Why can't my existing Search Console connection submit a sitemap?
- Reading uses the webmasters.readonly scope and writing needs the broader webmasters scope. Connections made before this release carry read access only — reconnect once and the write scope is included by default.
- Why are AdSense and AdMob still read-only?
- Because their APIs are reporting APIs with no write endpoints. That is the shape of the product rather than a gap in the integration, which is exactly the distinction the audit was drawing.