SEARCH ENGINE · OWN INDEX

What is Apple search?

Listed in this research as “Apple (Applebot: Spotlight, Siri and Safari search)”.

Apple search is a search engine run by Apple Inc. It runs its own index. The research records three rich result types for it, one of them active; its pages document support for JSON-LD, Microdata, Open Graph and Twitter Cards.

Last checked November 10, 2026 · 5 sources, 1 of them could not be fetched

Type
Search engine
Run by
Apple Inc.
Results come from
Its own index
Recorded markets
Not limited to listed countries in its pages
Where its share is highest
StatCounter does not track Apple search.
Share, worldwide
StatCounter does not track Apple search.
Structured data formats
Documented: JSON-LD, Microdata, Open Graph, Twitter Cards
Rich result types
1 active of 3 on record

Who runs it

Run by Apple Inc.

support.apple.com/en-us/119829

Where does Apple search get its results?

Apple crawls the web with Applebot to power search features in Spotlight, Siri and Safari and lists its own ranking factors[2]. No syndication is described on the pages fetched. Applebot follows robots.txt, falls back to Googlebot rules when it has none of its own, and can be verified by reverse DNS under applebot.apple.com or a published IP range file. Applebot-Extended does not crawl; it only controls use of content for generative model training[2].

Engines that use results from Apple search

  • Apple Siri and Spotlight AI answersSame company

    Built on Apple's own Applebot crawl[5]

    As recorded for that engine: Same operator. The Applebot crawl that powers Spotlight, Siri and Safari search also supplies the context for AI-generated answers. No direct quote taken; paraphrased from the page.

Named by other engines in a narrower role: Kagi (a named specialized source)[1].

Which countries use Apple search?

StatCounter does not track Apple search. None of the labels in its search engine figures for October 2026 maps to Apple search in this research. StatCounter Global Stats

Recorded markets

The research records no country limit for Apple search: its pages do not limit it to listed countries.

Does Apple search use structured data?

The research records documented support for JSON-LD, Microdata, Open Graph and Twitter Cards for Apple search. It records 3 rich result types, listed in the next section.

Structured data formats for Apple search
FormatDocumented supportWhat the research records
JSON-LDYesThe Applebot page says Applebot reads schema.org isAccessibleForFree in page-level JSON-LD.[2]
MicrodataYesArchived 2016 guide: code examples use itemscope, itemtype and itemprop attributes; the syntax is not named in the text.[3]
RDFaNot documentedNot named on the Apple pages fetched.[3]
Open GraphYesNamed in the archived 2016 App Search guide; current behaviour not confirmed.[3]
MicroformatsNot documentedNot named on the Apple pages fetched.[3]
Twitter CardsYesNamed in the archived 2016 App Search guide; current behaviour not confirmed.[3]

“Not documented” means the pages read do not say; it does not mean the format is ignored.

Other formats and channels

  • App LinksDocumented

    Named in the archived 2016 guide as a deep link mechanism.[3]

  • Smart App BannersDocumented

    Named in the archived 2016 guide as a deep link mechanism.[3]

Which rich results can Apple search show?

The research records 3 rich result types for Apple search: 1 active and 2 with an unknown status. Each entry shows the schema.org types it is documented for, where the research records them. Valid markup can make a page eligible; it does not guarantee the result.

Active 1

  • Paywalled content signal (isAccessibleForFree) Active

    Documented for: no schema.org type recorded

    Required: isAccessibleForFree

    Where: not stated

    Formats: JSON-LD

    Page-level markup only; section-level hasPart is not supported. A false value marks paywalled content, which may still appear in search but is not used as context for AI features.

    Documentation[2]

Status unknown 2

  • Actions on results (dial a phone number, get directions) Status unknown

    Documented for: Organization (main type) and PostalAddress

    Where: not stated

    Formats: Microdata

    Example properties: telephone on Organization; address as PostalAddress with streetAddress, addressLocality, addressRegion and postalCode. The guide does not label them required or recommended. Archived 2016 doc.

    Documentation[3]

  • Rich results for marked up web content (Spotlight and Safari) Status unknown

    Documented for: AggregateRating (main type), Offers, PriceRange, InteractionCount, Organization, Recipe, SearchAction and ImageObject

    Where: not stated

    Formats: Microdata, Open Graph, Twitter Cards

    From Apple's Documentation Archive, last updated 2016-12-15; current behaviour not confirmed. Schema names are Apple's labels: Offers, PriceRange and InteractionCount are not exact schema.org type names.

    Documentation[3]

How does Apple search crawl the web?

The research lists 3 crawler tokens for Apple search: the names a site uses in robots.txt rules, with what each one does where the source says.

Applebot, Applebot-Extended, iTMS[2]

How do I test my markup for Apple search?

Testing tools the research records for Apple search:

Inject the World

Test a page for Apple search

See what the research records for Apple search against the structured data on your page.

Test a page

Site ownersThe research records no guidelines or vocabularies of its own for Apple search.

What could not be verified?

These claims about Apple search came up in the research, but no page that could be read confirms them. They are kept apart, and nothing above rests on them.

  • The App Search API Validation Tool is still available.

    Why it is open: No Apple page fetched says whether the tool is live or retired.

    How it was checked

    Source 4 https://search.developer.apple.com/appsearch-validation-tool returned an HTTP 307 redirect to https://developer.apple.com/, which was not followed.

  • Apple still uses Microdata, Open Graph and Twitter Cards markup for Spotlight and Safari rich results.

    Why it is open: The only source is a retired guide; no current Apple page restates it.

    How it was checked

    Source 3 (archived, last updated 2016-12-15); source 2 (current) names only JSON-LD isAccessibleForFree.

Sources

The pages the research used for Apple search, numbered as cited above. Accessed November 10, 2026 unless shown.

  1. 1.Search Sources | Kagi's Docs · Kagi
  2. 2.About Applebot - Apple Support · Apple · updated September 4, 2026
  3. 3.App Search Programming Guide: Mark Up Web Content · Apple · updated December 15, 2016
  4. 4.search.developer.apple.com/appsearch-validation-tool · AppleCould not be fetched
  5. 5.About Applebot · Apple · updated September 4, 2026

Market share figures: StatCounter Global Stats, search engine market share, October 2026, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.