Google Says Search Will Eventually Support HTTP QUERY Method for Faceted Navigation

Google will add support for the HTTP QUERY method to Google Search once the broader web infrastructure adopts the new standard, according to Gary Illyes, a spokesperson for Google, in a LinkedIn post published on August 18, 2026.

What was announced

Gary Illyes wrote on LinkedIn that HTTP has a new method called QUERY, defined in RFC 10008, which was published as a Proposed Standard by the IETF in June 2026. He said Google Search will support the method "eventually as the ecosystem catches up."

Illyes described QUERY as a solution to a long-standing trade-off in web development. GET requests pack every parameter into the URL string, which makes them safe and cacheable but causes URLs to break when search filters grow complex. POST requests accept a request body of any size, but intermediaries such as CDNs do not cache them by default. QUERY combines both properties: it is safe, idempotent, and cacheable like GET, while sending a structured payload body like POST.

What changed

Before RFC 10008, websites with faceted navigation or heavy search filters had to choose between two imperfect options. They could encode all filter parameters into long URL query strings using GET, which risks hitting URL length limits and produces unwieldy URLs. Or they could send filter data in a POST body, which breaks edge and CDN caching and can cause crawlability problems for search engines.

The new QUERY method allows servers to process rich filter payloads cleanly while remaining safe for automatic repetition and caching by intermediaries. Illyes wrote that the method is particularly relevant for "faceted navigation and heavy search filters."

Details and availability

RFC 10008 was published in June 2026 by the IETF HTTPBIS working group. The specification defines QUERY as a request method that encloses a representation describing how the target resource should process the request, then returns the result. The request is safe and idempotent, meaning it can be repeated or restarted without concern for partial state changes.

Illyes cautioned that widespread adoption will take time. He wrote that web servers, CDNs, reverse proxies, and browsers must all update their networking stacks over the next couple of years. HTML itself needs an update, as does CORS support.

He advised webmasters to "keep your regular URLs tidy" in the meantime.

Context

The HTTP QUERY method originated in draft-ietf-httpbis-safe-method-w-body, authored by Julian Reschke, James M. Snell, and Mike Bishop. It went through multiple revisions between 2015 and 2026 before reaching Proposed Standard status as RFC 10008.

For search engines, the method matters because crawling infrastructure must understand and correctly handle each HTTP method. If a site uses QUERY for its faceted navigation, Googlebot needs to issue QUERY requests, parse the responses, and handle caching appropriately. Until Google Search adds support, sites that adopt the method early may find their filtered pages are not crawled through the new method.

What has not been confirmed

Google did not provide a timetable for when Googlebot will support the QUERY method. Illyes said only that support will come "eventually." The announcement does not describe whether Googlebot will begin issuing QUERY requests during crawling or only respond to them when sites serve the method. It is also unclear whether sites that adopt QUERY before Google supports it will experience any crawling issues for their filtered pages.

Sources

• RFC 10008: The HTTP QUERY Method — IETF Proposed Standard, June 2026
• Gary Illyes on LinkedIn — August 18, 2026