What a Google Alert does

A Google Alert is a tool that watches the internet for you and sends you an email whenever new content matches something you care about. You tell Google what to search for — a person's name, a company, a topic, a product — and it checks the web regularly. When it finds new pages, articles, or posts that match your search, it emails you a link.

The most common use is tracking news about someone or something. A journalist might set an alert for a company they cover. A job seeker might alert on their own name to see where they appear online. A parent might alert on their child's school name to catch announcements. You can create as many alerts as you want, and they cost nothing.

Key Takeaways

  • Google Alerts are free and work by emailing you links whenever new web pages match a search term you choose.
  • You create an alert by going to google.com/alerts, typing what you want to track, and choosing how often you want emails.
  • You can narrow alerts by source type — news only, blogs only, or all web pages — to reduce noise.
  • Alerts stop working if you delete them, so check your alert list occasionally to remove ones you no longer need.

How to create your first alert

Go to google.com/alerts in any web browser. You do not need to sign in, though Google will ask you to later. In the box at the top that says "Create an alert about", type the thing you want to track. This can be a name, a phrase, a company, a product — anything you might search for normally.

Click the "Create Alert" button. Google will show you a preview of what it found and ask you to confirm. If the results look right, click "Create Alert" again. Google will then ask you to sign in with a Google account (Gmail, YouTube, or any account you use with Google services). Once you sign in, the alert is live. You will start receiving emails whenever Google finds new matches.

Choosing how often you get emails

By default, Google sends you an email as soon as it finds something new. If your alert is for a popular topic, this can mean many emails per day. Before you confirm the alert, click "Show options" to change the frequency.

You have three choices: "As-it-happens" sends an email each time Google finds a match, "Once a day" bundles all matches into one email sent in the evening, and "Once a week" collects everything and sends it on Friday. For a common topic like "climate change" or a popular person's name, "Once a day" or "Once a week" will keep your inbox from filling up. For something more specific like a rare product name or a local business, "As-it-happens" works well because matches will be infrequent.

Filtering alerts by source and language

When you click "Show options" before creating the alert, you can also choose what types of sources to include. The options are "Comprehensive" (all web pages, news, blogs, video, books), "News" (news articles only), "Blogs" (blog posts only), "Web" (regular websites but not news), "Video" (YouTube and other video sites), and "Books" (Google Books only).

If you are tracking a news story, "News" alone will give you reporting from outlets like AP, Reuters, and major newspapers. If you are tracking a person's name and want to see where they appear anywhere online, choose "Comprehensive". You can also set the language — English, Spanish, French, and many others — so you only get results in the language you read.

Managing and deleting alerts you no longer need

To see all your active alerts, go back to google.com/alerts and sign in. Your list appears on the left side. Each alert shows the search term and how many results it has found. You can edit any alert by clicking the pencil icon next to it, which lets you change the search term, frequency, or source type.

To stop an alert, click the trash icon next to it. Once you delete an alert, Google stops watching for that term and stops sending you emails. If you create the same alert again later, it starts fresh — it does not remember the old one. Many people forget about alerts they created months ago, so checking this list every few months and removing ones you no longer use keeps your inbox cleaner.

Why an alert might stop sending emails

If you created an alert but stopped receiving emails, the most common reason is that Google has not found any new matches recently. An alert for "John Smith" might go silent for weeks if nothing new appears online about that person. This does not mean the alert is broken — it will start sending again as soon as Google finds a new match.

Another reason is that you may have accidentally deleted the alert. Check your alert list at google.com/alerts to confirm it is still there. If you signed up for the alert with an old email address or account you no longer use, emails might be going to that inbox instead. You can change the email address associated with your Google account in your account settings.

Common uses and what to expect

People use Google Alerts for many reasons. A business owner might alert on their company name to see when they are mentioned in the news or on social media. A freelancer might alert on their own name to track their online reputation. Someone buying a used car might alert on the model and year to catch new listings. A student researching a topic might alert on keywords to stay current with new articles.

One thing to know: Google Alerts finds published content, not social media posts or private messages. It searches news sites, blogs, forums, and regular websites. It does not monitor Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram directly, though those platforms sometimes appear in results if they are indexed by Google. Also, alerts can take a few hours to a few days to find new content — they are not real-time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get alerts on my phone instead of email?

Google Alerts only sends email. However, if you use Gmail on your phone, the emails arrive like any other message. Some people set up email filters or use third-party tools to forward alerts to other services, but Google does not offer a built-in phone notification option.

Will Google Alerts find things on Facebook or Twitter?

Google Alerts searches the public web, which includes some social media content that Google has indexed. However, it does not monitor Facebook or Twitter directly, and most private posts will not appear. For tracking social media specifically, you would need to use each platform's own search or notification features.

How far back does Google look when I create an alert?

When you first create an alert, Google shows you recent results as a preview, but the alert itself only watches for new content going forward. It does not send you emails about old articles that already existed. Once the alert is live, it only emails you about pages published after you created it.

Can I alert on a phrase instead of just one word?

Yes. Put the phrase in quotes, like "machine learning" or "best pizza in Denver". This tells Google to find only pages with those exact words together, not pages that mention each word separately. Without quotes, an alert on machine learning might email you about pages that mention machines and pages that mention learning, even if they are not related.

What happens if I delete my Google account?

All your alerts will be deleted along with it. If you want to keep the alerts but change which email receives them, do not delete your account — instead, change the email address associated with your Google account in your account settings, and the alerts will follow.