Last updated 19 Oct 2026 · reviewed by the Essentras editorial team

Agent recipe

“Remove a 10-year-old news article about a minor court case from Google. Who can do it, what does it cost, and will it work?”

The agent asks where the buyer lives and gets the official route: the publisher decides first, and only the EU, EEA or UK adds a right to be forgotten request. The free route comes first, the $2,200 service second, and nobody promises removal.

Responses captured 19 Oct 2026. Prices change, so the agent must re-quote before it shows a total.

Tools usedfind_removal_routequote_service

Connect the MCP server or REST API first: no account, no key. Rules: agent briefing.

The steps

Ask where the buyer lives, never who they are

An old news story is the situation old-news. The law where the person lives decides which routes exist, so without a region the checker returns 1 question. It never needs the name, the headline or the link.

MCP tool call: find_removal_route

{
  "situation": "old-news"
}

Same call over REST

curl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/check/removal-route \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"situation":"old-news"}'

Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

{
  "status": "needs_answers",
  "summary": "Where do you live? This changes which laws and Google features apply to you.",
  "situation": {"id": "old-news", "label": "An old news story about me"},
  "needs": [
    {
      "field": "region",
      "options": [
        {"id": "us", "label": "United States"},
        {"id": "eu", "label": "EU, EEA or UK"},
        {"id": "other", "label": "Somewhere else"}
      ]
    }
  ]
}

What to read: status is needs_answers: the agent asks the question in needs, then calls again with the answer.

United States: the publisher decides

In the US the route is the source. The editor can update the story with the outcome of the case, remove the name or unpublish it. Google does not apply right to be forgotten delisting outside the EU, so lawful news usually stays in its results.

MCP tool call: find_removal_route

{
  "situation": "old-news",
  "region": "us"
}

Same call over REST

curl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/check/removal-route \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"situation":"old-news","region":"us"}'

Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

{
  "status": "complete",
  "summary": "Source: ask the publisher to update or anonymize it. Honest odds: Unlikely via Google.",
  "route": {
    "title": "Source: ask the publisher to update or anonymize it",
    "who_decides": "The site owner, publisher or platform"
  },
  "do_it_yourself": {
    "steps": [
      "Collect what changed since publication: charges dropped, a case dismissed, a correction, or years passed with no public role.",
      "Ask the editor to update the article or add an editor’s note with the outcome (template 2, update version).",
      "If the story is old and you are a private person, ask for your name to be removed or the story unpublished (template 2, anonymize version).",
      "If the publisher changes the article, use Refresh Outdated Content so Google’s result catches up.",
      "If it stays as it is, publish accurate, current pages about you so it moves down."
    ],
    "templates": [
      {"id": "t2", "title": "Template 2: Update or anonymize request to an editor"},
      {"id": "t7", "title": "Template 7: Follow-up"},
      {"id": "t8", "title": "Template 8: Suppression brief"}
    ]
  },
  "timeline": {"label": "No official timeline"},
  "fit": {
    "id": "unlikely",
    "label": "Unlikely via Google",
    "note": "Fit is guidance on categories from Google’s own criteria, not a prediction about your request."
  },
  "service": {
    "name": "Remove a specific article from Google",
    "price": {"label": "$2,200"},
    "terms": "Refund terms are shown on the checkout page. A refund is not a promise of removal: Google and publishers decide.",
    "offered_as": "alternative_to_diy"
  },
  "name_removal_service": {
    "name": "Remove your name from Google",
    "price": {"label": "$1,650"}
  }
}

What to read: fit.label is “Unlikely via Google”, and fit.note says it is guidance from Google’s criteria, not a prediction. The steps are the free route; service.offered_as is alternative_to_diy.

EU, EEA or UK: add a right to be forgotten request

The same story for a person in the EU, EEA or UK adds a legal route next to the publisher: a request to Google to delist the URL from searches for the name. Google weighs the age of the story and the person’s role in public life.

MCP tool call: find_removal_route

{
  "situation": "old-news",
  "region": "eu"
}

Same call over REST

curl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/check/removal-route \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"situation":"old-news","region":"eu"}'

Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

{
  "summary": "Source plus law: a publisher request and a right to be forgotten request. Honest odds: Possible.",
  "route": {
    "title": "Source plus law: a publisher request and a right to be forgotten request"
  },
  "where_you_live": {
    "note": "Where European data protection law applies, ask Google to delist the URL from searches for your name. Google weighs whether the information is inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive, your role in public life, the age of the story and whether the news is recent. No factor is absolute.",
    "uk_caveat": "In the UK: Google’s right to be forgotten overview does not name the UK. Check that the form lists your country before you rely on it."
  },
  "do_it_yourself": {
    "official_links": [
      {
        "label": "Refresh Outdated Content tool",
        "url": "https://search.google.com/search-console/remove-outdated-content"
      },
      {
        "label": "Google’s private info policy",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/9673730"
      },
      {
        "label": "Right to be forgotten request form",
        "url": "https://reportcontent.google.com/forms/rtbf?product=websearch&hl=en"
      },
      {
        "label": "Right to be forgotten overview",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/legal/answer/10769224"
      }
    ]
  },
  "fit": {
    "id": "possible",
    "label": "Possible",
    "why": "Google weighs the age of the story and your role in public life. Recent news and public roles weigh against delisting."
  },
  "will_not_do": "A request to Google does not change the article. Even where delisting applies, it hides the result only in searches for your name."
}

What to read: fit.label is “Possible”. official_links adds the right to be forgotten form, and uk_caveat asks a UK resident to check that the form lists their country. will_not_do: the article itself stays online.

Price the serviceService step

For a buyer who wants it handled, quote_service returns the price, who decides and start_url. It charges nothing. The terms do not restate the refund rules: they point to the checkout page and say a refund is not a promise of removal.

MCP tool call: quote_service

{
  "id": "remove-article-from-google"
}

Same call over REST

curl https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/services/remove-article-from-google

Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026

{
  "id": "remove-article-from-google",
  "name": "Remove 1 article from Google",
  "start_url": "https://essentras.com/services/remove-article-from-google/start?utm_source=ai_agent&utm_medium=agent_api&utm_content=quote_service",
  "price": {"amount": 2200, "label": "$2,200", "basis": "flat"},
  "options": [],
  "terms": "Refund terms are shown on the checkout page. A refund is not a promise of removal: Google and publishers decide.",
  "decides": "Google and the publisher decide.",
  "free_check": {"mcp_tool": "find_removal_route"},
  "how_to_buy": "start_url is the page where the buyer reviews the service and pays. The agent never pays."
}

What to read: decides: “Google and the publisher decide.” For a name with several results, the checker also returned “Remove your name from Google” at $1,650.

The 2 regions, as the checker returned them

What the agent reads	United States	EU, EEA or UK
Route	Source: ask the publisher to update or anonymize it	Source plus law: a publisher request and a right to be forgotten request
Odds via Google (fit)	Unlikely via Google	Possible
Right to be forgotten	Not applied outside the EU	Form in official_links
Timeline	No official timeline	No official timeline
Service returned	Remove a specific article from Google, $2,200	Remove a specific article from Google, $2,200

What the agent tells the buyer

A story that was lawful when it ran usually changes only if the publisher changes it, so the first step is free: ask the editor to add the outcome of the case, or to remove your name. I can draft that letter from the checker’s template.

Where you live matters. In the US, Google is unlikely to delist lawful news (the checker says “Unlikely via Google”). In the EU, EEA or UK you can also file a right to be forgotten request, and the checker says “Possible”: Google weighs the age of the story and your public role.

Delisting hides the result in searches for your name; the article itself stays online.

There is no official timeline. Publishers decide on their own schedule and some never reply, so send 1 polite follow-up after 1 to 2 weeks.

If you want Essentras to handle it, removing 1 specific article is $2,200, and working on your name across several results is $1,650. The refund terms are shown at checkout, and a refund is not a promise of removal: the publisher and Google decide.

If the story stays, the honest fallback is accurate, current pages about you that rank above it.

The human step

The buyer opens start_url, reviews the service and pays on essentras.com, after the agent has handed over the free route. The refund terms are shown at checkout, as the terms field says.

start_url, returned by quote_service

https://essentras.com/services/remove-article-from-google/start?utm_source=ai_agent&utm_medium=agent_api&utm_content=quote_service

See the article removal service

Also useful

Rules the agent follows

Never pays and never collects card data. The job ends at start_url.
Asks for facts only: the situation and the region, never the name, the headline or the link.
Official channels only: the publisher, Google’s own forms and the law where the buyer lives. No fake legal claims.
Promises no removal and no date: the publisher and Google decide, and a refund is never a promise of removal.
Free route first, the paid service as an alternative.
Never suggests placements as a route to Wikipedia notability or a Meta verified badge.

FAQ

Questions about this recipe

Will Google remove an old news article about me?▾

Usually not on its own. In the US the checker rates it “Unlikely via Google”, because Google may keep newsworthy content. In the EU, EEA or UK a right to be forgotten request is “Possible”. A publisher can change or unpublish the story, and Refresh Outdated Content then brings Google’s result up to date.

Can anyone guarantee the article comes down?▾

No. The publisher decides about the article and Google decides about its results. The service’s terms say so: a refund is not a promise of removal, and the refund terms are shown on the checkout page.

What if the result is the court record, not a news story?▾

Then the situation is court-record. The route is the court or agency (sealing, correction or redaction), the odds via Google are “Unlikely via Google”, and the service it returns is reputation management, priced per case. A lawyer where the case was heard can say what applies.

How long does it take?▾

The checker returns “No official timeline” for both regions. Publishers decide on their own schedule and some never reply, so it suggests 1 polite follow-up after 1 to 2 weeks.

“Remove a 10-year-old news article about a minor court case from Google. Who can do it, what does it cost, and will it work?”

The steps

Ask where the buyer lives, never who they are

United States: the publisher decides

EU, EEA or UK: add a right to be forgotten request

Price the serviceService step

The 2 regions, as the checker returned them

What the agent tells the buyer

The human step

Rules the agent follows

Questions about this recipe

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