seo/update-webmaster-verification sets the verification codes for Google Search Console, Bing, Baidu and Yandex.
Yoast renders each as a meta tag in the head. Supply the code only, not the whole tag.
At a glance
| Ability | seo/update-webmaster-verification |
| Toolset | Yoast SEO — toolset/yoast-seo |
| Group | Yoast SEO › Settings |
| Requires | Yoast SEO, active on the site |
| Capability | manage_options |
| Safety | Writes data |
| Repeatable | Idempotent — running it twice leaves the same result |
| Ships in | AcrossAI Abilities Manager 0.0.34 and later |
How it works
The code-not-tag distinction is the entire failure mode here. Search engines hand you a complete <meta> element, and pasting that whole element into the field produces a meta tag containing a meta tag — which does not verify, and looks correct in the settings screen.
Take the content attribute’s value and nothing else.
Verification is a one-off. Once a site is verified the code can usually be removed, though leaving it costs nothing and protects against losing verification if the property is reconfigured.
Meta-tag verification is one of several methods. A site verified by DNS or by a file does not need these at all, and an empty field is not a problem on such a site.
These codes are site-specific, which is worth remembering when copying settings between installs — an exported configuration carries the source site’s codes.
Idempotent.
Input
| Name | Type | Required | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
settings | object | Yes | A map of setting key to new value. Keys outside this area are refused. |
What comes back
| Name | Type | What it is |
|---|---|---|
updated | array | The keys that changed. |
settings | object | The area after the write. |
success | boolean | Whether the call completed. |
message | string | A one-line summary of what happened, suitable for showing a human. |
error_code | string | Present only on failure — a stable machine-readable reason, such as a missing field, a wrong field type or an unmet confirmation. |
Example
Ask your assistant:
Add our Google Search Console verification code.
It resolves to one call:
{
"ability": "seo/update-webmaster-verification",
"parameters": {
"settings": { "googleverify": "abc123def456" }
}
}Worth knowing
- The code only. Pasting the whole meta tag does not verify.
- DNS or file verification makes these unnecessary.
- Site-specific — do not carry them across in an imported configuration.
- Idempotent.
Related abilities
- Import SEO Settings — where these travel by accident
- Get SEO Settings — read the webmaster area
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