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Video transcript

1. 00:00Five endings

   Gmail and Google Workspace addresses both get a live SMTP check, and no email is sent. That check can end five ways. Here's how to read each one. A clear yes gives valid. A clear no gives invalid. Google slowing the check gives unknown. A DMARC refusal also gives unknown. And a domain that says yes to everything gives catch-all.

2. 00:26Dots and plus tags

   Gmail adds a twist of its own. Dots and plus tags can make one address look like several. When that happens, the result carries an alias_of field with the plain form. That field is only for display. It never changes the status. Its use is practical: two rows in your list may be one person, so remove the duplicate before you send. Where you find it matters. The Quick Verify card has an alias row. The API export has ev_alias_of. The CSV you download from the console leaves it out.

3. 00:58When Google stops the check

   Now the two unknowns. google_rate_limit means Google's mail servers slowed the check or turned it away for now. The address may be fine. It's free, and it deserves another run. google_dmarc_misalignment is the other one. Google refused on DMARC policy, so the reply can't tell us about the mailbox. Running it again won't change that. To try again, just verify the address again. Unknown is never cached, so that's a fresh check. If it comes back firm, it uses a credit. API users can read the retryable field first.

4. 01:30Workspace catch-all

   Company domains on Google bring one more case. To see whether a domain takes everything, we also ask about a made-up address on it. If that's refused, your yes counts. If that's accepted, the domain is catch-all. The score shows the difference. A catch-all on Google scores 0.6, against a default of 0.7. On the Quick Verify card, that's 60. That number comes from a rule. Use it to sort a list. Don't read it as a chance of delivery.

5. 01:57What to do with each result

   So here's the sort. Valid goes out. Invalid comes off. Catch-all gets its own file, and the kind of mail decides. Rate limits get another run. DMARC refusals stay aside, with nothing against them. Duplicates keep one row. One setting can undo all of this. The console and REST API run SMTP unless told otherwise. Pass check_smtp false and most Gmail addresses stop at unknown. MCP tools start at false, so turn it on. As for credits, valid, invalid and catch-all use one each. Both Google unknowns use none. Gmail and Workspace give you a live check. When it stops short, the reason tells you whether to try again.

6. 02:40Get started free

   20 free credits every day you use your account, up to 600 a month. No credit card required. Start at billionverify.com.