# Snippet controls for AI Overviews and AI Mode

> Google's robots meta rules apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode. nosnippet stops a page's content being a direct input, max-snippet limits how much is used, data-nosnippet excludes parts of a page and noindex removes the page from Search. To leave AI features but keep classic results, use Search Console's site-wide Search generative AI control.

- URL: https://geo.casa/crawling-indexing/snippet-controls/
- Reference · Officially documented
- Reviewed: 2026-10-25

## The controls

| Rule | Where | Effect on AI Overviews and AI Mode |
|---|---|---|
| `nosnippet` | `<meta name="robots">` or `X-Robots-Tag` header | No text snippet, and the content is not used as a direct input |
| `max-snippet:[number]` | same | Limits snippet length and how much content may be used as a direct input |
| `data-nosnippet` | HTML attribute on elements | Excludes those elements' text from snippets |
| `noindex` | same as `nosnippet` | Page is dropped from Google Search entirely |

> **Officially documented:**
> `nosnippet`: "Do not show a text snippet or video preview in the search results for this page." Google states this applies to all forms of search results, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. It also prevents the content from being used as a direct input for those features.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag)

> **Officially documented:**
> `max-snippet:[number]` sets a maximum number of characters for a text snippet. It applies to AI Overviews and AI Mode too, "and will also limit how much of the content may be used as a direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode."
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag)

> **Officially documented:**
> Google's AI features guide names `nosnippet`, `data-nosnippet`, `max-snippet` and `noindex` as the controls "to limit the information shown from your pages in Search", and points to Google-Extended only for Google's *other* AI systems.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)

## Examples

```html
<!-- Whole page: no snippet, not a direct input for AI features -->
<meta name="robots" content="nosnippet">

<!-- Whole page: at most 160 characters -->
<meta name="robots" content="max-snippet:160">

<!-- Part of a page -->
<p>Shown in snippets. <span data-nosnippet>Not shown in snippets.</span></p>
```

For non-HTML files, send the same rules as an HTTP header: `X-Robots-Tag: nosnippet`.

## Crawlers must be able to read them

> **Officially documented:**
> These settings "can be read and followed only if crawlers are allowed to access the pages that include these settings." A page blocked in robots.txt cannot tell Google `nosnippet` or `noindex`.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag)

## Trade-offs

- `nosnippet` also removes the snippet from classic results, which usually lowers click-through. To leave AI features only, use the site-wide [Search generative AI control](https://geo.casa/ai-search/search-generative-ai-control/) in Search Console (rolled out to all sites by August 31, 2026) instead.
- Changes apply after Google recrawls the page; use the URL Inspection tool to check what Googlebot saw.

## Related

- [Google-Extended](https://geo.casa/crawling-indexing/google-extended/) — controls Gemini training and grounding, not Search.
- [robots.txt](https://geo.casa/crawling-indexing/robots-txt/) — controls crawling, not what is shown.

## Sources

- [Google Search Central: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag)
- [Google Search Central: AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)
- [Google Search Central: Block Search indexing with noindex](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/block-indexing)