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How do I keep my site out of Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode without dropping out of regular Google Search?

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TL;DR: Use the Search generative AI control in Search Console, not robots.txt. Google says AI is built into Search, so its crawler for AI Overviews and AI Mode is Googlebot, and blocking Googlebot takes you out of Search altogether. Google-Extended doesn't help either: it covers Gemini model training and grounding in Gemini Apps and Vertex AI, and Google says it has no effect on inclusion in Google Search. Since August 31, 2026 every site can open Settings > Search generative AI in Search Console and choose Exclude. That keeps the site's links and content out of AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative AI features in Discover. Google says the control isn't used as a ranking or inclusion signal for the rest of Search, usually takes a few days to apply and doesn't affect AI training. For one page or passage, the nosnippet rule (or max-snippet, or data-nosnippet on a section) also stops content being a direct input to AI Overviews and AI Mode, but it removes or shortens your normal search snippet too.

What should I check, step by step?

1. Measure first. Search Console's Generative AI performance report shows impressions from AI Overviews and AI Mode by page, country, device and date. Google says an excluded site gets no traffic or impressions from these features, so know what you're giving up.

  1. Whole site: in Search Console open Settings > Search generative AI and choose 'Exclude my site's links and content from Search generative AI features'. Include is the default for every property.
  2. Part of a site: verify that section as its own property (for example the URL-prefix property https://example.com/premium/) and set the control there. A property inherits from its closest parent with a set value, it can override that, and the owner of the top-level domain property sees a notice when a child overrides.
  3. Single pages or passages: add <meta name="robots" content="nosnippet"> or an X-Robots-Tag: nosnippet header, use max-snippet:[number] to cap how much text is used, or put data-nosnippet on span, div or section elements. Google says these apply to all its search results, AI Overviews and AI Mode included. The cost: no text snippet (or a shorter one) in regular results either.
  4. Don't block Googlebot in robots.txt to escape AI Overviews. Google says robots.txt rules for Googlebot are the control for how your site is crawled for Search as a whole, so this removes you from Search.
  5. Decide on training separately. The Search Console control doesn't affect AI training. To keep content out of Gemini training and Gemini grounding, add a Google-Extended group with Disallow: / to robots.txt. Google says that doesn't affect Search inclusion or ranking.
  6. Allow time. Google says a control change generally takes a few days, content is excluded within 1 to 2 days after it goes live and caching can delay some of it. Snippet rules only work after a recrawl, which can take days to months; use URL Inspection to check what Googlebot received and request a recrawl.
  7. Write down what you changed and when, so a later drop in clicks can be traced to your own opt-out or to something else.

Which Google control removes my site from AI Overviews: Search Console, nosnippet or Google-Extended?

Search generative AI control (Search Console): covers AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative AI features in Discover. Exclude means your links and content won't show in them and content crawled from your site isn't eligible as an input to an AI response there. Google says it doesn't affect ranking or inclusion in other parts of Search, doesn't override Merchant Center or Google Ads choices, and your content may still help power Search as a whole, such as understanding the language of queries.

What do I lose by opting out of Google AI Overviews or using nosnippet?

Exclude in Search Console: no impressions or clicks from those AI features. Google says content from other sites still appears there and may look similar to yours.

How do I check my site is really out of Google AI Overviews?

For the Search Console control, watch the Generative AI performance report: once the change has gone through, impressions from these features should stop, because an excluded site receives none. Google's help page also says the report may not show at all for a site that has excluded itself.

How do I ask Rightshold about this (free, no key)?

Add the MCP server https://www.rightshold.com/mcp to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, Grok or VS Code, then ask: “Which AI crawlers does my live robots.txt disallow right now, and is Google-Extended blocked for training while the search crawlers stay allowed?”

One-click setup

{
  "tool": "read_ai_policy",
  "arguments": {
    "domain": "example.com",
    "path": "/"
  }
}

Rightshold reads your published robots.txt and AI signals on request. It doesn't connect to Search Console, change your settings or see how Google uses your content. Control details above are from Google's documentation as of November 9, 2026 and can change.

What are the sources?

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