noimageindex is a robots rule that tells Google not to index the images on the page where it appears. Without it, the images on the page may be indexed and shown in search results.
What does noimageindex do?
The rule applies to the page that carries it. If the same image is embedded on another page without noimageindex, Google may still index it from there.
To keep a specific image out of Google Images wherever it is used, Google documents two other options. One is an X-Robots-Tag: noindex header on the image file itself, which only works if Googlebot is allowed to fetch the image. The other is a robots.txt rule for the Googlebot-Image user agent.
The rule can be set in a robots meta tag or in the X-Robots-Tag header, for example for files that have no HTML head.
| Rule | Where it's set | What it controls in Google Search | Effect on AI Overviews and AI Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
nosnippet | whole page (robots meta tag or X-Robots-Tag) | no text snippet or video preview; a static image thumbnail may still appear | content isn't used as direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode |
max-snippet:[number] | whole page | caps the text snippet at that many characters; 0 equals nosnippet, -1 lets Google choose the length | limits how much content may be used as direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode |
data-nosnippet | single text section (attribute on span, div or section) | the marked text isn't used in the snippet | listed by Google as a control for limiting content in AI features in Search |
max-image-preview:[none|standard|large] | whole page | maximum size of the image preview; without it, a default-size preview may be shown | Google only lists web search, Google Images, Discover and Assistant here, no AI features |
noimageindex (this term) | whole page | images on this page aren't indexed | no statement from Google |
unavailable_after: [date] | whole page | the page stops appearing in search results after that date; Googlebot then crawls the URL much less often | no separate statement from Google |
indexifembedded | whole page, only together with noindex | content may be indexed when embedded in another page through an iframe or similar tag | no statement from Google |
noindex (for comparison) | whole page | page doesn't appear in search results | listed by Google as a control for AI features; a link in AI Overviews or AI Mode requires an indexed page |
noarchive | whole page | no longer used by Google and ignored; the cached link it controlled no longer exists | none (Google ignores the rule) |
According to Google, a page can only be shown as a link in AI Overviews or AI Mode if it's indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet. All rules only work if crawlers are allowed to fetch the page. When rules conflict, the more restrictive one applies. For AI training and grounding in some of Google's other systems, Google points to Google-Extended. Sources: Google Search Central: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications (last updated 2026-03-24); Google Search Central: AI features and your website (last updated 2025-12-10). Last checked: .
Example
<meta name="robots" content="noimageindex">
The header variant that works per image goes into the HTTP response of the image file:
X-Robots-Tag: noindex
Sources
- Robots meta tag and X-Robots-Tag specifications – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- Remove images hosted on your site from search results – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- X-Robots-Tag – MDN Web Docsdeveloper.mozilla.org
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