nosnippet is a robots rule that tells a search engine not to show a text snippet or video preview for a page. The page stays indexed and can still rank.
What does it do at Google?
Google applies the rule to all forms of search results at Google: web search, Google Images, Discover, AI Overviews and AI Mode. It also prevents the content from being used as a direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode. A static image thumbnail may remain visible when it gives the user a better experience.
Like every indexing rule, nosnippet only works if the crawler may fetch the page. If robots.txt blocks the URL, Google never sees the rule. When rules conflict, the more restrictive one applies, so nosnippet wins over max-snippet:50.
For finer control, max-snippet limits the length and the data-nosnippet attribute excludes single page sections. Bing also supports nosnippet and added support for data-nosnippet in October 2025.
| Rule | Where it's set | What it controls in Google Search | Effect on AI Overviews and AI Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
nosnippet (this term) | 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 | 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="nosnippet">
As an HTTP header: X-Robots-Tag: nosnippet
Sources
- Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- Announcing new options for webmasters to control their snippets at Bing – Bing Webmaster Blog (2020-04-08)blogs.bing.com
- Bing Introduces Support for the data-nosnippet HTML Attribute – Bing Webmaster Blog (2025-10-15)blogs.bing.com
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