Definition
Google-Extended is a robots.txt token controlling whether Google-crawled content can train and ground Gemini models; it doesn't affect Google Search.
Google-Extended explained
Google-Extended is not a separate crawler. Google crawls with its existing user agents, and Google-Extended is a product token you address in robots.txt to manage one specific use of that content: training future generations of Gemini models, and grounding answers in Gemini Apps and Vertex AI.
Google states that Google-Extended does not affect a site's inclusion in Google Search and is not used as a ranking signal. It also doesn't control AI Overviews or AI Mode, which are part of Google Search and follow the normal Search controls such as nosnippet and noindex.
Blocking Google-Extended is therefore a narrow decision about Gemini training and grounding. It won't remove your pages from AI Overviews, and allowing it won't improve your rankings. If you want to limit how Search uses your text in AI features, the snippet controls are the relevant tools.
Example
Your publishing brand wants to stop its articles being used to train Gemini while still appearing in Google Search and AI Overviews. You add a Google-Extended group with Disallow: / to robots.txt and leave Googlebot allowed. Your Search visibility is unaffected.
Why it matters
Many site owners block Google-Extended expecting it to remove them from AI Overviews. It doesn't, so it is worth understanding before you change robots.txt.
Related service
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Generative engine optimization servicesSources
- Google Search Central: Google's common crawlers (Google-Extended) (updated 14 Jul 2026)
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Related terms
- GPTBotGPTBot is OpenAI's web crawler for collecting content that may be used to train its generative AI models, and it follows robots.txt.
- robots.txtrobots.txt is a plain-text file at the root of a website that tells crawlers which URLs they may or may not request.
- AI OverviewsAI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that Google shows at the top of some search results, with links to the web pages used to build the answer.
- NosnippetNosnippet is a robots directive that stops Google showing a text snippet from a page in search results, including in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- AI crawlerAn AI crawler is an automated bot run by an AI company that fetches web pages to train models, to build a search index, or to answer a user's question.