Google-Extended

Google-Extended is a standalone user-agent token that opts websites out of training data scraping for artificial intelligence models. Deploying the directive protects a brand's proprietary data from powering generative APIs like Gemini and Vertex AI, giving content creators strict publisher controls over their intellectual property.

Teams across the industry are managing the rapid shift toward Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). A common challenge is controlling exactly how artificial intelligence platforms consume site content without accidentally harming organic search visibility.

Search marketers must balance algorithmic discovery with strict data privacy. Restricting access ensures large language models don't freely consume your intellectual property for algorithmic grounding. Because this directive strictly targets model training, it completely preserves your website performance in standard search indexing.

Deploying the block requires a simple server update. Follow these practical steps to restrict the AI crawler.

1. 1Locate the robots.txt file in the root directory of the website server.
2. 2Add a new user-agent block specifically naming the Google-Extended crawler bot.
3. 3Apply the Disallow directive to the root path to restrict access across the entire site.
4. 4Save the file and clear any server-side or CDN caches to ensure the update pushes live.
5. 5Verify the block using a standard testing tool to confirm the live server configuration updates correctly.

To block the crawler from accessing your site content, add the following two lines of code to your server configuration.

User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /

Misunderstanding crawler directives is a frequent issue in technical SEO. Avoid these strategic errors when managing your server configuration.

• Confusing the AI crawler with Googlebot: Blocking this token doesn't hurt your traditional search rankings. Googlebot handles standard search indexing, so your site remains fully visible in regular search results.
• Using the token to block AI Overviews: The extended directive only stops data scraping for model training. To remove your content from the search generative experience (SGE) and prevent zero-click search scenarios, you must deploy a separate nosnippet meta tag instead.
• Forgetting to clear the cache: Failing to clear your server cache means the crawler might still access your site content. Always verify your live configuration to ensure the block is active.