Knowledge base v2.13.0 · Community edition · data through 2 October 2026
Thing · Directive
A robots rule that caps the length of a page's text snippet in Google results, in characters.
Glossary · max-snippet
A robots rule that caps a snippet at a number of characters: 0 means no snippet and -1 means no limit. It also limits how much of the page AI features may use.
Documented in
Google's robots meta tag specification says Google chooses the snippet length when no max-snippet rule is set, and with max-snippet:-1 chooses the length it believes most effective; it does not say that -1 produces longer snippets.
Google Search Central · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
Google's robots meta tag specification says the nosnippet rule also prevents a page's content from being used as a direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode, and max-snippet also limits how much of it may be used that way.
Google Search Central · Day 2 · How does the index look like?
Slide and stage claims that name it, the ones Google’s documentation does not cover first.
A max-snippet value too short for a useful snippet may lead Google to show no snippet at all, John Mueller said.
John Mueller · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
max-snippet:-1 removes the length limit and can produce a longer snippet than having no rule, because by default Google keeps snippets to a length it considers reasonable instead of quoting a page at length.
John Mueller · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
To be as visible as possible in Google, John Mueller's closing slide recommended the robots rules max-image-preview:large and max-snippet:-1.
John Mueller · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
The max-snippet:[number] rule limits a page's search result snippet to that number of characters (100 characters, for example), and max-snippet:0 shows no snippet, the same as nosnippet.
John Mueller · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
John Mueller said, hedging with 'I think', that the max-snippet limit also applies to AI Overviews and AI Mode.
John Mueller · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
Before adding nosnippet or a low max-snippet value, weigh the cost in AI features: both limit how much of the page AI Overviews and AI Mode can use, and John Mueller described those answers as built from snippets.
Ibrahim Anjro · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
Set max-snippet:-1 and max-image-preview:large on every indexable template unless licensing requires otherwise, and check that no CMS, plug-in or CDN setting adds lower snippet or image preview limits by default.
Ibrahim Anjro · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
Treat nosnippet, data-nosnippet and max-snippet as AI visibility settings too: Google lists them as the controls for content in AI features, and if AI answers are built from index snippets, as Google said on stage, a blocked or shortened snippet leaves AI Overviews and AI Mode less to use.
Ibrahim Anjro · Day 2 · How does the index look like?
Kit items about max-snippet: their own words name it, or several of the claims they rest on do.
Allow full snippets and large previews with max-snippet:-1 and max-image-preview:large
Rests on 8 claims, 4 of them naming max-snippet; its own words name max-snippet
Do not add nosnippet or a short max-snippet unless you accept losing snippets and AI feature use
Rests on 6 claims, 2 of them naming max-snippet; its own words name max-snippet
Also inglossary term max-snippet
The max-snippet:[number] rule limits a page's search result snippet to that number of characters (100 characters, for example), and max-snippet:0 shows no snippet, the same as nosnippet.
A max-snippet value too short for a useful snippet may lead Google to show no snippet at all, John Mueller said.
Google's robots meta tag specification says Google chooses the snippet length when no max-snippet rule is set, and with max-snippet:-1 chooses the length it believes most effective; it does not say that -1 produces longer snippets.
Things named in the same claim, with the number of claims they share.