Google's robots meta tag specification says that with nosnippet a static image thumbnail, if available, may still be shown when that results in a better user experience.
Google Search Central · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
Thing · Directive
nosnippet
A robots rule that stops Google from showing a text snippet or video preview for a page, also as input to AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- Claims
- 9
- In Google’s docs
- 2
- Said at the event
- 3
- Not in docs
- 0
- Kit items
- 4
Glossary · nosnippet and data-nosnippet
nosnippet stops text snippets and video previews for a page and keeps its content out of AI Overviews and AI Mode as a direct input; the data-nosnippet attribute hides only a marked part of the page.
Google’s documentation 2
Documented in
- Control your snippets in search results
- Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications
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?
Said at the event 3
Slide and stage claims that name it, the ones Google’s documentation does not cover first.
Confirmed by docs 3
Confirmed by docsD2-C070
The nosnippet rule stops Google from showing a text snippet or video preview for a page in search results, while the page's title is still shown.
John Mueller · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
Confirmed by docsD2-C072
The nosnippet rule also prevents a page's content from being used as a direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search.
John Mueller · Day 2 · Controlling indexing
Confirmed by docsD2-C082
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
Press and analysis 4
AnalysisD1-C034
Lead-generation, local-service and e-commerce sites should normally stay included, because AI answers cite and link sources. Sites selling paywalled or licensed content should test exclusion on a child property first. Use nosnippet only if you also want out of regular snippets.
Ibrahim Anjro · Day 1 · What's new in the world of Search
AnalysisD2-C075
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
AnalysisD2-C730
There is no separate AI index to optimise for: when a page never shows up as a source in AI Overviews or AI Mode, first check that it is indexed, that no nosnippet rule blocks its snippet and that the site is not excluded in Search Console's generative AI setting, the eligibility conditions Google lists.
Ibrahim Anjro · Day 2 · How does the index look like?
AnalysisD2-C731
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?
Built on these claims 4
Kit items about nosnippet: their own words name it, or several of the claims they rest on do.
Developer requirements 1
Do not add nosnippet or a short max-snippet unless you accept losing snippets and AI feature use
Rests on 6 claims, 3 of them naming nosnippet; its own words name nosnippet
Also inglossary terms max-snippet, nosnippet and data-nosnippet, Robots meta tag
Connected things 9
Relations
- Part of Robots meta tag structure, no claim needed
- Affects Snippets
1 claim, 1 documented
- Confirmed by docsD2-C070
The nosnippet rule stops Google from showing a text snippet or video preview for a page in search results, while the page's title is still shown.
Most often named with it
Things named in the same claim, with the number of claims they share.