Glossary
What is Google-Extended?
Google-Extended is a robots.txt token, not a separate crawler, that controls whether content Google crawls can be used to train future Gemini models and for grounding in Gemini apps. Blocking it doesn't affect Google Search rankings or inclusion in AI Overviews, which follow normal Googlebot rules.
What it controls
Googlebot crawls your site for Search. Google-Extended tells Google whether that content may also be used to improve Gemini models and to ground Gemini apps. It doesn't change crawling, indexing or ranking in Search.
What it doesn't control
AI Overviews and AI Mode are Search features, governed by Googlebot and snippet controls (nosnippet, max-snippet, noindex). Blocking Google-Extended won't remove your pages from them.
robots.txt
User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /
Example
A publisher wants to stay in Search and AI Overviews but keep its archive out of Gemini training. It disallows Google-Extended, leaves Googlebot allowed, and sees no change in search traffic.
Who should block it
Publishers who don't want their content used to train Gemini or ground Gemini apps, but still want full Search visibility, are the main users. Product sites that want to be described accurately by Gemini generally leave it allowed, since grounding is one way Gemini finds current facts about them.
FAQ
Does blocking Google-Extended hurt SEO?
No. Google says it doesn't affect Search.
Will Google-Extended appear in my logs?
No; crawling is done by Google's normal crawlers. It's a control token.
How do I keep pages out of AI Overviews?
Use snippet controls or noindex, which also affect normal results.
Does Google-Extended affect Gemini answers about my brand?
It controls whether your content can be used to ground Gemini apps, so blocking it can reduce how much Gemini draws on your pages.