Blocking Google-Extended in robots.txt doesn't affect a site's inclusion or ranking in Google Search
Verified Confidence: high
Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.
- Commonly cited as
- "Will blocking Google's AI crawler hurt my SEO?"
- True origin
- Google Search Central — Google's common crawlers (Google-Extended)
- Type
- Reference fact: A frequently needed number or rule taken directly from a primary source (e.g. Pew, Census, IAB/PwC, FTC), with its as-of date.
- Year
- Current documentation
- Data as of
- Documentation read on 2026-10-16
- Last checked
- What the source says
Google-Extended is a standalone product token that web publishers can use to manage whether content Google crawls from their sites may be used for training future generations of Gemini models ... Google-Extended does not impact a site's inclusion in Google Search nor is it used as a ranking signal in Google Search.
- Method & sample
- Official Google documentation.
- Drift between quote and source
- None — it controls use of content for Gemini training and grounding
- Interest
- Google operates Google Search.
Safe rephrasing
Google says the Google-Extended robots.txt token controls use of crawled content for Gemini training and grounding, and doesn't affect inclusion or ranking in Google Search.
Sources we opened
Machine-readable: /api/claims/google-extended-does-not-affect-search-ranking.json · Last checked 2026-10-16