Meta robots nosnippet, kills AI-feature eligibility
nosnippet tells Google it may not show any text snippet from the page. Because AI features are built on snippets and grounding, this directive can make a page ineligible to be quoted in an AI answer even when it ranks.
The nosnippet directive prevents any text snippet from being shown.
Why it matters
Google’s own documentation states nosnippet prevents the content being used as a direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode, so the page is excluded from those features even if indexed.
How to fix it
Remove nosnippet from pages that should appear in AI features.
How to find it on your site
- View source and search the robots meta tag for nosnippet.
- Check the HTTP headers too with curl -I, since nosnippet can be set there.
- Confirm the page is one you want appearing in snippets and AI answers.
- Remove nosnippet unless you genuinely want zero snippet exposure.
Cross-reference to ranking and citation factors
Snippet eligibility is a precondition for being surfaced in AI Overviews and similar features. nosnippet opts the page out of exactly the visibility most clients want.
Impact
Severe/blocking for AI features specifically. Direct, explicitly documented for AI Overviews/AI Mode.
Evidence
Google states nosnippet prevents content being a direct input to AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google Search Central, Robots Meta Tags Specifications