1.1 Robots & directives (HTTP + HTML)CriticalVerified

X-Robots-Tag nosnippet/none in header

The same header that can carry noindex can carry nosnippet or none. The none value combines noindex and nofollow, so a single header line can both hide the page and cut its links.

What it is

Snippet suppression delivered via HTTP header.

Why it matters

Same AI-feature exclusion as the meta version, but hidden in headers.

How to fix it

Inspect and remove at server/CDN.

How to find it on your site

  1. Run curl -I on the page and inspect the X-Robots-Tag value in full.
  2. Look for nosnippet, none, or max-snippet:0.
  3. Cross-check against the HTML meta robots tag for conflicts.
  4. Edit the server or CDN rule that sets the header.

Cross-reference to ranking and citation factors

The none value is the bluntest directive of all. It removes both indexing and link flow, so it deserves the same urgency as a header noindex.

Impact

Severe/blocking for AI features. Direct.

Evidence

Header-delivered nosnippet/none governs snippet and AI-feature input. Google Search Central, Robots Meta Tags Specifications