Google Lists Its AI Overviews and AI Mode Opt-Out in Core Blocking Guide, 51 Days After Global Rollout

Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, 22 October 2026.

Google has added its Search generative AI control to the main Search Central page on keeping content out of Google Search. The Search documentation changelog entry dated 21 October 2026 says the Control what you share with Google Search page was updated to include existing options, naming the robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, X-Robots-Tag and the Search generative AI control. Google gave the reason as keeping the page fresh and reflecting the options currently available to site owners.

None of these controls is new. The change matters because the guide is the page Google points site owners to when they want content out of Search, and until this week it did not mention the one setting that removes a site from AI Overviews and AI Mode while leaving it in regular results.

What changed

The updated page, marked as last updated on 21 October 2026, now lists seven methods. Two of them were added in this revision:

• Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet or X-Robots-Tag, described as page and text level settings that change how Google presents content in results.
• The Search generative AI control, marked "Applicable: site-wide", which the page says manages a site's inclusion in generative AI features on Google Search, including AI Overviews and AI Mode, through Search Console.

The changelog also notes minor clarifications that the page applies to Google Search.

Method listed by Google	Scope Google gives	What it does
Remove the content	All content types	Stops it appearing in Search and elsewhere
Password protection	All content types	Limits access to authorised users
noindex rule	All content types	Keeps a page out of Search results
robots.txt disallow	Images and video	Prevents Googlebot fetching media files
Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, X-Robots-Tag	Depends on implementation	Adjusts how content is presented
Search generative AI control	Site-wide	Manages inclusion in AI Overviews and AI Mode
Opt out of specific properties	Web pages	Excludes content from services such as Shopping or Hotels

How the control works

Google's Search Console help page for the control says it was rolled out to all websites worldwide as of 31 August 2026, which puts the documentation update 51 days after general availability. The setting sits under Settings, then Search generative AI, in Search Console. It currently covers three surfaces: AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative AI features in Google Discover. Google says it expects to update that list over time.

There are three choices. "Include" is the default for every property. "Exclude" prevents a site's links and content from being shown in those features and from helping to ground AI responses, and Google states the site will then get no traffic or impressions from them. "Inherit" makes a child property follow its parent, so a URL-prefix property such as a blog folder follows the domain property unless an owner sets it manually.

The help page sets out several limits that matter for planning:

• Google says the control "isn't used as a ranking or inclusion signal" for other parts of Search.
• It does not affect AI training. Google directs site owners who want to limit training of the models behind these features to the Google-Extended token.
• Content may still be used to power Search generally, for example to help Google's systems understand the language of queries and pages.
• Changes generally take a few days. Google says content is excluded within one to two days after the control goes live, with some taking longer because of caching.
• It does not override choices made in Merchant Center or Google Ads.

Context

The control arrived alongside Search Console's generative AI reporting. Google announced Search Generative AI performance reports on 3 June 2026 for a subset of sites, showing impressions, pages, countries, devices and dates for appearances in AI features on Search and Discover. A note on that post says those reports also reached all sites on 31 August.

One Google page has not caught up. The AI features documentation, last updated on 10 December 2025, still tells site owners to use nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet or noindex to limit what is shown, and describes robots.txt directives for Googlebot as the access control. It does not mention the Search Console setting. We covered Google's recent push to add more links inside these features in our 16 October report.

What this means for SEO teams

• Check the current setting. Open Settings, then Search generative AI, on the domain property and any URL-prefix properties. A child property owner can override the parent, and Google says top-level owners see a notification when that happens.
• Measure before deciding. Google recommends the generative AI performance report to estimate what excluding a site could cost in impressions and traffic.
• Pick the right tool for the goal. Excluding a whole site from AI features is a site-wide switch. Limiting what text is quoted on specific pages is still a job for nosnippet, data-nosnippet or max-snippet. Limiting Gemini training and grounding outside Search is Google-Extended.
• Annotate the change. If you switch to Exclude, record the date, since Google says removal takes one to two days or longer, and compare the generative AI report before and after.

Conclusion

The 21 October edit adds no new capability, but it puts the Search generative AI control on the page most site owners read when they want content out of Google, next to noindex and robots.txt. That makes Google's own documentation more consistent with what Search Console has offered every site since 31 August.

The key facts for decision makers remain those on Google's help page: the control covers AI Overviews, AI Mode and Discover AI features, it is not a ranking signal for other results, and it does not govern training, which stays with Google-Extended.

Questions and answers

What did Google change on 21 October 2026?

Google updated its Control what you share with Google Search page to list existing options, including the robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, X-Robots-Tag and the Search generative AI control, according to the Search documentation changelog.

Which features does the Search generative AI control cover?

Google's Search Console help page lists AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative AI features in Google Discover, and says the list may be updated over time.

Does excluding a site affect its regular rankings?

Google says the control isn't used as a ranking or inclusion signal affecting other parts of Search. It only governs whether content can appear in the listed generative AI features.

Does the control stop Google training AI models on my content?

No. Google says the control doesn't affect AI training and points site owners to the Google-Extended robots.txt token to limit training.

How long does a change take to apply?

Google says it generally takes a few days, with content excluded within one to two days after the control goes live and some content taking longer because of caching.

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