How to Block Google-Extended

Complete guide to blocking Google-Extended (Google) from crawling your website using robots.txt, server configuration, and Switch workflows.

Operated by GoogleCommercial Crawlers

Should You Block Google-Extended?

Google-Extended collects data for AI model training. Blocking it prevents your content from being used in Google's AI products without affecting your search visibility.

This is a common and recommended action for sites that want to control how their content is used in AI training.

Blocking Methods

1robots.txt

High for cooperative crawlers

Add a Disallow rule for Google-Extended's user-agent string in your robots.txt file. This is the standard, cooperative method that well-behaved crawlers respect.

2Server-side UA filtering

High

Configure your web server (nginx, Apache, Cloudflare) to reject requests matching Google-Extended's user-agent patterns. This blocks at the network level before your application processes the request.

3Switch Journey Workflows

Highest — granular, real-time control

Create a custom journey in Switch that detects Google-Extended and routes it to a block action, challenge, redirect, or modified content — without touching your server configuration.

robots.txt — Block Google-Extended

Add the following to your robots.txt file (at the root of your domain) to block Google-Extended:

User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /

robots.txt — Allow with Restrictions

Alternatively, allow Google-Extended on most pages while blocking specific directories:

User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /private/
Allow: /

Google-Extended User-Agent Strings

Use these patterns to identify Google-Extended in your server logs or firewall rules:

Google-Extended

Frequently Asked Questions

Does blocking Google-Extended affect my Google search rankings?

No. Blocking Google-Extended does not affect your Google search rankings. Only blocking Googlebot impacts Google Search visibility.

Does Google-Extended respect robots.txt?

Yes, Google-Extended respects robots.txt directives. Adding a Disallow rule for its user-agent will prevent it from crawling blocked paths.

Can I allow Google-Extended on some pages but not others?

Yes. Use robots.txt to disallow specific directories, or use Switch journey workflows for granular page-level control with conditional logic.

Go beyond robots.txt

Switch detects Google-Extended in real-time and lets you build custom journey workflows — block, challenge, redirect, or serve modified content. No server changes required.

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