Engine guide: Gemini

How to get cited by Gemini

One robots.txt token, Google-Extended, governs Gemini training and grounding. It does not touch Search, so a site can be visible in AI Overviews and not in Gemini.

The short answer

Gemini grounding draws on the Google Search index, so your page must be indexed. Google says disallowing Google-Extended stops content being used for Gemini training and grounding, and does not affect Search inclusion. To be cited by Gemini, keep Google-Extended allowed and make pages answer the question directly.

What ranked on 26 September 2026: Guides copy advice written for AI Overviews. Almost none mention that Google-Extended affects Gemini grounding, the one control that differs between the two.

Last reviewed 19 October 2026 · 1 sources

What is specific to Gemini

Gemini is a standalone assistant. Its opt-out rules differ from Search.

Google-Extended is a robots.txt token, not a separate crawler
Disallowing it covers Gemini training and grounding use
Google says it has no effect on Search inclusion or ranking
Grounding means providing content from the Search index at prompt time
Answers without sources came from the model alone

Claim and reality

Things that sound right and are not.

Flip a card for what is actually true.

Claim
We blocked Google-Extended to protect content and nothing changed.
Claim
Gemini and AI Overviews are the same thing.
Claim
Gemini names brands from training, so pages do not matter.

Where to start

In order. Tick as you go, or copy the list.

0 of 5 done

Check robots.txt for a Google-Extended rule. Decide on purpose whether grounding access outweighs the training opt-out.
Confirm key pages are indexed in Search Console.
Write the pages Gemini would ground on: pricing, location, hours, comparisons, with facts in plain text.
Test prompts that force grounding, such as ones about this year or a city. Log the URLs shown.
Recheck after any robots.txt change.

Questions

Asked most.

Does Google-Extended affect my rankings?

Google says it does not affect inclusion or ranking in Search. It governs Gemini training and grounding use.

Can I allow grounding but block training?

Google describes one token covering both. I found no documented way to split them.

How do I know an answer was grounded?

Grounded answers show sources or links. One with no sources came from the model alone.

Evidence, labelled

What is confirmed, what is reported, what is a hunch.

Each claim is labelled and sourced. Google rows speak only for Google.

Last reviewed 19 October 2026 · 1 sources

Confirmed: Stated in the platform's own documentation or measured in published data.
Hypothesis: Plausible and common advice. No controlled public evidence.

Google-Extended governs Gemini training and grounding.
Confirmed
Google's crawler page, updated 15 October 2026. Crawling uses existing Google user agents.
Google, crawlers (opens in a new tab)
Blocking Google-Extended removes you from Google Search.
Confirmed
It does not. Google says it has no impact on inclusion in Search and is not a ranking signal.
Google, crawlers (opens in a new tab)
Gemini searches for every prompt.
Hypothesis
Questions about recent events, local businesses and prices trigger grounding most. I found no first-party rule.
No public source

Sources, fetched 19 October 2026

01Google's common crawlers, including Google-Extended (opens in a new tab)Google Search Central · Updated 15 Oct 2026

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