Google will honour one shared 'don't train on my site' sign, so you can stop writing a note for every AI company
By Brett Gavaghan, Founder of Adaptd ·
Google plans to support a shared robots.txt signal that tells AI companies whether they can train on your website. It's aimed for 2027 and works alongside Google-Extended.
The short version
- Google plans to support a shared robots.txt signal that lets a website opt out of AI training across participating AI companies.
- Google announced it on 30 October and aims to support it with other AI providers in 2027.
- Check what your robots.txt says now, and decide whether being found in AI answers matters more to you than training.
At the moment, telling AI companies not to learn from your website is like writing a separate "no junk mail" sign for every letterbox in the street. Google wants one sign that works for everyone.
What is Google's shared AI training control?
Google's shared AI training control is a planned 'policy token' in robots.txt, the file that tells bots what they can do on your site. One line would set your AI training preference for every AI company that supports it.
It comes from the AIPREF working group at the Internet Engineering Task Force. If your site uses the token to opt out and doesn't mention Google-Extended, Google will treat that as blocking Google-Extended, the training control it has offered since 2023.
When will it work, and what about existing controls?
Google aims to support the shared control alongside other AI providers in 2027, so there's nothing to switch on yet. John Mueller announced the plan on 30 October.
Company-specific rules keep working, so you can opt out broadly and still make exceptions. Google notes that sites that specifically allow Google-Extended can appear in Gemini app answers and get clicks from them.
What should your business do about it?
Your business should check what its robots.txt says today, because some web developers block every AI bot by default.
My take: most small businesses want to be found, and opting out of AI training can mean fewer mentions in AI answers. If you publish original work that is the product, like recipes, courses or research, opting out may make sense. If your site exists to win enquiries, think hard before you shut the door. Either way, it's a decision for you, not a setting someone ticked in 2024 and forgot.
One sign on the gate beats a note on every letterbox. Just make sure it says what you mean.
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