# Bing and Copilot: what noindex, noarchive, nocache, nosnippet and data-nosnippet do to AI answers > What each Bing directive does to search results, Copilot answers and grounding, as Bing's own guidelines state it, and how Google reads the same tags. - Source: /learn/bing-copilot-noarchive-nocache - Updated: 2026-10-25 - Reading time: 5 minutes - Tags: Bing, Copilot, robots meta tag, X-Robots-Tag --- In Bing, `noindex` keeps a page out of Bing search, Copilot and grounding API results. `noarchive` keeps the page out of Copilot answers and grounding results, and `nocache` limits Copilot to the page's URL, title and snippet. `nosnippet` and `data-nosnippet` stop Bing from showing a caption, which may limit the quality of Copilot's citations. Section 10 of the [Bing Webmaster Guidelines](https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a) states all 5 effects. ## What each directive does in Bing and Copilot The Copilot column is §10 of the guidelines. The other 2 columns are Bing's [list of the meta tags and attributes it supports](https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/robots-meta-tags-and-attributes-that-bing-supports-5198d240). | Directive | Bing search | Copilot and grounding | Training Microsoft's models | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `noindex` | Not indexed | Not used | Not used | | `noarchive` | No cached page | Not used in answers or grounding results | Not used | | `nocache` | No cached page | URL, title and snippet only | URL, title and snippet only | | `nosnippet` | No description or thumbnail | May limit citation quality | Not stated | | `data-nosnippet` | No description from the marked part | May limit citation quality | Not stated | | `max-snippet:0` | No text snippet | Not stated | Not stated | When a page carries both `noarchive` and `nocache`, Bing's page says it treats the page as `nocache`. That page still appears in Copilot, with its URL, title and snippet. ## Choosing between noarchive and nocache The 2 directives answer different questions. `noarchive` takes the page out of Copilot answers and grounding results and leaves it in Bing search. `nocache` keeps the page in Copilot as a thin citation: a link, a title and a snippet, with no body text behind the answer. Bing's meta tag page also lists “Do not link in Chat and Copilot” under `noarchive`. Pick by what you want an answer to do with the page: - Use it fully: set neither. §10 says to avoid `nocache` on content meant for Copilot or grounding, because it reduces citation depth. - Cite it by URL, title and snippet only: set `nocache`. - Leave it out of Copilot, and keep it in Bing search: set `noarchive`. - Leave it out of Bing entirely: set `noindex`. Bing's meta tag page adds a training effect to both. `noarchive` keeps the content out of training Microsoft's generative AI foundation models, and `nocache` limits that training to the URL, title and snippet. ## nosnippet, max-snippet and data-nosnippet `nosnippet` removes the description and the preview thumbnail for the whole page. `data-nosnippet` does the same for one element, such as `
`. `max-snippet:[number]` caps the snippet length in characters: `0` shows no text snippet, and `-1` sets no limit. §10 warns that `nosnippet` and `data-nosnippet` may limit Copilot's citation quality. §10 also says to “use the data-snippet attribute” to mark the text Bing may show or cite. Bing's list of supported tags does not include a `data-snippet` attribute, and none of the Bing pages cited here defines its syntax. Treat it as unspecified until Bing documents it. ## How to write the directives Put a meta tag in the document head, and separate several values with commas. Use `name="bingbot"` instead of `name="robots"` to address Bing alone. For a PDF or another file with no head, send the same values in an `X-Robots-Tag` response header. Bing accepts the header for each of these tags. ```html ``` Mark a part of the page in its body: ```html

Text Bing may quote.

Text Bing should not quote.
``` ```http X-Robots-Tag: noindex ``` ## Why robots.txt does not keep a page out of Copilot §10 opens with the rule that robots.txt controls crawl access, not indexing. Bing's meta tag page adds that Bing must be able to crawl a page to see its `noindex`. A page blocked in robots.txt hides its own `noindex` from Bingbot. To keep a page out of Copilot, let Bingbot fetch it and put `noindex` or `noarchive` in the page. §8 of the guidelines lists blocking Bingbot in robots.txt among the things to avoid. Crawl rules for AI crawlers are a separate decision, covered in [AI crawler user agents in robots.txt](/learn/ai-crawler-user-agents). ## What Google does with the same tags Google's [meta tag specification](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag) lists `noarchive` and `nocache` under historical rules that Google Search does not use. Those 2 are Bing levers only. `nosnippet` works in both engines. Google says it also stops the content being used as a direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode. There are 2 smaller differences. Google reads `data-nosnippet` only on `span`, `div` and `section` elements. Google treats `max-snippet:0` as equivalent to `nosnippet`, while Bing's page says only that it shows no text snippet. ## How to check a page with curl Read the meta tags, the header and the `data-nosnippet` count: ```sh URL=https://example.com/ curl -sS "$URL" | grep -Eio ']*>' curl -sS -o /dev/null -D - "$URL" | grep -i '^x-robots-tag' curl -sS "$URL" | grep -o 'data-nosnippet' | wc -l ``` This site's homepage prints nothing for the first 2 commands and 0 for the third. Its 404 page carries a `noindex`: ```sh SITE=https://agenticwebscore.com curl -sS "$SITE/no-such-page" | grep -Eio ']*>' ``` ```html ``` The `grep` counts text, so a `data-nosnippet` inside a script or a comment counts too. Read the matches before you trust the number. ## What AgenticWebScore reports Two checks read these directives on the homepage the scan already holds, so neither makes a request of its own. [Homepage indexable](/checks/indexing-directives) is a scored check in the essential tier of the web-standards part. It fails on `noindex`, or on `none`, in a `robots`, `bingbot` or `googlebot` meta tag or in `X-Robots-Tag`. A homepage with fewer than 25 words of visible text is not measured. A short page served with 200 may be a challenge page with its own `noindex`. [Snippet and AI grounding directives](/checks/ai-grounding-directives) is an unscored check. It names each of `noarchive`, `nocache`, `nosnippet`, `max-snippet:0` and `data-nosnippet` it finds, where it found it, and the effect above. It never fails a site, because each directive is the owner's choice. In the scan records of 20 October 2026, none of the 5 measured homepages carries `noindex`, `noarchive` or `nocache`. [Resend](/aws/resend.com) marks 5 elements with `data-nosnippet`. [Vercel](/aws/vercel.com) states `index, max-image-preview:large`, which asks for nothing to be left out. The [methodology](/methodology#unscored-checks) explains how an unscored check is reported. To see what your homepage states to Bing and Google, [scan your site](/scan).