Google-NotebookLM
Fetches a page when a NotebookLM user adds it as a source. Documented by Google to ignore robots.txt, since a human requested the page.
Reference reviewed by Sona
| Operator | |
|---|---|
| Powers | NotebookLM source imports |
| Purpose | User-triggered fetch |
| User-agent token | Google-NotebookLM |
| Respects robots.txt | No (user-triggered) |
Google-NotebookLM fires when a NotebookLM user pastes your URL as a source for their notebook - the tool fetches the page so the user's AI workspace can summarize, cite, and answer questions about it.
Google classifies it as a user-triggered fetcher, and its documentation states these fetchers generally ignore robots.txt because the request originates from a person, not an automatic crawl. To enforce a block, filter the user-agent at the server or firewall level.
Allow Google-NotebookLM
People actively studying your content in NotebookLM get answers grounded in the real page - high-intent engagement with your material.
User-agent: Google-NotebookLM Allow: /
Block Google-NotebookLM
You don't want your content imported into third-party AI workspaces - but note a robots.txt rule alone won't stop it.
User-agent: Google-NotebookLM Disallow: /
Heads up: Google-NotebookLM does not reliably honor robots.txt. To enforce a block, combine the rule above with server- or firewall-level filtering of the user-agent.
Can Google-NotebookLM read your page right now?
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