Google-NotebookLM user agent
Operated by Google
Google-NotebookLM is the former user agent of the NotebookLM source fetcher, now replaced by Google-GeminiNotebook.
The Google-NotebookLM bot at a glance
- Google-NotebookLM is operated by Google and fetches a page when a person asks an AI assistant about it or shares its link.
- The robots.txt token for Google-NotebookLM is Google-NotebookLM.
- Blocking an AI assistant fetcher has no effect on search rankings.
- Google-NotebookLM robots.txt support: Not for user-requested fetches.
- Recommendation for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Allow.
What is Google-NotebookLM?
Google supports the Google-NotebookLM name until August 2026, after which the Gemini Notebook fetcher uses Google-GeminiNotebook.
Keep both names in robots.txt rules during the change-over.
Should you block Google-NotebookLM?
Allow Google-NotebookLM unless it causes a measurable load problem.
| Effect on search rankings | Blocking an AI assistant fetcher has no effect on search rankings. |
|---|---|
| Effect on AI visibility | Blocking stops the assistant from reading your page when a user asks about it or pastes your link, so its answer falls back to other sources. |
| Follows robots.txt | Not for user-requested fetches |
| Recommendation | Allow |
How to block or allow Google-NotebookLM
Put the robots.txt rule in the file at the root of every domain and subdomain, for example https://example.com/robots.txt. The token Google-NotebookLM is matched case-insensitively. robots.txt alone may not stop Google-NotebookLM, so add the Nginx, Apache or Cloudflare rule as well.
robots.txt: block
# Block Google-NotebookLM
User-agent: Google-NotebookLM
Disallow: /robots.txt: allow
# Allow Google-NotebookLM
User-agent: Google-NotebookLM
Allow: /robots.txt: partial
# Keep Google-NotebookLM out of private areas only
User-agent: Google-NotebookLM
Disallow: /wp-admin/
Disallow: /cart/
Disallow: /checkout/
Disallow: /my-account/
Allow: /Nginx
# Nginx: return 403 to Google-NotebookLM
if ($http_user_agent ~* "(Google\-NotebookLM)") {
return 403;
}Apache
# Apache .htaccess: return 403 to Google-NotebookLM
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} (Google\-NotebookLM) [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]Cloudflare WAF
# Cloudflare > Security > WAF > Custom rule, action: Block
(http.user_agent contains "Google-NotebookLM")How to verify real Google-NotebookLM traffic
Google publishes the IP ranges that Google-NotebookLM uses. A request with the Google-NotebookLM user agent from an IP outside that list is an impersonator.
Official Google-NotebookLM IP list (JSON)
Reverse DNS check: look up the request IP, confirm the hostname ends in google.com, googleusercontent.com, then look up that hostname and confirm it returns the same IP.
# 1. Reverse lookup: the hostname must end in google.com, googleusercontent.com
host REQUEST_IP
# 2. Forward lookup: must return the same REQUEST_IP
host HOSTNAME_FROM_STEP_1How to find Google-NotebookLM in your server logs
Search the web server access log for the token. The command below counts Google-NotebookLM requests per URL on Nginx or Apache.
grep -i "Google-NotebookLM" access.log | awk '{print $7}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20For a full report per AI bot, upload the log to the AI Log File Analyzer, a free tool by Justin Hà.
Google-NotebookLM user agent string
The full user agent Google publishes for Google-NotebookLM. Version numbers such as Chrome/W.X.Y.Z change over time, so match the token, not the whole string.
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Google-NotebookLM; +https://notebooklm.google.com/)Google-NotebookLM FAQ
Google-NotebookLM identifies itself with the robots.txt token "Google-NotebookLM". A typical request header reads: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Google-NotebookLM; +https://notebooklm.google.com/)
Partly. Google-NotebookLM fetches pages because a user asked for them, and Google says robots.txt rules may not apply to those user-requested fetches. Use a firewall rule if you must stop it.
Blocking an AI assistant fetcher has no effect on search rankings. Blocking stops the assistant from reading your page when a user asks about it or pastes your link, so its answer falls back to other sources.
Add two lines to the robots.txt file at the root of each domain and subdomain: "User-agent: Google-NotebookLM" followed by "Disallow: /". The token is case-insensitive. Changes can take up to 24 hours to be picked up.
Yes. Google publishes the IP ranges Google-NotebookLM uses. Check the request IP against that list; a matching user agent from any other IP is an impersonator.
Search your server access log for "Google-NotebookLM", for example with: grep -i "Google-NotebookLM" access.log. The AI Log File Analyzer by Justin Hà counts visits per AI bot from an uploaded log file.
Sources: Google crawler documentation. Last reviewed by Justin Hà.
See which of these bots actually reach your website
The AI Log File Analyzer by Justin Hà counts visits from GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and other AI crawlers in your server log, for free. The GEO Technical Package sets up robots.txt, llms.txt and crawler access for AI search.
