# Featured snippets

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://attensira.com/llms.txt).
> Every page on this site is also served as Markdown: append `.md` to any URL, or send `Accept: text/markdown`.

> A featured snippet is a quoted answer from one page shown above Google's results. How Google picks them, how to opt out, and how they differ from AI answers.

- Canonical page: https://attensira.com/glossary/featured-snippets
- Family: glossary
- Last updated: 2026-10-04
- Author: Karl-Gustav Kallasmaa (https://attensira.com/about)
- Claims as data: https://attensira.com/claims.json?slug=featured-snippets

**In short:** A featured snippet is a short passage Google quotes from one web page and shows at the top of the results, with the page's title and link, when it judges the passage answers the search directly. You cannot mark a page up to get one; Google chooses. You can opt out with nosnippet, data-nosnippet or max-snippet.

| Figure | What it counts | n |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 22/108 | answers naming Semrush, the leader | n=108 answers |
| 3/108 | answers linking attensira.com | all 3 on ChatGPT (n=60) |
| 0/108 | answers naming Attensira | n=108 answers |

Window 2026-09-05 to 2026-10-04. Answers to “what is generative engine optimization”, attensira.com workspace, read over the Attensira MCP on 2026-10-04.

_Source: attensira.com workspace, read over the Attensira MCP, as of 2026-10-04 (n=108 (ChatGPT 60, Perplexity 48))._

## Key facts

- Also known as: Answer box, position zero
- Chosen by: Google alone; there is no markup to request one
- Opt out with: [nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet](/glossary/x-robots-tag)
- AI-era cousin: [A cited source in an AI answer](/glossary/source-citation)
- Trade-off: [Credit at the top, fewer clicks](/glossary/zero-click-search)
- In Attensira: [Google rank tracking and Search Console](https://docs.attensira.com/measure/google-search)

## How is a featured snippet different from an AI answer?

In who gets the credit. Take "what is generative engine optimization", a definitional question we track for attensira.com and exactly the kind that used to earn a featured snippet. The strip at the top of this page is what ChatGPT and Perplexity did with it over the 30 days to 4 October 2026, read over the Attensira MCP.

|  | Featured snippet | AI answer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | one page | several pages blended |
| Your words | quoted | usually paraphrased |
| Your page title and link | shown with the quote | in a source list, if at all |
| Your brand named | yes, in the title beside the quote | only if the answer chooses to |

ChatGPT linked attensira.com in 3 of its 60 answers and never said whose page it was. Across both engines, Semrush was named in 22 of 108 answers and Attensira in none. A featured snippet cannot do that to a publisher: the source's title and link travel with the quote. That difference is why the habits that win featured snippets are necessary for AI answers but not enough. See [AI response optimization](/glossary/ai-response-optimization).

## What is a featured snippet?

A passage from one page that Google shows in a box above the ordinary results, with the page's title and URL, because it judges the passage answers the search directly. It comes in three common shapes:

- **Paragraph:** a definition or a short explanation, for "what is" and "why" questions;

- **List:** steps or items, for "how to" and "best" questions;

- **Table:** comparisons, prices or specifications.

Featured snippets sit among other [SERP features](/glossary/serp-features) and, on many searches, alongside or below an [AI Overview](/glossary/ai-overview).

## How does Google choose a featured snippet?

Automatically. Google's [documentation](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/featured-snippets) answers "how can I mark my page as a featured snippet?" with "You can't": its systems decide whether a page would make a good featured snippet for a search and elevate it. No markup, no setting.

What raises the odds is the same as for any quotable passage:

- a heading phrased as the question;

- the direct answer in the first one or two sentences beneath it;

- lists and tables as real HTML lists and tables, not images;

- a page that already ranks on the first page for the search.

## What does a snippet-ready passage look like in a pull request?

One question as the heading, then a 40 to 60 word answer that names the brand and stands on its own. The same passage serves a featured snippet and an AI answer that lifts one paragraph. The crew drafts the change; you approve it before it ships.

**Pull request example-co/website#318:** Answer the pricing question in the first paragraph

```diff
# content/pricing-faq.md
- ## Pricing
- We believe great tools should be accessible to teams of every size, which is why our plans are designed to grow with you.
+ ## How much does Example Co cost?
+ Example Co is priced per tracked question. Plans differ by how many questions you track and how much usage is included, and you can add usage at any time without changing plan.
```

_Example: a passage rewritten to answer one question. Not a reading._

## How do you opt out of featured snippets?

Google documents three controls, set in a robots meta tag or an [X-Robots-Tag](/glossary/x-robots-tag) header:

| Control | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| nosnippet | no text snippet for the page at all, including featured snippets |
| data-nosnippet (on an HTML element) | that part of the page is never used in a snippet |
| max-snippet:[number] | caps snippet length; max-snippet:0 equals nosnippet, max-snippet:-1 lets Google choose |

These controls apply across Google Search, including its AI features. Opting out of snippets also limits your page's use as a supporting link in AI Overviews, which require snippet eligibility.

## Are featured snippets good for a publisher?

It depends on what you count. A featured snippet puts your brand and link at the top of the page, but it answers the question in place, so some people never click. That is the [zero-click](/glossary/zero-click-search) trade-off, and it shows up as a lower [click-through rate](/glossary/click-through-rate) on queries where you hold the snippet.

For most brands the trade is worth it, because the snippet carries your name. An AI answer that uses your passage without naming you gives you the same zero clicks without the credit.

## What are the objections about featured snippets?

**"There's a schema type for featured snippets."** There is not. Structured data supports other rich results, not this one.

**"Snippets kill traffic, so opt out."** Opting out also removes you from snippet-based AI features. Measure clicks per query before deciding.

**"Snippet optimisation is enough for AI search."** It gets your passage chosen. Getting your brand named needs the brand inside the passage, as our GEO numbers show: linked three times, named never.

## How does Attensira help?

Attensira tracks the definitional and how-to questions your buyers ask, records whether AI answers cite your page and whether they name you, keeps your Google positions beside them once Search Console is connected, and has the crew rewrite the owning passage so it answers directly with your brand inside it. Each change ships after your approval and is measured before and after. [Content optimization](/features/content-optimization) covers how those rewrites are made, and [AI response optimization](/glossary/ai-response-optimization) the passage rules.

## FAQ

### What is a featured snippet?

It is a passage from a single web page that Google shows in a box at the top of the results, with that page's title and link, because it judges the passage answers the search directly. It can be a paragraph, a list or a table.

### Can I mark a page up so it becomes a featured snippet?

No. Google's documentation answers that question with 'You can't': its systems decide whether a page would make a good featured snippet for a search and, if so, show it. There is no markup or setting to request one.

### How do I stop my page appearing as one?

Google documents three controls: the nosnippet robots rule blocks all snippets, data-nosnippet on an element hides that part of the page from snippets, and max-snippet limits snippet length. max-snippet:0 is the same as nosnippet.

### What does max-snippet:-1 do?

It removes any length limit and lets Google choose the snippet length it believes most effective. With no rule specified at all, Google also chooses the length.

### Does optimising for featured snippets help with AI answers?

Partly. Both reward a passage that answers the question directly under a heading that asks it. The difference is credit: a featured snippet shows your page's title and link with your words, while an AI answer may paraphrase you and leave your name out.