  Intrinsic, two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic semiconductors are an important
class of materials for spin-charge conversion applications. Cr$_2$Ge$_2$Te$_6$
retains long-range magnetic order in bilayer at cryogenic temperatures and
shows complex magnetic interactions with considerable magnetic anisotropy.
Here, we performed a series of structural, magnetic, X-ray scattering,
electronic, thermal transport and first-principles calculation studies which
reveal that localized electronic charge carriers in Cr$_2$Ge$_2$Te$_6$ are
dressed by surrounding lattice and are involved in polaronic transport via
hopping that is sensitive on details of magnetocrystalline anisotropy. This
opens possibility for manipulation of charge transport in Cr$_2$Ge$_2$Te$_6$ -
based devices by electron-phonon- and spin-orbit coupling-based tailoring of
polaron properties.
