How to turn off AI on Google

By | May 26, 2026
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How to turn off AI on Google

Google does not provide a single toggle switch to completely disable AI across its entire platform. However, depending on your primary annoyance, you can bypass Google Search AI Overviews, stop smart features in Gmail, or disable Gemini on your device using a few targeted workarounds.

1. Bypass AI Overviews in Google Search

Google treats AI summaries as core search components, but you can block or bypass them:
  • The “-ai” Search Text Hack: This is the quickest solution. Simply add -ai at the very end of your search query (e.g., best laptop -ai). Google’s algorithm interprets the minus sign as a directive to exclude AI results entirely, returning traditional web results.
  • The “Web” Tab Filter: After submitting a search, tap the Web button located in the horizontal menu bar directly below the search box (alongside Images, Videos, News). This switches Google to its legacy “10 blue links” format without any AI widgets.
  • Permanent Bypass (Chrome Desktop): You can force Chrome to always fetch the clean, AI-free web filter version:
    1. Open Chrome Settings > Search engine > Manage search engines and site search.
    2. Click Add next to “Site search”.
    3. Fill in the fields: Name it Google Web, set the shortcut to @web, and paste this URL into the third box: {Google:baseURL}?q=%s&udm=14 (the udm=14 code forces a web-only view).
    4. Click Add, click the three dots next to your new entry, and choose Make default.

2. Disable AI & “Smart Features” in Gmail/Docs

If you want to turn off automated text suggestions, email summaries, and predictive text replies inside your workspace:
  1. Open Gmail on your computer and click the Settings (gear icon) in the top right corner.
  2. Click See all settings.
  3. Under the General tab, scroll down to the Smart Features section.
  4. Uncheck Turn on smart features and personalization.
  5. Uncheck Turn on smart features and personalization in other Google products.

3. Opt-Out of Search Labs Experiments

If you manually opted into Google’s beta AI tools, you can turn them off to reduce their presence:
  1. Head to the official Google Search Labs page.
  2. Locate the cards labeled AI Overviews and more or AI Mode.
  3. Toggle the switches to Off.

4. Switch Mobile Voice Assistants (Android)

If your phone upgraded its assistant automatically to Gemini and you want to go back to the standard Google Assistant:
  1. Open the Gemini app on your phone.
  2. Tap your Profile picture in the top right corner and go to Settings.
  3. Tap Digital Assistants from Google.
  4. Select Google Assistant to downgrade the AI back to the classic voice assistant.