This Hack Disables Google AI Search Results by Default
Do you miss the days when a Google search would just give you a list of links rather than a slowly updating box of questionably reliable AI-generated slop? You can go back to that earlier, simpler age by changing your Chrome settings.
Last week , Google began adding AI suggestions to search results . Some people may like these summaries, but for me they take too long to load. I’d rather see a list of links right away than wait a few seconds for a summary of those links to appear, possibly filled with inaccurate information. If you agree, the good news is that Google now offers web search . The bad news is there is no easy way to make this the default.
At least it wasn’t until journalist Ernie Smith of Tedium found a way to force search engines to show you Google search results.
How to View Google’s Default Web Results
Essentially, you need to create a custom search engine in your browser that points to Google’s web interface. This can be done by adding https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 as a search engine. Smith explains it well, but if you’re not interested in all the technical details, just know that the URL points your browser specifically to Google’s web results panel.
Smith described how to do this in Vivaldi, which is great, but I decided to show you how to make the Internet your default browser in Google’s own web browser (and the most popular web browser in the world): Chrome.
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To get started, open Chrome Settings and select Search Engine > Manage Search Engines and Site Search .
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Click the “Add” button, which you will find below the list of search engines.
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Name the new search engine something like “Google Web Search.” For the shortcut, I recommend just using “Internet” because Chrome won’t let you use the word “Google” (I find this detail funny). And finally, the most important: the URL is
https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14. This will redirect your request to Google’s web search.
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Click Save . You’ll see your new search engine listed – click the three dots next to it and select Set as Default .
You have now made your new search engine your default. Try searching for something: you will only get links. No quick replies to AI-generated summaries.
Wait, why is my LinkedIn page superior to my personal website? What did I do to deserve this? No matter: the fact is that now in the search results I only see links from the Internet.
Of course, this workaround doesn’t completely fix Google’s problem, but it does make using the search engine much better and faster. (For more tips, check out Lifehacker’s guide to getting Google to show you good search results again .)