Three Ways to Remove AI From Google
If you haven’t completely ditched Google yet , you’ve probably noticed that your search results lately tend to start with an AI-generated answer. Maybe you’ve found this helpful, maybe you’ve found it annoying. But the fact is, whether you like it or not, most of your Google searches default to these long, AI-generated summaries.
This feature isn’t as problematic and error-prone as it was when Google first rolled it out , but you still shouldn’t take these results at face value. The feature simply aggregates the answers it finds from its own web searches, which can include both high-quality, accurate sources and low-quality, intentionally misleading, or comical sources. Since AI models can completely make up information , I personally prefer to skip the AI reviews and evaluate individual sources myself.
But instead of scrolling through multiple AI-generated results in a single search, you can turn off the AI entirely. There are different ways to do this, but the landscape is changing rapidly. My favorite piece of advice — scolding Google — doesn’t seem to work anymore. Earlier this year, if you scolded Google by adding a colorful metaphor to your query, it would never generate an AI review. Now it does, and it ignores your vulgarities. But the following tips should still help Google stay as AI-free as possible, at least as of this writing.
AI Blocking Reviews with Web Search Filter
When you search for something on Google, you’re probably familiar with the main results options, including “Everything,” “Images,” “Videos,” “Shopping,” and now “AI Mode.” But have you heard of “Web”? If not, I don’t blame you: It’s pretty hidden, but it’s worth knowing about.
Google’s web search filter only shows results from websites , and that’s serious. There are no AI-generated answers here, just good old search results. Maybe these are really good sites with reliable information, maybe not, but that’s up to you to decide.
The web search filter can be found after performing a Google search by clicking on the “More” drop-down menu next to other hidden filters like “Forums,” “Books,” “Flights,” and “Finance.” However, following Google’s rules, you’ll have to do this every time you want to see classic search, which means that for almost every query, you’ll have to get an answer from AI Overviews first. So if you like these web search results, you shouldn’t play by Google’s rules.
Google may not want you to see search results by default, but that’s okay. With a little work, you can make them available by default if you have Chrome. Just follow our guide here .
Add “-ai” to your queries
A quick trick is to add “-ai” to the end of every search query. I’ve found that this works more often than not, so if you’re looking for something simple to build muscle memory, it couldn’t be simpler. (This reminds me of how many of us have learned to add “Reddit” to the end of search queries when we want answers from real people.)
Use an extension like Hide Gemini
It’s not just the AI reviews that you’re tired of, but also Google’s other AI-powered services, like Gemini. Of course, Google doesn’t let you simply turn off Gemini , so even if you never use Google’s AI assistant in web apps like Gmail, you’ll still see its icon all the time.
Not so with the Hide Gemini extension. This add-on hides (but doesn’t remove) a bunch of unnecessary Google AI elements, including AI-generated search results and Gemini features from Workspace. Install it, and you’ll find a virtually AI-free experience in apps like Gmail, Docs, and Drive, though the extension has limitations. You’ll still see Google’s one-time Gemini pop-ups, as well as elements that can’t be removed, like the “Writing Assistance” feature in blank documents. The “Consolidate this file” option will also always appear in the Google Drive context menu. However, most of the AI features will be hidden, which should help you focus on what you’re trying to do.
There are other extensions out there, like Hide Google AI Overviews and Bye Bye, Google AI . I wonder how many products there are to disable Google’s AI features. Maybe you should learn from that?