How to Turn Off Google AI Overviews: Every Method That Still Works

You cannot turn off Google AI Overviews with a setting. Google calls them a core Search feature and says plainly that they “cannot be turned off.” What you can do is stop seeing them: use the Web filter, make a udm=14 search your browser’s default, add -ai to a search, install an extension, or switch to a search engine without AI answers.

This guide covers every method that still works in October 2026, ranked from most to least reliable, on desktop, Android and iPhone. It also covers AI Mode in Chrome, the new Search Services History setting, and the one real off switch Google has shipped, which is for website owners.

The Key Takeaways

• There is no official “off” switch. Google’s help page says AI Overviews are a core feature that cannot be turned off.
• The most reliable fix is a custom search engine that adds udm=14 to every search, which loads Google’s AI-free Web results.
• The “Web” filter is the method Google itself recommends. It works on every device, one search at a time.
• Search Labs will not help. Its toggle only opts you out of experiments, and Labs is not offered anywhere in Europe.
• Extensions hide the box after Google has generated it. They work on desktop until Google changes its page code.

Every Way to Turn Off Google AI Overviews, Compared

The best way to turn off Google AI Overviews is to make a udm=14 search your default, because it removes them from every address-bar search without any add-on. The table ranks all seven methods by how well they actually work.

What is the Google AI Overview?

Google AI Overview is the AI-written summary at the top of a Google results page. Instead of only listing links, Google’s generative AI reads several websites and writes a short answer to your question, with links to its sources.

Key Features:

• It’s a Summary: It’s an AI-generated snapshot that tries to directly answer your query. It often includes bullet points, key facts, and a brief overview of the topic.
• It’s at the Top: It appears in a special box above the traditional “10 blue links,” so it’s the first thing you see.
• It Cites Sources: The overview includes links to the websites it used to get its information, allowing you to click and read more.
• It’s Automatic: You don’t turn it on. Google shows an AI Overview when its systems decide generative AI will be especially helpful, and it also appears when you search with an image or use Circle to Search.

AI Overviews are now available in more than 200 countries and territories, including the US, the UK, Czechia, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal, and in nearly 100 languages, according to Google’s availability list. That is why so many people outside the US started looking for an off switch this year.

AI Overviews are not the same as AI Mode. AI Mode is a separate, chat-style search tab that Google calls its “most powerful AI search experience.” Tapping Show more under an AI Overview on mobile can carry you into AI Mode. AI Overview is also the official name for what Google used to test as the “Search Generative Experience” (SGE).

Why Do People Want AI Overviews Gone?

People want AI Overviews gone mainly because of accuracy and clutter. Many users want to remove AI from Google Search results after high-profile mistakes (like the infamous “add glue to pizza” advice), and Google’s own help page warns that AI Overviews “can and will make mistakes.” The box also pushes the classic blue links further down the page. Publishers have raised concerns about lost traffic, since readers may not click through when the answer is already summarized.

The methods below start with the most reliable.

Method 1: Make udm=14 Your Default Search (Best Long-Term Fix)

The best long-term way to turn off AI Overviews is to force Google to always load its Web view by creating your own default search engine. This trick uses a URL parameter: udm=14.

The parameter opens the same page as Google’s “Web” filter: text links only, with no AI Overview. It has worked since Google added the Web filter in May 2024. Here’s how to set it up.

How to Set Up udm=14 in Chrome (Desktop)

This takes about 60 seconds and fixes every search you type into the address bar.

1. Open Chrome, click the three dots (⋮) in the top-right corner, and go to Settings.
2. On the left, select “Search engine.”
3. Click “Manage search engines and site search.”
4. To the right of “Site search,” click “Add.”
5. Fill in the three fields:
   • Name: Google (Web)
   • Shortcut: @web (or whatever you like)
   • URL with %s in place of query: https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14
6. Click “Add.”
7. Find “Google (Web)” in the list, click the three dots (⋮) next to it, and select “Make default.”

Now any search you type into the address bar opens Google’s Web results, without AI Overviews. Microsoft Edge and Brave are built on the same engine and offer a similar option in their search settings.

How to Set Up udm=14 in Chrome (Android & iOS)

Chrome on mobile does not let you type a custom search URL, so the workaround uses a helper site.

1. In Chrome on your phone, go to tenbluelinks.org.
2. Open a new tab and do any normal Google search (this “registers” the site).
3. Tap the three dots (⋮), go to Settings, and then tap “Search engine.”
4. Under “Recently visited,” you should now see “Google Web (tenbluelinks.org)”.
5. Select it.

Even though the entry names the helper site, it only sets your default search to Google with the udm=14 parameter. Your searches still go to Google.

How to Set Up udm=14 in Firefox & Other Browsers

Firefox accepts a custom search engine on desktop and on Android.

1. Go to your browser’s Settings and find the “Search” section.
2. Look for “Search Shortcuts” or “Add Search Engine.”
3. Add a new engine with the same URL: https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14.
4. Give it a name (like “Google Web”) and set it as your default.

Safari on Mac and iPhone only offers its built-in list of search engines, so it cannot use this method. On an iPhone, use Chrome with the tenbluelinks.org trick, Firefox with a custom engine, or the Web filter in Method 2.

Note: Google has never documented udm=14 as a stable setting, so it could change. It only affects searches from your address bar: a search typed on google.com itself still shows AI Overviews. If the parameter ever stops working, fall back to the Web filter or an extension.

Method 2: Click the “Web” Filter (Fast but Manual)

The Web filter is the only method Google officially recommends. Its help page says AI Overviews “cannot be turned off,” but that you can select the Web filter after a search to see “only text-based links without features like AI Overviews.” It works on every device, but you have to do it for each search.

1. Search as usual, then look below the search bar for the row of filters (like All, Images, News, Videos).
2. Click the “Web” filter.
3. The page reloads with only classic text links and no AI Overview.

If you don’t see “Web,” open the “More” menu at the end of the row. Google says the filters and their order change with each search. The Web filter also removes shopping results, maps and video carousels, so it suits research better than “restaurants near me.”

Method 3: Add “-ai” to Your Search

Adding -ai to the end of a search often stops the AI Overview from appearing, a trick that has circulated since 2024 and that testers still report working in 2026. For example, search how to descale a kettle -ai. The minus sign is a standard Google operator that excludes a word, and searches that use one often skip the AI Overview.

The catch is real: -ai also removes every result that contains the word “AI.” That makes it useless for any search about AI itself. Google does not document this behavior, so treat it as a quick trick for one search, not a permanent fix.

Method 4: Hide AI Overviews with Extensions (Desktop Only)

Browser extensions are the easiest “set it and forget it” option on a desktop computer. They find the AI Overview box on the page and hide Google AI Overviews before you see them. Google still generates the answer; the extension only hides it.

Two options are still listed on the Chrome Web Store as of October 2026:

• Hide Google AI Overviews: Does exactly what its name says. Install it from the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons, and the AI box disappears.
• Bye Bye, Google AI: A popular alternative for Chrome and other Chromium browsers that hides AI Overviews and can also hide the Discussions and ad sections.

If you used uBlock Origin with a custom filter for this, check that it still runs. Chrome switched off all Manifest V2 extensions, including the original uBlock Origin, with Chrome 138 in July 2025. uBlock Origin still runs in Firefox, and the slimmer uBlock Origin Lite runs in Chrome. Our ranking of the best extensions to hide Google AI Overview compares them in detail.

Note: Install extensions only from the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons, and check the permissions they ask for. An extension that can rewrite your results page can also read it. If Google changes its page code, an extension can stop working until its developer ships an update.

Method 5: Switch Search Engines Entirely

Switching your default search engine is the only way to avoid Google AI Overviews on every search, in every app and browser. It is the most drastic step, but also the most complete.

Changing engines does not automatically mean a search without AI, because several rivals add AI features of their own. These three let you avoid them:

• DuckDuckGo: Its No-AI search at noai.duckduckgo.com turns off AI-assisted answers, AI feature suggestions and AI-generated images, and it keeps DuckDuckGo’s private results.
• Brave Search: Built for privacy. Turn off “Answer with AI” in its settings. Some users report the toggle does not hold on every search.
• Startpage: Shows Google’s search results anonymously, without Google’s extras such as AI Overviews.

To switch, set the new engine as the default in your browser’s search settings. On an iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Search Engine and pick DuckDuckGo.

How to Turn Off AI Mode in Chrome

You can hide the AI Mode button in Chrome’s address bar, but you cannot remove AI Mode from Google Search. Google’s Chrome help gives the steps:

1. On your computer, open Chrome.
2. Right-click the address bar.
3. Unselect “Always show AI Mode.”

This hides “AI Mode” and “Add tabs and more” from the address bar. The AI Mode tab on google.com stays, but it only opens when you click it, and a Web-filtered page shows no AI answer at all. To switch off Gemini in Chrome and Google’s other apps as well, follow our guide on how to turn off Gemini.

Why Search Labs Will Not Turn Off AI Overviews

Search Labs is the most repeated tip online, and it no longer helps. Google’s help page says turning off “AI in Search” in Labs opts you out of new AI experiments. It does not remove AI Overviews, which are a core feature.

Labs is also limited by country. Google’s availability page lists no European country, so readers in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal or Czechia cannot open it at all. The “AI Mode” experiment in Labs is available only in the US and India, in English.

1. If you have Labs, sign in to your Google Account and open a new tab with Incognito mode off.
2. Click the Labs icon (a small flask) at the top of the page, then Manage.
3. Find the card named “AI in Search.”
4. Toggle it Off.

Important: After this, you will still see AI Overviews. Use Method 1 or Method 2 to actually hide them.

Limit the Data Google Uses for AI

This setting controls your data, not what the results page looks like. It will not hide a single AI Overview.

Google is moving Search history out of Web & App Activity into a new setting called Search Services History, with a separate Personalized Recommendations setting. The change began rolling out in late May 2026 and covers Search, Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate and News. Google says this history is used to develop its services, including training generative AI models, after it is disconnected from your account.

Here’s how to turn it off:

1. Go to Search Services History at myactivity.google.com/search-services/settings and sign in.
2. Turn Search Services History off.
3. Choose “Turn off” or “Turn off and delete activity.”
4. If you keep the history on, uncheck Save Media so Google stops saving your Lens images, uploads and voice recordings.

If you do not see the new setting yet, Google says your Search history is still controlled by Web & App Activity in your Google Account under Data & privacy. Turning either off still will not stop AI Overviews from appearing.

For Website Owners: The One Real Off Switch

Website owners now have an official way to keep their content out of AI Overviews. The Search generative AI control in Search Console reached all websites worldwide on August 31, 2026. Under Settings > Search generative AI, you can exclude your site’s links and content from AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative features in Google Discover.

Excluding a site does not remove AI Overviews for anyone else. Google says other sites’ content will still appear in those features, your site gets no traffic or impressions from them, and the control does not affect your ranking elsewhere in Search. Changes take effect within a few days.

Conclusion

You can’t flip one switch to disable Google AI Overviews, but you can stop seeing them on almost every search. For most people, the most reliable workaround is the udm=14 default search engine (Method 1), which loads Google’s classic, link-only results without AI Overviews from the address bar on desktop and mobile.

On a desktop, an extension (Method 4) is the fastest one-time fix. If you want no Google AI at all, switch your default to DuckDuckGo’s No-AI search (Method 5).

Dropping AI from search doesn’t have to mean dropping AI. If you’d rather ask a model only when you choose to, Fello AI puts ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and DeepSeek in one app on Mac, iPhone and iPad, and nothing appears until you ask.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)