Google’s AI Overviews have largely taken over Search at this point. The feature, which summarizes information and answers questions without requiring you to click on any links, has decimated web traffic for publishers and produced numerous factual errors. I also just find the feature intrusive.
When it comes to AI products, it’s hard to tell if you’re dealing with a work in progress or a finished product. This is why I’ve invested so much time in trying to remove these overviews from my web searches. Unfortunately, there’s no official way to turn them off. Still, I’ve discovered that a few tweaks can make Google’s AI-infused answers a little less prominent.
1. Trick Google Into Removing AI
Of all the ways to remove AI Overviews from Google, this one is my favorite because it’s the easiest and most repeatable method yet. All you have to do is use the NOT (–) operator that modifies searches to exclude certain parameters. In this example, searching who owns Facebook will generate an overlay, as seen below.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)
However, by adding something like -AI at the end of the search query, the AI Overview will be stripped from the results page. This isn’t because Google added an AI kill switch in its code. Rather, the modifier is breaking Google’s algorithm to surface the AI overlay. In my testing, I got the same results if I added random characters at the end, such as -i or -efewg, but I find -AI to be more fun.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)
2. Switch Back to Web Results
Around the same time Google rolled out the AI Overviews in full, it also introduced a new Web filter for search results. This essentially returns you to traditional search results. When AI snippets annoy me, I can get rid of them by clicking the Web filter underneath the search bar. If it isn’t visible, click the More button and select it from the menu that appears. Once the Web filter is selected, the AI Overview panel will be removed from Google search results.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)
Unfortunately, I can’t set it to be the default view for all my searches, so it’d be a pain to manually choose the tab each time Google serves up an AI result (which is basically every time at this point). This filter isn’t a magic button that brings back the old Google; it’s simply meant to be for web links what the Image filter is for images. That means YouTube previews and search snippets won’t appear when this filter is used—it’s web links only all the way down.
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(Credit: PCMag / Google)
3. Use a Proxy Site (or Create Your Own)
When you click the Web tab, Google adds a short string of characters to the URL, which signals it should only show you web links. You can do this manually by adding &udm=14 to the end of a search results URL. If that seems too tedious, the proxy site udm14.com works as a Google search bar with AI Overviews stripped out. As a word of warning, a proxy site can potentially read your search queries, so consider your comfort level before proceeding.
(Credit: PCMag; Ernie Smith / Tedium)
If you don’t want to risk it, just make your own. This website has instructions on how to set Google Web as your default search engine in Chrome and Firefox. I tested it on my Android phone, and it seems to work really well. All I had to do was visit the link above, open a new tab, and search for something with Google. I then tapped the three-dot menu in the browser, went to Settings > Search engine, and selected the Google Web entry under Recently visited.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)
I also decided to set it up on my laptop, which works a bit differently. I went to Setting > Search Engine > Manage search engines, then clicked the Add button next to Site search. Chrome had me enter a name (Google Web) and shortcut (@web), but most important was the {google:baseURL}search?q=%s&udm=14 code I added to the URL box. I then had to locate the Google Web entry in the list of search engines, click the three-dot icon, and choose Make default.
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Now, when I search from Chrome on my phone or laptop, it only gives me web links in the results—and no AI overviews in sight! However, keep in mind that this also means no multimedia links, too, but if I can’t find what I’m looking for, all I have to do is use the Videos or News tabs. I can even hit the All filter to get back to the AI-filled version of Google, if there are any results I might be missing.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)
4. Switch to Brave and Disable It
This one feels a little bit like cheating, but if you’re ready to kick AI Overviews to the curb, maybe you’re also ready to switch browsers. Brave uses its own search engine by default, which has its own AI overviews. To turn them off, click the settings gear on the search page and disable Answer with AI.
(Credit: PCMag / Brave)
But if you set your default search engine to Google, you can still turn them off. In the browser, go to Settings > Shields > Content filtering, then check the AI suggestions blocker option in the Filter lists section. Now, when you do a Google search in Brave, you’ll just see traditional search results.
(Credit: PCMag / Brave)
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Jason Cohen
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As PCMag’s editor of how to content, I have to cover a wide variety of topics and also make our stories accessible to everyday users. Considering my history as a technical writer, copywriter, and all-around freelancer covering baseball, comics, and more at various outlets, I am used to making myself into an expert.
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My job as how-to guru means I use just about every gadget under the sun, so I can figure out how everything works. I work from a Lenovo ThinkPad running Windows 11, but also have a very large Dell Inspiron 17 3000 and Apple silicon MacBook. I also have a Google Pixel 6a for personal use and use a Galaxy Z Flip 4 for additional Samsung-related testing. For iOS coverage, an iPhone 13 mini works like a charm, though it’s already becoming a little long in the tooth.
My desktop situation includes a dual monitor setup with a modest Acer monitor. I also use a Logitech mouse (who can use these ThinkPad trackpads) and a Havit keyboard (my first mechanical keyboard; I love it but my wife hates it!). I’m a recent convert from wired headphones; I have Anker Soundcore Liberty Air wireless earbuds for personal use and have taken to the Sennheiser HD 450BT headphones for work.
Whenever I have a second to myself, I’m probably gaming on my Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, or Xbox Series S. I also still have a bunch of classic consoles lying around as well.
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