How to turn off AI on Google: what you can switch off in Search, Chrome, Gmail and Android, and what you can't

How to turn off AI on Google is a common question, and the honest answer on October 23, 2026 is: partly. Google's own Search help page says AI Overviews are "a core Google Search feature" and "Features cannot be turned off." What you can do is hide them with the Web filter, switch off or unpin Gemini in Chrome and on Android, turn off Gemini's activity history, and, if you run a Google Workspace, switch the Gemini app off for your organization.

This guide is based on Google's Search, Chrome, Gemini Apps, Gmail and Workspace Admin help pages, checked October 23, 2026, plus reporting by The Register and 404 Media where Google's pages don't cover a method. Google notes on its AI Overviews page that "the settings described in this article are being updated so may not match your current experience," so menus may differ slightly. For what Google's paid Gemini plans include, see Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini.

The short version

• AI Overviews: can't be turned off, per Google. Use the Web filter after a search, or a search URL with udm=14, to get text links only.
• AI Mode: a tab or button you can simply not use. Google documents a Search Labs switch for its AI Mode experiment, not a way to remove AI Mode itself.
• Gemini in Chrome: Settings > AI innovations > Gemini in Chrome. You can remove the toolbar button, the shortcut and agent browsing.
• Android: change the default digital assistant, turn off "Hey Google" and lock-screen access, or uninstall the Gemini app.
• Gmail and Docs: Gemini features fall under "Smart features in Google Workspace," a separate setting from Gmail's own smart features.
• Workspace admins: can switch the Gemini app off for everyone or for groups.

Can I turn off AI Overviews in Google Search?

No. Google's help page for AI Overviews says "Features cannot be turned off," and a Google Search Community guide updated June 15, 2026 says AI Overviews "are a Search feature like knowledge panels and can't be turned off." Google's recommended alternative is the Web filter: "you can select the Web filter after you perform a search," and it "displays only text-based links without features like AI Overviews."

To use it on a computer, search as usual, then select Web among the filters under the search box. When Google introduced the filter on May 15, 2024, 404 Media reported it could sit under More rather than in the main row. You have to pick it again for each new search.

How do I make the Web filter my default?

Google's help pages don't document a way to make Web the default. The common workaround is a custom search engine that adds the udm=14 parameter, which sends searches straight to the Web results. The Register described the steps for Chrome on December 26, 2025:

1. Open chrome://settings/searchEngines.
2. Next to Site search, click Add.
3. Name it "Google (Web Only)," use any shortcut you like, and enter the URL {google:baseURL}/search?udm=14&q=%s.
4. Open the menu next to the new entry and choose Make default.

udm=14 is an undocumented Google URL parameter, so Google could change it without notice. It skips AI Overviews along with image, video and answer boxes, The Register noted.

Can I turn off AI Mode?

Not as a whole. AI Mode is reached by tapping AI Mode below the search bar or by going to google.com/ai, per Google's help center, and nothing forces you into it. Google's AI Mode help page describes AI Mode in Labs as "an opt-in experiment" and gives a switch for it: open a new tab, select Search Labs, then Manage, and turn AI Mode off. That switch covers the Labs experiment; Google doesn't describe it as removing the AI Mode tab or button.

The AI Overviews page also says that to opt out of Search Labs' testbed, you "turn off 'AI in Search' in Labs." That controls experimental features and notifications; it doesn't remove AI Overviews.

Chrome's address bar can show an AI Mode button too. Chrome's help pages don't document a setting to remove it. The Register reported on December 26, 2025 that it could be removed with experimental flags in chrome://flags; flags change between Chrome versions and Google doesn't support them, so they're not listed as steps here.

How do I turn off Gemini in Chrome?

Gemini in Chrome runs on Chromebook Plus, Mac and Windows computers for signed-in users, per Google's Chrome help page. To limit it:

1. Click More (three dots) > Settings > AI innovations > Gemini in Chrome.
2. Under Preferences, switch off Show Gemini at the top of the browser to remove the toolbar button. You can also right-click the top of the browser and choose Unpin Gemini.
3. In the same section, switch off the menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows) option, which also controls the keyboard shortcut.
4. Under Permissions, switch off Let Gemini browse for you to stop agent browsing ("auto browse").

Google lists other AI features in Chrome with their own settings, including "Help me write" and AI-powered history search; The Register gives chrome://settings/ai/helpMeWrite and chrome://settings/ai/historySearch as their locations. Media understanding, which lets Gemini answer questions about audio and video you've played, is on by default, according to Google's help page.

How do I turn off Gemini on Android?

Google's Gemini help page documents these steps:

• Stop Gemini opening from the power button: Settings > System > Gestures > Press & hold power button.
• Turn off "Hey Google": in the Gemini app, open your profile > Settings > Talk to Gemini hands-free, and switch off "Hey Google."
• Lock screen: in the Gemini app's settings, open "Gemini on lock screen" and turn off "Use Gemini without unlocking."
• Change the default assistant: Settings > Apps > Default apps > Digital assistant app. Google says "you can change, remove, or set a default digital assistant app at any time." The same page's contents list still names a Switch from Gemini to Google Assistant option, but as of October 23, 2026 it gives no steps for it.
• Uninstall: you can delete the Gemini app, but Google warns that this "doesn't automatically remove Gemini as your device's default digital assistant."

How do I stop Gemini keeping my chats?

Turn off Keep Activity. On gemini.google.com, go to Settings & help > Activity, select On, then choose Turn off or Turn off and delete activity. Google says that even with Keep Activity off, "your conversations will be saved with your account for up to 72 hours." To remove what's already saved as well, choose Turn off and delete activity, or delete past activity from the same Activity page. Our ChatGPT vs Gemini for research comparison covers Gemini's other data settings.

How do I turn off Gemini in Gmail and Docs?

There are two separate settings, and Google says changing one doesn't change the other.

• Gmail's own smart features (inbox categories, Smart Compose, Smart Reply, summary cards): in Gmail, open Settings > See all settings > General > Smart features and uncheck Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet.
• Gemini features such as asking Gemini to summarize, draft or find information fall under Smart features in Google Workspace, managed through Manage Workspace smart feature settings.

What can Workspace admins switch off?

In the Google Admin console, admins with the Gemini Settings privilege can go to Menu > Generative AI > Gemini app > Service status and choose Off for everyone, or apply it to an organizational unit or group. Google says changes "can take up to 24 hours." That setting covers gemini.google.com, the Gemini mobile apps and Gemini in Chrome, and "has no effect on other AI features in Google Workspace services." Gemini inside Gmail, Docs and other apps has a separate admin page, and Chrome Enterprise's GeminiSettings policy can turn off Gemini in Chrome while leaving the Gemini app on. For Google's agent for Workspace customers, see our Gemini agent explainer.

What you can switch off, and what you can't

Last verified: October 23, 2026

Turning AI features off doesn't change what Google's AI Overviews show other people, or which pages they cite. Our analysis of how AI answers get gamed with fake statistics covers why some readers want them gone.

What's confirmed and what may change

• Confirmed (Google help pages, October 23, 2026): AI Overviews can't be turned off; the Web filter; the Labs switches; the Chrome, Android, Keep Activity, Gmail and Admin console steps above.
• Reported, not documented by Google: the udm=14 default-search workaround and Chrome flags for the address-bar AI Mode button (The Register, December 26, 2025).
• May change: Google says its AI Overviews settings page is "being updated." Menu names in Chrome and Android vary by version and device maker. The Android page still lists a switch back to Google Assistant in its contents but gives no steps for it; Google hasn't said how long Assistant will stay available.