TL;DR: You can’t fully turn off AI Overviews in Google Search. Google calls them a core feature that can’t be switched off. What you can do is click the Web filter after any search, which shows plain links with no AI Overview, or make that Web view your browser’s default with the address https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14. If you want no AI at all, a search engine with a real off switch, like DuckDuckGo’s noai.duckduckgo.com, is the cleaner fix.
Last updated: November 13, 2026. Steps checked against Google Search Help, Chrome Help and DuckDuckGo Help pages.
AI Overviews are the AI-written summaries that sit above the normal results on Google. Some people like them. Plenty of others find them slow, occasionally wrong, and in the way of the link they actually wanted. If you’re in the second group, this guide covers how to turn off AI Overviews as far as Google allows, what each workaround really does, and where the limits are.
Can you turn off AI Overviews in Google?
No, not with a setting. Google’s own help page says AI Overviews “are a core Google Search feature, like knowledge panels. Features cannot be turned off.” The one route Google itself offers is the Web filter, which hides them search by search.
That wording comes straight from Google Search Help: AI Overviews, checked on November 13, 2026. The same page carries a note that Google is “currently updating settings for Google Search services,” so menus may shift over the coming months. None of the new settings Google has documented so far hides AI Overviews.
Here’s a quick view of every option and what it actually does:
| Method | Removes AI Overviews? | Permanent? | Works on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web filter after each search | Yes | No, one search at a time | Any browser, any device |
Custom search engine with udm=14 |
Yes | Yes, in that browser | Chrome, Firefox and other desktop browsers |
| Search Labs “AI in Search” toggle | No | n/a | Only affects Google’s experiments |
| Hide AI Mode button in Chrome | No (AI Mode button only) | Yes | Chrome on a computer |
| Switch to DuckDuckGo no-AI | Yes, no Google AI at all | Yes | Any browser |
Method 1: Use the Web filter (the official way)
Run your search, then pick Web in the row of filters under the search box. Google reloads the page with text links only, no AI Overview. It’s the only method Google documents.
- Search on google.com as normal.
- Look at the filter row (All, Images, News, Videos and so on).
- Select Web. If you don’t see it, select More and pick it from the list.
The catch is that it doesn’t stick. Google notes that “when you use filters, your Search settings don’t change” (Google Search Help: filters), so your next search starts back on the All view with the AI Overview. That’s why most people move on to Method 2.
Method 2: Make the Web view your default search (udm=14)
Add a custom search engine that points at Google’s Web view, then set it as your default. Every search from your address bar then lands on plain links. This is the closest thing to a permanent off switch.
The trick is a URL parameter, udm=14, which opens the Web results tab directly. It isn’t an official Google setting, and Google’s help pages don’t mention it, so it could change without notice. It has worked for a long time, though, and it’s widely documented, for example by The Conversation.
In Chrome on a computer
Chrome lets you add your own search engine and make it the default, following Chrome Help: set default search engine:
- Open Chrome, select the three-dot menu, then Settings.
- Select Search engine, then Manage search engines and site search.
- Next to Site search, select Add and fill in:
- Name:
Google Web - Shortcut:
@web - URL with %s in place of query:
https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 - Select Add. Then select the three-dot More menu next to the new entry and choose Make default.
Now anything you type into the address bar searches Google without AI Overviews. One note from Google: if Chrome is managed by your work or school, your admin may control the default search engine, so this might be locked.
In Firefox, Edge and others
Firefox and most Chromium browsers (Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi) also let you add a search engine with a %s address in their search settings. Use the same URL as above. Edge is fussier and may only list engines you’ve already searched with, so run one search on the udm=14 address first.
On iPhone and Android
Phones are harder. Safari on iPhone only offers a fixed list of search engines, and Chrome on mobile doesn’t let you type your own search URL the way desktop Chrome does. Your realistic options on a phone are:
- Tap Web in the filter row after each search (you may need to scroll the row).
- Bookmark
https://www.google.com/search?udm=14&q=and search from that page. - Switch your browser’s default engine to DuckDuckGo and use its AI controls (Method 3).
Does the Search Labs switch turn off AI Overviews?
No. Search Labs has a toggle called “AI in Search,” but Google describes it as a testbed for new experiments, not a switch for AI Overviews. Turning it off only takes you out of those trials and the emails about them.
If you want to switch it off anyway, Google’s steps are: sign in to your Google Account (not in Incognito), open a new tab, select Labs, then Manage, and toggle off AI in Search (Google Search Help). You’ll still see AI Overviews afterwards.
How to hide AI Mode too
AI Mode is a separate feature from AI Overviews: a chat-style search you reach from the AI Mode tab, google.com/ai, or the Google app (Google Search Help: AI Mode). Google has no setting to remove it from Search, but Chrome on a computer lets you hide its button in the address bar.
In Chrome, right-click the address bar and uncheck Always show AI Mode. Google’s Chrome Help page on AI Mode says this hides “AI Mode” and “Add tabs and more” from the address bar. It won’t remove the AI Mode tab on the Google results page itself. Some people hide that tab with a content blocker filter, but that relies on Google’s page layout staying the same, so treat it as fragile.
Method 3: Use a search engine with a real AI off switch
If you want search with no AI answers at all, use a search engine that lets you turn them off. DuckDuckGo is the easiest: it has a settings toggle and a dedicated no-AI address.
According to DuckDuckGo’s help pages, you can go to Search Settings > AI Features, set Search Assist to Never, turn off Duck.ai, and select Save and Exit. Even simpler, start searches at noai.duckduckgo.com, which turns off Search Assist and Duck.ai and filters out AI-generated images by default. DuckDuckGo also offers No-AI Search extensions for Chrome and Firefox that set this as your default.
| Search option | AI answers by default? | How to switch off |
|---|---|---|
| Google (All tab) | Yes, AI Overviews | Can’t; use Web filter or udm=14 |
| Google (Web tab / udm=14) | No | Already off |
| DuckDuckGo | Search Assist on some queries | Settings > AI Features > Search Assist: Never |
| noai.duckduckgo.com | No | Already off, AI images filtered too |
The trade-off is results quality. Google’s index and local results are hard to beat for some searches, so many people keep Google’s Web view as their default and use DuckDuckGo where they want zero AI.
Does turning off AI Overviews stop Google using your data for AI?
No. Hiding AI Overviews only changes what you see. What Google saves is a separate setting, now called Search Services History for accounts that have the new controls.
Google’s Search Services History page says that when this setting is off, new activity from Search services won’t be saved to your account or “used to train generative AI models, unless you provide feedback.” Google may still temporarily use recent searches to answer you. To change it, go to My Google Activity, select Search Services History, and turn it off (with the option to delete past activity). If your account hasn’t got the new settings yet, Google says Web & App Activity still controls this.
For more on cleaning up what’s out there about you, see our guide to removing personal information from the internet.
Our verdict
For most people, the best fix is Method 2: add the udm=14 Google search to your desktop browser and make it the default. It takes two minutes, keeps Google’s results, and removes AI Overviews from every address-bar search. On a phone, tap Web or move to DuckDuckGo’s no-AI mode. Skip the Search Labs switch; it doesn’t do what its name suggests.
If you’re trimming AI features across your devices, our guide on how to turn off Copilot in Windows 11 covers the PC side. And if you do want AI answers but on your own terms, compare the dedicated tools in Perplexity vs ChatGPT and ChatGPT vs Gemini. For the week’s AI changes, see AI News This Week: Nov 9–15, 2026.
FAQ
Can you permanently turn off AI Overviews in Google?
No. Google’s help page says AI Overviews are a core Search feature and can’t be turned off. The closest permanent fix is setting a custom search engine with udm=14 as your browser’s default, which always opens Google’s Web view without AI Overviews.
What does udm=14 do in Google Search?
It’s a URL parameter that opens the Web results tab, which shows text links without AI Overviews. It isn’t an official Google setting and Google doesn’t document it, so it could stop working if Google changes its search URLs.
Does turning off AI in Search Labs remove AI Overviews?
No. The “AI in Search” toggle in Search Labs only opts you out of Google’s AI experiments and related emails. AI Overviews keep appearing in normal results.
How do I turn off AI Overviews on my iPhone?
You can’t switch them off. Tap the Web filter after each search, bookmark a Google search address ending in udm=14, or change Safari’s search engine to DuckDuckGo and set Search Assist to Never in its settings.
Is AI Mode the same as AI Overviews?
No. AI Overviews are summaries at the top of normal results. AI Mode is a separate chat-style search opened from its own tab, google.com/ai or the Google app. In Chrome on a computer you can hide the AI Mode button by right-clicking the address bar and unchecking Always show AI Mode.
Does hiding AI Overviews stop Google from training AI on my searches?
No. That’s controlled by Search Services History (or Web & App Activity on older settings). Google says that with it off, new Search activity isn’t used to train generative AI models unless you give feedback.
