How to Get Rid of AI Overview: Six Controls That Actually Remove It

You can't switch AI Overviews off globally, but you can stop them appearing for you. Six levers work as of late 2026: Google's "Web" filter, the &udm=14 URL parameter, a browser search shortcut, Chrome's site-permissions block, a paid AI Mode-ready plan with the AI Overviews toggle, and a Google Labs switch. Each one changes what you see on your own screen. None of them removes AI Overviews for anyone else, and none of them tells Google to stop generating them.

That boundary matters, because a lot of the advice circulating online promises a permanent opt-out. There isn't one. Google controls generation on its side; what you control is the surface you search through. The honest question is which surface gives you a plain list of links with the least friction, and how stable that workaround is likely to be.

AI Overviews themselves started rolling out in the United States in May 2024, per Google's own I/O announcement, and expanded to more than 200 countries and territories by early 2025. Once a feature reaches that footprint, per-user removal isn't the model Google is running. Per-session workarounds are.

Here's the short version of what the six controls do, so you can pick one before reading the detail:

The rest of this article walks each option in the order most people should try them — fastest first, most durable last — and names where each one breaks.

Start With the Web Filter Inside Google Search

The fastest working method is the Web filter. Run any search, then look for a "Web" tab in the row beneath the search bar, or open the "More" menu and select "Web." The results page reloads as a plain list of links. No AI Overview, no image pack crowding the top, no "People also ask" cluster folded into an answer box.

Google introduced this filter as a permanent option in 2025 after years of the "Web" result type existing as a Labs experiment. It's the same index — you're not searching a different database — but the presentation strips the AI layer. According to Google's own help documentation, the Web filter shows "text-based results" and is designed for people who want links rather than synthesized answers.

The catch is that it doesn't persist. The next search you type reverts to the default experience, AI Overview and all. If you search twenty times a day, clicking "Web" twenty times a day is a tax you'll notice by Thursday. That's why most people graduate to the URL parameter or a browser shortcut within a week.

One failure case worth knowing: the Web tab doesn't always appear. On some regional Google domains and in some logged-out states, the tab row collapses into the "More" menu, and on a few query types — shopping, local, and image-heavy searches — the Web option doesn't show at all. If you can't find it, the URL method below bypasses the interface entirely.

Paste udm=14 to Force Web-Only Results

Append &udm=14 to the end of any Google search URL and the page loads in Web mode. The full pattern is a normal search address with that parameter tacked on, so google.com/search?q=your+query&udm=14 returns the stripped results list. It's the same filter as the Web tab, expressed in the address bar, which means it works even when the tab is hidden.

The udm parameter is Google's internal designator for result-type modes. udm=14 corresponds to the Web filter, and it has been stable enough that third-party tools built entire search front-ends around it in 2024 and 2025. Stability is the operative word — Google can change internal parameters without notice, and a workaround that depends on an undocumented URL flag is a workaround living on borrowed time.

Practical use: bookmark a URL with the parameter already in place, or build a browser bookmarklet that appends it to whatever you're searching. If you're on a phone, editing the address bar mid-search is clunky, so this method suits desktop users more than mobile ones.

The edge scenario is queries that Google routes to a specialized vertical. A search that would normally trigger a shopping carousel or a local map pack may ignore udm=14 and serve the specialized page anyway. In those cases the Web filter isn't being overridden by AI — it's being overridden by a different results template entirely. You'll know because the URL resolves but the layout stays commercial.

Build a Browser Search Shortcut So It Sticks

A browser search shortcut is the first method that actually persists. Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari all support custom search engines, and you can point one at Google with &udm=14 baked in so every search from that shortcut lands in Web mode. Set it once; it holds until you remove it.

In Chrome, the path is Settings → Search engine → Manage search engines and site search → Add. Name it anything ("Google Web"), set the shortcut keyword (say, gw), and paste the search URL with the parameter and %s where the query goes. Typing gw followed by a space and your query in the address bar then runs a Web-mode search every time. Firefox does the same through Settings → Search → Add search engine, and Edge through Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Address bar and search.

This is the method I'd recommend to most people, with one honest caveat: it changes how you search, not how Google behaves. You'll type gw before your queries, and old habits die hard. Set it as your default search engine if you want zero friction, and accept that you'll occasionally land in the default view when you click a link that opens a fresh Google tab.

A regional wrinkle: custom search engines work on whatever Google domain you point them at, so if you're on google.co.uk rather than google.com, build the URL with the correct domain or the shortcut will bounce you to the wrong regional index. Test it once after setup by running an obvious query and confirming the results page shows the plain link list.

Block the Element in Chrome With Site Permissions

Chrome's per-site settings let you block a specific element from loading on a specific site, and that includes the block that renders AI Overviews. This is the most aggressive of the browser-side methods, and it's the one that survives the most page changes because it acts at the rendering layer rather than the URL layer.

Open the page you want to tame, click the tune icon or the site-information icon in the address bar, and go to Site settings. Under Content, Chrome exposes options for JavaScript, images, pop-ups, and — depending on your version — intrusive ads and other content categories. Blocking JavaScript outright on Google search kills AI Overviews but also disables autocomplete, instant results, and most of the interactive result features, so it's a sledgehammer. Targeted element blocking through Chrome's developer tools or a content-blocking extension is the scalpel.

A content blocker configured with a rule against Google's AI Overview container does the job without touching the rest of the page. The exact rule depends on the extension and Google's current markup, which changes. If you go this route, budget time for maintenance: a rule that works in November may stop working after a markup update, and you'll need to refresh it. That failure case is the main reason I rank this method below the search shortcut.

Blocking also breaks on Google's dedicated AI surfaces. AI Mode, which Google launched as a separate conversational search experience, runs on its own URL structure and doesn't render inside the standard results page's Overview container. A rule targeting the Overview block won't touch it. If AI Mode is what's bothering you, the account-level toggle in the next section is the relevant control.

Use the Paid Plan Toggle Where It Applies

Google has been testing and rolling out an AI Overviews toggle inside account settings, and availability depends on your plan and region. Where the toggle exists, it's the only method that removes AI Overviews account-wide rather than per-search. You flip it once and the default experience changes on every device signed into that account.

The toggle lives in Google's search settings, reachable from the Search page's Settings menu or from your Google account's data and personalization controls. Google's documentation frames AI Overviews as part of the search experience rather than a separate product, which is why the control is buried rather than surfaced on the results page. Plan-gated availability is the sticking point — some Google One tiers and some regions expose it, others don't. Check your own settings rather than trusting a blog post's screenshot; the rollout has moved.

Financial boundary: this is a subscription question, and the cost of any paid tier should be weighed against how much the feature actually bothers you. The article can't quote current pricing because plans and regional pricing change, and no verified figure is available here. Confirm on Google's own plan pages before subscribing for this reason alone.

One downside nobody mentions: the toggle removes Overviews but doesn't remove AI Mode or AI-powered summaries elsewhere in Google's products. If your goal is a fully AI-free Google, no single switch delivers that. The toggle solves one surface. The Web shortcut solves another. Most people who care enough to configure one end up configuring both.

Check Google Labs for Experimental Switches

Google Labs hosts experimental features, and from time to time it carries controls for AI-related surfaces that haven't reached general settings. If you're enrolled in Labs, check the dashboard for anything labeled around AI Overviews or AI Mode. Availability shifts as experiments graduate or retire, so the presence of a switch is a snapshot, not a guarantee.

The Labs route is worth five minutes because it's free and reversible. Enroll, scan the experiment list, and toggle anything relevant. If nothing shows, you've lost nothing but the time. If something does, you've found a control that may not exist in the main settings yet.

Treat Labs switches as temporary by design. Google's help documentation is explicit that Labs experiments can change or end without notice. A switch you rely on in November may be gone by spring, and when it goes, your default experience reverts. That's not a reason to skip it — it's a reason not to build a workflow around it.

There's also a privacy consideration worth naming. Enrolling in Labs associates experimental usage with your account, and some experiments collect interaction data to evaluate the feature. If that trade bothers you, stick to the browser-side methods, which don't require opting into anything.

Understand What the Old "No AI" Extensions Actually Do

A wave of browser extensions promised to strip AI Overviews from search, and most of them work the same way: they rewrite your Google URL to include a Web-mode parameter or they hide the Overview container with CSS. Neither approach changes Google's behavior. Both are cosmetic at the browser level, and both break when Google changes markup or parameters.

The reason to name this plainly is that extension listings often overstate what's happening. An extension can't instruct Google to stop generating an Overview; it can only prevent your browser from displaying one. That's a meaningful difference if you care about what Google is doing with your queries, and it's the difference between a real setting and a shim.

If you use an extension, prefer one that's open about its mechanism — a URL rewrite or a documented filter rule — over one that claims a "permanent opt-out." Read the permissions it requests. A search-rewriting extension needs access to your browsing on Google domains, which is a lot of trust for a feature you can replicate with a bookmark.

The practical alternative: skip the extension and use the browser's own custom search engine. You get the same effect with zero third-party code, and you keep full control over the URL you're sending.

Weigh the Trade-Offs Before You Commit

Every method here costs you something, and the costs aren't equivalent. The Web filter costs a click per search. The URL parameter costs a URL edit. The search shortcut costs a setup session and a changed habit. Chrome blocking costs maintenance. The paid toggle costs money where it's available. Labs costs a data trade and vanishes on Google's schedule.

Here's how the methods compare on the dimensions that matter:

The trade-off that catches people is durability versus simplicity. The simplest method — clicking Web — is the least durable. The most durable browser-side method — a custom search engine — requires you to change how you type a query. There's no option that's both zero-effort and permanent, because permanence lives on Google's side of the line.

My honest recommendation: set the custom search engine as your default, keep the udm=14 bookmark for the times you click through to a fresh Google tab, and stop there. That combination covers most searches with no per-query friction and no third-party code. Add the account toggle if you're on a plan that offers it and you want the removal to follow you across devices.

Know What You Can't Remove and Why

You can't remove AI Overviews for other people, and you can't stop Google from generating them. Those aren't limitations of the methods above; they're the architecture. AI Overviews are served by Google's search infrastructure to every user who hasn't opted out at the account level, and there's no user-facing switch that changes the global default.

What you can do is change your own surface. That's a real win for people who find Overviews intrusive, wrong, or just slower than a list of links. It's not a fix for the feature itself, and articles that promise one are selling something that doesn't exist.

The same logic applies to AI Mode, which Google positions as a conversational search product separate from the results page. If your concern is AI in search generally, you're looking at two surfaces, and the account toggle is the only control that touches both — where it's available at all. Configure the browser methods for the results page and the account toggle for the rest, and accept that the combination is the practical ceiling.

One more boundary worth stating: blocking or hiding AI Overviews doesn't change the underlying information Google serves or how it sources it. If your issue is with accuracy rather than presentation, the control you want is the Web filter, which shows you the source pages directly so you can judge them yourself. That's the closest thing to a real solution in this whole list.

FAQ

Does Google offer an official way to turn off AI Overviews permanently?

Where the account-level AI Overviews toggle is available, it does remove them account-wide, and that's the closest thing to an official permanent switch. Availability is plan- and region-gated, so it isn't universal. Google's help documentation frames AI Overviews as part of search rather than a removable product, which explains why the control is buried in settings rather than offered on the results page.

Why does the Web filter disappear on some searches?

Vertical results templates — shopping, local, images — sometimes bypass the Web filter because they run on a different layout that doesn't include the tab row. The URL parameter often works when the tab doesn't, but on some commercial and local queries neither takes effect. That's a template override, not the AI layer reasserting itself.

Is &udm=14 safe to use, and will it break?

It's a URL parameter, not a script, so it carries no security risk — it just requests a different result template. The risk is longevity: Google can retire or rename internal parameters without notice, and a workaround built on an undocumented flag depends on Google's indifference. Treat it as a convenience, not infrastructure.

Can a browser extension really block AI Overviews for good?

An extension can hide or prevent the display of Overviews on your browser, which is a real effect, but it can't tell Google to stop generating them. Extensions break when Google changes page markup, and search-rewriting extensions need broad access to Google domains. A custom search engine gets the same result with no third-party permissions.

Do I still see AI Overviews on my phone if I set this up on desktop?

Usually yes, because browser search shortcuts and Chrome site permissions are profile-specific and don't sync the same way across devices. The account-level toggle, where available, is the only method that follows your Google sign-in across phone and desktop. For mobile-only fixes, the Web tab inside the Google app is the fastest per-search option.

What's the difference between AI Overviews and AI Mode?

AI Overviews appear at the top of standard results pages as a synthesized answer block. AI Mode is a separate conversational search experience with its own interface. The Web filter and search shortcut address the results page; the account toggle is the control that touches both surfaces, where a plan offers it.

How long does the browser shortcut setup take, and what breaks it?

Setup runs two to five minutes in Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. It breaks if you switch browsers, create a new profile, or point the shortcut at the wrong regional Google domain. Test once after setup with an obvious query to confirm you land on the plain link list rather than the default page.

If I hide AI Overviews, am I getting worse search results?

You're getting a different presentation of the same index, not a worse one. The Web filter shows source pages directly, which many people find easier to evaluate than a synthesized summary. Whether that's better depends on whether you want an answer or a set of sources to judge — and that's a preference, not a quality difference Google can settle for you.