How to turn off AI Overviews in Google Search and Gmail

You cannot turn off AI Overviews in Google Search. Google's own help page says they are "a core Google Search feature" and "Features cannot be turned off," and the one official route it gives is the Web filter, which shows only text links without AI Overviews.

There are a few more controls around it, and in Gmail there is a real off switch. Here is everything Google officially offers, and what it does and does not do.

Use the Web filter to hide AI Overviews

Google's AI Overviews help page gives the same answer on computer, Android and iPhone: "you can select the Web filter after you perform a search. This filter displays only text-based links without features like AI Overviews."

1. Search on Google as usual.
2. Below the search box, look at the row of result types, like All, Images and News.
3. Select Web. If you do not see it, Google's filters page says to click More for more options.

You get text-based links without features like AI Overviews, in Google's words.

What Search Labs actually turns off

A lot of advice says to switch off AI Overviews in Search Labs. Google's page describes the Labs toggle differently. It is called "AI in Search," and it is Google's testbed for new AI experiments. Turning it off opts you out of those experiments and the emails about them. It does not remove AI Overviews, which Google calls a core feature.

If you want out of the experiments anyway, on a computer:

1. Open any browser and sign in to your Google Account, with Incognito mode off.
2. Click New tab.
3. At the top of the page, click Labs.
4. Toggle off "AI in Search."

On Android, iPhone or iPad, open a browser, sign in with Incognito off, tap Labs at the top, and toggle off "AI in Search."

Can you turn off AI Mode?

Google's AI Mode page explains how to get into AI Mode, not how to switch it off. You reach it in three ways: google.com/ai, the AI Mode button after a search on google.com, or the AI Mode button in the Google app. If you do not select it, you stay in regular results. An AI Overview can also lead into AI Mode when you select Show more at the bottom.

What you can control is the history it keeps:

1. On a computer, go to AI Mode.
2. On the left, click AI Mode history.
3. Delete one search with Delete, or everything with Delete all.

Two details from Google's page: deleted searches may still show in My Activity for a while and are auto-deleted in less than 24 hours. And if you went from an AI Overview into AI Mode, there can be two entries, so delete the search from your Search history too.

If you connected Gmail, Calendar or Google Photos to AI Mode for Personal Intelligence, Google says you can disconnect those apps at any time.

Limit what Google's AI learns from your searches

You cannot remove the box, but you can control what is saved and used. Google's page on Search services settings lists two settings:

• Search Services History. Open its settings page, turn it off, then choose Turn off or Turn off and delete activity. Google says that when it is off, "your future activity won't be used to train Google's generative AI models, unless you provide feedback."
• Personalized Recommendations. Go to your Google Account, click Data & privacy, then Personalization settings, and turn off Personalized Recommendations in Search services. Or go straight to google.com/search-personalization. Google lists personalized AI responses as one of the things this setting drives.

Google notes these settings are rolling out gradually. If yours do not match, history and personalized recommendations are still controlled by Web & App Activity. For more on who can see that history, read who can see my Google search history.

How to turn off AI Overviews in Gmail

Gmail is different. There is a real switch, but it is a broad one.

Gmail has two features called AI Overview: summaries at the top of long threads, which Google says are available to all Gmail users, and AI Overviews in Gmail search, which for personal accounts need a Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra plan. Both depend on smart features. To turn them off on a computer, from Google's Gmail search page:

1. Open Gmail.
2. At the top right, click Settings, then See all settings.
3. On the General tab, scroll to "Google Workspace smart features."
4. Click Manage Workspace smart feature settings.
5. Turn off Smart features in Google Workspace.
6. Click Save.

The trade-off, in Google's words: this "also turns off other AI-powered Workspace features, like the Gemini in Gmail side panel," and the thread summaries page adds AI-assisted writing and proofreading. If you only want one summary out of the way, click Minimize on it instead.

Our post on whether Google AI reads your Gmail covers what these settings change behind the scenes.

Gotchas

Extensions and URL tricks are not Google's answer. Google's help pages do not list any browser extension, search parameter or word to add to your query. The Web filter is the route Google documents.

The Web filter is not a setting. Google's filters page says filters do not change your Search settings, so it does not carry over the way a preference would.

Work and school accounts. For Gmail, an administrator may control smart features. Google also says the Search Services History choices can differ for accounts from an employer or school.

Report a bad answer. Each AI Overview has a thumbs down. Choose Report a problem and a category. Google notes the feedback includes your most recent search and its results.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a setting to turn off AI Overviews permanently?

Not in Google Search. Google's help page says features cannot be turned off and points to the Web filter. In Gmail, turning off Smart features in Google Workspace removes the AI Overview features there.

Does turning off "AI in Search" in Labs stop AI Overviews?

No. According to Google, "AI in Search" is the opt-in for experiments. AI Overviews are a core Search feature outside Labs.

How do I turn off AI Overviews on iPhone or Android?

The same rule applies: no switch, use the Web filter after you search. The Labs toggle on phones is at the top of the browser page under Labs, signed in with Incognito off.

How do I turn off AI Mode in Google?

Google does not document an off switch. AI Mode opens only when you choose it: the AI Mode button, google.com/ai, or Show more on an AI Overview. You can delete its history in AI Mode history.

Does Google use my searches to train its AI?

Google says interactions with Search and its AI experiences help develop them. If you turn off Search Services History, Google says your future activity will not be used to train its generative AI models, unless you send feedback. For Google's AI assistant, see is Gemini private.

If the worry is AI reading your email

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