One of the most common AI-related complaints we hear from people is that they don’t like it when AI products are pushed in front of them without asking. Google’s AI Overviews placed at the top of every search is the most commonly encountered by far. Here are two ways to avoid them if you don’t want them:

(Option 1) Install a browser extension

Search on your browser’s extension directory for “Hide Google AI” and you’ll find a dozen or so options. The “Hide Google AI Overviews” extension is open source and widely used (install links for Chrome and Firefox).

(Option 2) Don’t use Google

Several other search engines offer comparable (or even better) results than Google, while allowing you to toggle AI summaries while respecting your privacy.

• DuckDuckGo is a popular free privacy-oriented search engine that allows you to configure how frequently AI summaries appear. By default, it shows AI summaries for some results, but you can configure their frequency or disable them entirely on their settings page.
• Kagi is a search engine that uses a paid subscription model instead of ads, so it can prioritize high quality search results without perverse incentives; its AI tools are entirely opt-in.

Bonus points: Don’t use Chrome

Google is currently reshaping its browser with a whopping 71% market share into a deeply AI-integrated product. If you don’t want these features, or don’t want to support the company behind them, now is a fantastic time to try another browser. Alternatives like Firefox, Arc, and Brave each have advantages and different philosophies about AI integration. I personally recommend Firefox, as it’s one of the few browsers that don’t actually use Chrome’s engine under the hood.