How to Disable AI Overview in Google Search 🔍
Google's AI Overview is a feature that displays AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, designed to answer your question quickly without requiring you to click through to websites. For many people, this is helpful. For others, it gets in the way or raises privacy concerns. The good news: you can turn it off.
What Is AI Overview?
AI Overview (formerly called "Search Generative Experience" or SGE) uses artificial intelligence to synthesize information from multiple web sources and present a direct answer to your search query. It appears above traditional search results and links.
The feature is now rolling out to most Google Search users, though availability and appearance vary by region, device type (mobile vs. desktop), and account settings. Not all searches trigger an AI Overview—only queries where Google's systems determine a summary would be useful.
Why You Might Want to Disable It
People disable AI Overview for different reasons:
- Prefer clicking through to source websites instead of reading summaries
- Concerned about accuracy—AI summaries can occasionally misrepresent or oversimplify information
- Want to see traditional search results immediately without scrolling past the overview
- Privacy preferences about how their queries are processed
- Don't find it useful for their typical searches
Whether any of these apply to you is a personal choice—there's no universal "right" answer.
How to Turn Off AI Overview
On Desktop
- Go to Google Search (google.com)
- Click your profile icon in the top-right corner
- Select Settings
- Choose Search settings from the left menu
- Scroll to find AI Overview or Search Generative Experience
- Toggle the setting to Off (or Turned off)
- Click Save
On Mobile (App or Browser)
- Open the Google Search app or go to google.com in your browser
- Tap your profile icon (usually top-right)
- Tap Settings
- Select General
- Find AI Overview and toggle it Off
- Changes typically save automatically
Important Notes
- It may take time. Google sometimes needs a few hours to a few days to fully reflect your preference across all your searches
- Account-specific. Turning it off applies only to the Google account you're signed into. If you use multiple accounts or browse as a guest, you may see different results
- Not a permanent block. Google may re-enable the feature by default in future updates, so you may need to check your settings occasionally
- Doesn't affect others. Disabling it on your account doesn't change what other people see in their searches
If You Can't Find the Setting
Not all users see the toggle yet. Availability is rolling out gradually, which means:
- Your region or country may not have received the full rollout
- Your account type or search settings may not yet show the option
- You may be using a version of Google Search that hasn't been updated
If the setting isn't visible after checking, the feature may not yet be available to your account.
What Happens When You Disable It
Once disabled, you'll return to seeing traditional Google Search results—a list of links ranked by relevance, with no AI-generated summary at the top. You'll still see other Google features like Knowledge Panels, featured snippets, and ads.
Your search experience becomes closer to what it looked like before AI Overview existed, giving you direct control over where you get information.
The choice to disable AI Overview depends entirely on what works best for how you search. Neither choice is wrong—it's about your personal preference and workflow.
