Google has tried to reinvent its search engine by using AI to display full answers to most questions, a feature the company calls “AI Summaries.” But if that experience isn’t for you, there are some workarounds you can use in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge to return to a more traditional results page experience.
Search on Google is no longer an algorithm that delivers relevant results based on a few keywords you type into a search box. Instead, it’s a system that relies on AI to reason about search intent and deliver the most relevant answer. But while the company says the new system offers a better user experience, inaccurate results are becoming more common, especially in the newest “AI Overview” feature, which is designed to show full answers.
Although the company does not offer an option to turn off AI overviews from search, it is still possible to hide AI results using an extension or by configuring the web browser.
In this guide, I’ll describe the steps to stop Google from showing AI in search results in browsers like Chrome and Edge.
How to block AI overviews in Google Search
Whether you use Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome on Windows 11 (or 10), you have several options to stop Google from showing AI-generated results by using an extension or configuring a custom search engine in the browser.
Installing the Bye, Bye Google AI extension in the browser
“Bye Bye, Google AI: Disable Google AI Overviews, Discussions, and Ads” is an extension developed by Avram Piltch of our sister site Tom’s Hardware that uses CSS to hide the HTML blocks containing the AI results and other features such as discussions, forums and display advertisements.
Microsoft Edge
To hide AI results on Google using a Microsoft Edge extension, follow these steps:
- Open Bye, Google AI Extension page.
- Press the Get an extension Button.
- Press the Add extension Button.
- Press that renewal Button.
- Press the More actions (three dots) menu for “Bye Bye, Google AI” and click Expansion options.
- Check that one “Hide AI overviews” Possibility.
- (Optional) Review the different features you want to remove from Google results, such as “Discussions and Forums”, “Sponsored Links”, “People Also Ask”, and more.
- Press that Save Button.
Once you complete the steps, the next time you open Microsoft Edge and start a Google search, you will no longer see AI overviews in the results.
Google Chrome
To hide AI results on Google with an extension for Microsoft Edge, follow these steps:
- Open Bye, Google AI Extension page.
- Press that Add to Chrome Button.
- Press that Add extension Button.
- Press that renewal Button.
- Press the More promotions (three dots) Menu for “Bye Bye, Google AI” and click Options.
- Check the “Hide AI overviews” Possibility.
- (Optional) Review the different features to be removed from Google results, such as: b “Discussions and forums”, “Sponsored links”, “Users also ask”, and more.
- Press the Save Button.
After you complete the steps, the next time you open Google Chrome and start a search in Google, you will no longer see AI overviews in the results.
Creating a custom search engine for your browser
Alternatively, you can create a custom search engine that allows you to use Google search while hiding the AI results.
Microsoft Edge
To create a custom search engine to hide AI results on Google from Microsoft Edge, follow the steps below:
- Open Microsoft Edge.
- Open the “Manage search engine” Page at this point: edge://settings/search engines
- Press that Add Button.
- In the Name setting, enter the name of the custom search engine.
- Confirm the Google domain name in the “Link” setting: https://google.com
- Confirm the web filter setting in the “URL” setting: {google:baseURL}/search?udm=14&q=%s
- Press the Add Button.
- Select the “Make a standard” Option from the new custom search engine menu.
Google Chrome
To create a custom search engine to hide AI results on Google from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome.
- Open the “Manage search engines and website search” Page at this point: chrome://settings/searchEngines
- Press that Add Button.
- Confirm a name for the custom search engine.
- Confirm the Google domain name in the “Link” setting: https://google.com
- Confirm the web filter setting in the “URL” setting: {google:baseURL}/search?udm=14&q=%s
- Press that Add Button.
- Select the “Make a standard” Option from the new custom search engine menu.
Once you’ve completed the steps, you can search from the address bar or New Tab page using the “Web” filter, which hides AI overviews from the results.
It is important to note that Google also uses an AI system to classify and display blue links in addition to AI overviews.
Personally, I use both Bing and Google. Previously, when I used Bing, I also used Google to confirm the answer. However, since AI has taken over searching in Google, I search in Google and confirm with Bing.
More resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, check out the following resources: