Quick answer
You cannot turn off AI Overviews in Google Search. Google's help page calls them a core Search feature that cannot be turned off, as of November 2026. To hide them, run a search and select the Web filter, which shows only text links. To make that the default, add a custom search engine in your browser with the address https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 and set it as default.
Easy 5 min
Works on Chrome and Firefox on any laptop; partly on Edge and Safari
| Time | 5 minutes |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Works on | Chrome and Firefox on any laptop; partly on Edge and Safari |
| You need | Access to your browser settings |
| Reviewed | November 2026 |
Can you turn off AI Overviews in Google Search?
No. Google's Search Help page on AI Overviews says they are a core Google Search feature, like knowledge panels, and that features cannot be turned off. The same page gives the one supported way around them: select the Web filter after you search, which displays only text-based links without features like AI Overviews. That is the position as of November 2026.
Everything else on this page is a way of reaching that Web view faster. None of it changes your Google Account, and none of it stops Google from generating overviews for other searches. If you want the wider picture of every assistant switch on a laptop, start with the guide to turning off AI features in the how-to section.
What does the Web filter do?
The Web filter narrows a results page to plain links to websites. Google's help page on refining searches says filters appear below the search bar after you search, lists Web among them, and describes it as containing text-based links to websites. Google's AI Overviews page adds that this view has no features like AI Overviews.
Step 1: Run a search
Search on google.com as usual.
Step 2: Find the filter row
Look below the search box for the row that starts with All, Images, News and similar. Google says the filters and their order change with the query.
Step 3: Select Web
If Web is not showing, select More and pick it from the list. The page reloads with links only.
The filter applies to that one search. Google's help page on filters says using them does not change your Search settings, so the next search starts on the All view again.
Does the Search Labs switch turn off AI Overviews?
No. The switch in Labs is called AI in Search, and Google describes it as a testbed for new AI experiments in Search. Turning it off opts you out of those experiments and the emails about them. Google's page does not say it removes AI Overviews, and the same page states that AI Overviews cannot be turned off.
Step 4: Sign in
Open any browser and sign in to your Google Account, with Incognito mode off.
Step 5: Open Labs
Open a new tab, then at the top of the page select Labs > Manage.
Step 6: Switch it off
Turn off the toggle for AI in Search.
How do you make the Web view the default in your browser?
Add a custom search engine whose address ends in udm=14, then make it the default. The udm=14 part is a URL parameter that opens the Web results view directly. It is not an official Google setting, and Google's help pages do not mention it. IEEE Spectrum documented the address https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14, where %s stands for whatever you type.
| Browser | Where to add it | Can it be the default? |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Settings > Search engine > Manage search engines and site search > Site search > Add | Yes: More > Make default |
| Firefox (version 140 or later) | Settings > Search > Additional search engines > Add search engine | Yes, from the same Search settings page |
| Edge | Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Search and connected services > Address bar and search | Only engines Edge lists after you have searched with them |
| Safari on a Mac | Safari > Settings > Search > Search engine | No custom address field; the menu is a fixed list |
Step 7: Chrome: open the list
Select More > Settings > Search engine > Manage search engines and site search.
Step 8: Chrome: add the entry
Next to Site search select Add. In Search engine type a name such as Google Web, in Shortcut type a short keyword, and in URL with %s in place of query paste the address above. Select Add.
Step 9: Chrome: make it default
Next to the new entry select More > Make default. Address bar searches now open the Web view.
Step 10: Firefox: add the entry
Select the menu button > Settings > Search, go to Additional search engines and select Add search engine. Fill in the name, paste the address in the URL box, add a keyword if you want one, and select Add Engine. On older builds from version 140 the same form sits under Search Shortcuts > Add.
Step 11: Firefox: set the default
Stay on the Search settings page and choose the new engine as your default search engine.
What does this not change?
Making the Web view your default changes one browser on one laptop. Searches typed into google.com itself, into another browser, or into a phone still open the All view with overviews. Google can also change or retire the parameter without notice, since it is undocumented. If the default stops working, the Web filter is still there.
On a school or work laptop the browser may be managed. Google's Chrome help page says a network admin may choose the default search engine or manage your search engines for you, in which case the Add and Make default options can be locked. Ask IT before trying to work around that.
AI Overviews are separate from Gemini. Hiding one does nothing to the other, so if the Gemini button in Chrome or Gmail is what bothers you, see how to turn off Gemini on a laptop and how to turn off Gemini in Gmail and Docs. Windows has its own assistant, covered in the guide to turning off Copilot in Windows 11. For what these tools see of your files, read AI tools and laptop privacy.
Related reading
Common questions
Is there a setting to turn off AI Overviews in my Google Account?
No. Google's Search Help page states that AI Overviews are a core Search feature and that features cannot be turned off. There is no account setting, Search setting or Labs toggle that removes them. The Web filter hides them for one search at a time.
What is udm=14 in a Google search address?
It is a URL parameter that opens the Web results view, the same view you get by selecting the Web filter. Adding it to a custom search engine address in your browser sends every address bar search there. Google does not document it, so it could change.
Does turning off AI in Search in Labs remove AI Overviews?
No. Google describes AI in Search in Labs as a way to try experimental AI features and get emails when new ones arrive. Turning it off opts you out of the experiments. AI Overviews sit outside Labs and stay on.
Why is the Web filter missing from my results?
Google's help page says the filters shown and their order are dynamic and depend on the query. If Web is not in the row, open More to see the rest. The filter appears after you run a search, not on the Google home page.
Does the Web filter work on a school or work laptop?
Yes, the filter is part of the results page, so it works wherever Google Search loads. Setting a custom default search engine is different: Chrome's help page says an administrator can manage search engines on a managed browser, which can lock that setting.
Sources
- Google Search Help: Find information in faster and easier ways with AI Overviews in Google Search
AI Overviews are a core feature that cannot be turned off; the Web filter shows links without them; the AI in Search toggle in Labs.
- Google Search Help: Refine Google searches
Filters appear below the search bar after a search; the Web filter contains text-based links; filters shown are dynamic.
- Google Chrome Help: Set default search engine and site search shortcuts
The Chrome path for adding a site search with %s, Make default, and admin-managed search engines.
- IEEE Spectrum: How to Turn Off Google Search's AI Overview
The udm=14 URL parameter and the custom search engine address that opens the Web results view.
In this section
Marcus Hale, Editor. Sets up, fixes and chooses laptops for other people, then writes down what worked. About the editor. About this site. Reviewed November 2026.