How to Hide Google AI Overviews

Can you hide Google AI Overviews?

Not permanently.

Google AI Overviews are the AI-generated summary blocks that appear at the top of search results pages. They are now part of the search experience rather than an optional experiment for many users. That means there is no universal account setting that removes them everywhere.

In practice, the realistic goal is to bypass AI Overviews on searches where you want a more traditional results page. If you are looking to reduce Google's broader AI search features beyond just the summary blocks, see How to Turn Off Google AI Mode.

Google's documentation describes AI features in Search as integrated search experiences, not as user-level permanent toggles.

Method 1: Switch to Web results

This is the most reliable workaround.

When you switch from the default search view to Web, Google removes most search features and shows a cleaner list of traditional organic results.

Steps

1. Search on Google
2. Click More in the search filter bar
3. Select Web

For many users, this is the fastest way to hide AI Overviews for the current search.

Method 2: Use the Web-only parameter

You can also force a Web-only results page with a URL parameter.

Example:

https://www.google.com/search?q=your-query&udm=14

The udm=14 parameter is commonly used to trigger Google's Web results view, which usually removes AI Overviews and other search features from the page.

This is useful if you want to save a bookmark or create a faster workflow for repeated searches.

Method 3: Try Verbatim search

Verbatim search reduces Google's interpretation of your query and forces closer matching to the exact words you typed.

Steps

1. Perform a search
2. Click Tools
3. Open the results dropdown
4. Select Verbatim

This does not guarantee that AI Overviews disappear, but it can reduce how aggressively Google rewrites and expands the query.

Method 4: Use a different search engine

Some people choose other search engines when they want a more traditional search experience.

Options often include:

• DuckDuckGo
• Brave Search
• Kagi

That said, many search engines are also introducing AI-generated answer features, so this is not always a complete escape from AI summaries.

Why Google shows AI Overviews

Google introduced AI Overviews to help users understand more complex questions faster and discover relevant supporting sources.

According to Google's AI Overviews help page, these summaries are meant to organize information from across the web and guide users toward deeper exploration.

That is useful for some searchers, but many users still prefer classic search results when they want direct access to websites without a generated summary in the middle.

Why there is no permanent off switch

The short answer is that AI Overviews are no longer just a temporary experiment.

Google has been integrating AI features directly into the search product, which means users typically get workarounds rather than permanent disabling options.

That is why older advice about turning off Search Labs experiments is often outdated or incomplete. If you are looking to reduce Google's broader AI search experience including AI Mode, see How to Turn Off Google AI Mode.

Related questions

What this means for websites

Even though some users want to hide AI Overviews, these answer blocks are becoming a more permanent part of search.

For marketers and SEO teams, that means websites increasingly need to optimize for AI search visibility rather than rankings alone.

If your goal is not to hide AI Overviews but to understand how brands appear inside them, see Google AI Overviews Optimization and How to Rank in Google AI Mode.

FAQ