Google's AI-heavy Google I/O keynote is over, but Gemini has a long way to go before Google's AI dreams become a reality. While many of Google's AI features have been down for several months, the AI Overviews feature is already live for all US users.
Google is going to add more AI features to the search page moving forward. This includes the ability to ask longer, more complex questions, or even organize the entire search page into different sections using AI. If that seems like too much for you, you can do something about it.
Turn off AI in Google Search.
While releasing all its new AI features, Google has also introduced something that will help you go back.way to behind. There is now a new, easy-to-miss button at the top of the search results page simply called “WebIf you switch it on, Google will only show you text links from websites like the old days (although they may contain sponsored ads).
The irony of having to press a button called the web to get web search results is not lost on me. Nevertheless, this will be a useful feature for anyone who prefers the old-school approach to Google search, which only shows you the top results from the web, made up of trusted sites.
WebFilter is rolling out today and tomorrow on desktop and mobile search, and you should see it in your searches soon. If you don't find it in the toolbar, click More menu, and it should be there.
Credit: Google Search Link (via X)
When you switch to a web filter, your search results will also get rid of any media or pull-out boxes. You won't see photos, videos or parts of Google News stories. Instead, you'll only see links (which may point to YouTube videos or news themselves), according to Google search contact post on X.
Google also confirmed to The Verge that the web filter will remain the same, even as Google continues to add more AI features to the main page of Google Search.
There is no stopping AI.
While the web filter is a nice touch, it's not the default option, and you'll need to manually switch it on every time (like when you switch to the Images or Maps filter). The move made something else clear: Google isn't offering a way to turn off AI search features in the default search page. Perhaps we'll eventually see Chrome extensions that can replace the Google search page, but for now, the only way to avoid Google Search's AI is to switch to a web filter.