Do me a favor: Google something. Anything. Drawing a blank? Try, "how to clear iPhone cache."

I bet, instead of getting a lineup of trusty blue links for you to click and read through (including ZDNET's own definitive guide on the subject), you're greeted by an AI-generated paragraph at the top that answers your question before you even scroll. That's Google's AI Overviews, and while it does often give you handy summaries meant to save you time, it also steers you away from publishers who are putting in the actual work and research to create the great content that Google is actively scraping.

Google introduced AI Overviews at its I/O developer conference in May 2024, rolling them out first in the United States. By mid-2025, the feature had expanded to more than 200 countries and territories, supporting over 40 languages. The underlying technology is Gemini, Google's large language model, which scrapes content from thousands of websites and condenses it into a single summary. The stated goal is to reduce the time users spend searching by providing immediate answers. However, the unintended consequence has been a sharp decline in traffic to publishers, journalists, and independent content creators who rely on clicks to sustain their work.

A 2025 Pew Research Center study tracked 900 US adults and found that, when an AI Overview appears, users click a traditional search link only 8% of the time versus 15% when no summary is shown. About 58% of adults saw at least one AI Overview during their searches, and only 1% of those led to a click on a cited source within the summary. Perhaps more troubling, users were likelier to end their browsing session after seeing an AI Overview, suggesting many people stop investigating once the AI has spoken.

Even if you don't care about AI Overviews causing a devastating impact on journalism, there are concerns that these AI-generated summaries can provide misleading and/or even flat-out wrong information. Remember the mid-2024 fiasco when AI Overviews confidently recommended using glue to keep pizza cheese from sliding off? Yeah, that really happened. Such errors undermine trust in search results, and they highlight the limitations of AI systems that prioritize conciseness over accuracy.

What's frustrating is that Google still hasn't created an official "off" switch. But there is good news: workarounds exist. While you can't outright disable AI Overviews, you can get back to a classic search experience. Below are four easy methods, ranging from a simple search modifier to browser extensions. Each method has been tested on both desktop and mobile devices as of mid-2025.

1. Use '-AI' in your search query

Appending a simple "-AI" modifier to your search query is hands-down the quickest, easiest way to break the AI-summary algorithm and get a list of standard blue links. This method works on any platform: desktop browsers, mobile browsers, and the Google Search app on iOS and Android.

How to search with the '-AI' modifier:

• Open your desktop or mobile browser and head to google.com. You could also use the Google app.
• In the search bar, type your search term (e.g., "how to turn off ACR on TV") plus "-AI" at the end. So it should read "how to turn off ACR on TV -AI".
• Press Enter.
• Enjoy classic search results, with no AI Overviews in sight.

You might still see a featured snippet with this search method. Those have been around for years, but unlike AI Overviews, they include a prominent link to the source and usually show just a small excerpt of the information you're looking for, encouraging you to click through to learn more. AI Overviews, on the other hand, often summarize the entire answer, leaving little reason for you to investigate further. The "-AI" trick is effective because it tells Google's algorithm to exclude any result labeled with AI, effectively bypassing the overview generation logic.

This method is particularly useful for mobile users who don't want to install extensions or change browser settings. It requires no configuration and can be applied on the fly. However, you must remember to add "-AI" to every query, which can become tedious over time. For more permanent solutions, consider one of the other methods.

2. Enable Web Guide mode

Google Search recently began offering a new Web Guide mode – a Search Labs experiment you can opt in to or enable. It still uses AI to organize your search results, but it pushes AI Overviews down the page. So, at the top, you'll now see those beloved classic links, with generated summaries appearing further below.

This is just a test and may never roll out beyond Search Labs, but it's worth enabling to see if you like the experience. It's the best of both worlds: you get AI-powered organization and summaries without giving up the familiar list of links when you just want straightforward search results.

How to enable and use Web Guide:

• Sign into your Google account, go to Search Labs, and select the Web Guide experiment.
• Click the "Try the new AI-organized web results" toggle on Web Guide to enable the experience.
• Perform any search on desktop.
• You'll then see the Web Guide experience under the Web tab alongside All, Images, Videos, etc.

Currently, Web Guide is only available to desktop users. Google has not announced a mobile rollout, but given the popularity of the feature among users who want more control, it may eventually appear on smartphones and tablets. The Web Guide mode groups search results into categories, much like how Google News organizes articles by topic. For example, searching for "best smartphone 2025" might show a category for "Reviews," another for "Specs," and another for "Battery life," each with a few top links. The AI Overview is still present, but it appears below the first two or three results, giving users a chance to click before reading the summary.

3. Just search with Google's Web tab

Did you know Google's Web tab, which is typically hidden under the More menu in Google Search, gives you the classic search experience with no AI Overviews? You need to click over to it to see it, though, and that's tedious. Fortunately, there is a clever hack that allows you to make the Web tab your default search destination in Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.

Warning: Don't enable Web Guide mode if you want to try this option, as Web Guide changes Google Search's Web tab to show AI summaries below classic blue links. The default Web tab (without Web Guide enabled) is a pure, pre-AI search experience. It returns the old-style list of ten blue links with snippets, and absolutely no AI-generated content.

How to create a Site search shortcut (Chrome):

• Open Chrome.
• Go to Chrome in the menu bar and then Settings > Search engine > Manage search engines and site search.
• Under Site search, click Add.
• Fill in:
  - Name: Google (Web)
  - Shortcut: https://www.google.com/
  - URL: {google:baseURL}search?udm=14&q=%s
• Click Add. Then, next to your new custom Site search, click the three-dot menu and select Make default.

Now, every address-bar query will use the Web filter by default – and AI Overviews will be a thing of the past. Firefox and Edge have equivalent "Manage Search Engines" panels where you can add the same URL pattern on desktop. Firefox even lets you do it on mobile by going to Settings > Search > Default Search Engine > Add Search Engine. The URL parameter "udm=14" is the key: it instructs Google to display only the classic Web results, bypassing all AI enhancements including AI Overviews, knowledge panels, and even image thumbnails. It's a hidden parameter that Google uses internally, and it works reliably as of mid-2025.

This method is ideal for power users who want a permanent solution without relying on extensions. Once set up, every search you type into the address bar will automatically go through the Web tab. You won't even remember what AI Overviews looked like.

4. Try a Chrome extension

Last but not least, you can try a browser extension. There are a few out there that will hide AI Overviews. Avram Piltch from Tom's Hardware, for example, built one for Chrome that simply removes the AI panel from view – you still get the response, you just don't see it.

How to download and use an extension to hide AI Overviews:

• Go to the Chrome Web Store.
• Search for "Hide AI Overviews" or "Bye Bye, Google AI".
• Click Add to Chrome and confirm.
• Reload any Google Search page. You'll no longer see the AI summary panel.

Microsoft Edge also has extensions that will hide AI Overviews, but like Chrome, they only work on desktop. Opera and Brave users can also find similar extensions, as both browsers support Chrome Web Store extensions. Some of these extensions also block other AI features, such as SGE (Search Generative Experience) summaries or AI-powered snippets. They work by injecting CSS and JavaScript into the search results page, hiding the element that contains the AI Overview. Because the AI Overview is still loaded in the background, you won't experience any slowdown or missing functionality – it's simply invisible.

A word of caution: browser extensions come with security risks. Always read the permissions and user reviews before installing. Stick to well-known developers who regularly update their extensions to keep up with Google's changing page structure. If you prefer not to install any extensions, the other three methods are perfectly safe and require no third-party software.

Additional workarounds and alternatives

If none of the above methods satisfy you, consider switching to a different search engine altogether. DuckDuckGo offers an AI assist feature that you can disable in settings, while Dogpile and Metacrawler aggregate results from multiple engines without AI summaries. Brave Search uses its own index and has a "no AI" mode. These alternatives protect your privacy and give you the traditional blue-link experience. However, they may not be as comprehensive as Google for certain queries, especially when searching for local businesses or recent news.

Another approach is to use the "Web" filter on Google by manually adding "&udm=14" to any search URL on mobile browsers. This works on iPhones and Android phones too, but it's less convenient than the address-bar shortcut described above. If you're a frequent user of the Google Search app on mobile, the "-AI" modifier is your best bet.

Google has not indicated any plans to introduce an official off switch for AI Overviews. In fact, the company seems committed to expanding the feature, as evidenced by its integration of Gemini into more products like Gmail, Docs, and Photos. For users who find the summaries useful, this is a welcome innovation. But for those who value direct access to original sources and the ability to form their own opinions, the workarounds provided here are essential tools. As the battle between publishers and platforms continues, users have the power to choose how they interact with search results. Whether you use a simple text modifier, a browser tweak, or an extension, you can reclaim the classic search experience that made the internet great: a list of links waiting to be explored.

Source: ZDNET News