By now, you’re probably acquainted with Google search’s AI Overviews, those AI-organized summaries that now appear at the top of Google search results after you ask a question.
Initially, you just saw AI Overviews if you signed up in Search Labs, which lets you participate in Google’s latest AI experiments. Now, starting May 14, the AI-created summaries have been pushed out to everyone in the US. If you don’t see AI Overviews in Google just yet, it’s just a matter of time.
While you may appreciate Google’s taking on even more of the heavy lifting when you’re doing research, you may not want an AI-generated summary to be the first thing you see when you use Google search. Google’s Gemini generative AI model powers these summaries, but Gemini — like AI right now — is not always accurate. You might instead prefer a more hands-on search page, with links you can click through, to find exactly what you’re looking for.
So is there a way to turn off AI Overviews? The answer is more complicated than you’d think. For more, here’s what else Google has talked about at its Google I/O conference, including what to expect in the upcoming Android 15.
What are Google Search AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are AI-generated answers to the questions you ask on Google search. Google said that starting on May 14, AI Overviews results appear at the top of Google search, when Google’s search systems determine that these types of AI-generative responses can quickly provide useful information.
For example, if you typed “What’s the shortest war in history” in Google search, you may see something about the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896, thanks to AI Overviews. Underneath the AI-generated summary, you’ll see links to all the resources used, which you can click to check out the websites where the information is pulled from.
AI Overviews for everyone announced at Google I/O 2024.
Is there a way to turn off Google Search AI Overviews?
Now, to the important question: Do you have any way to turn off AI Overviews in your search results?
Unfortunately, you cannot go into your Google or Chrome settings and disable the feature.
For those of us here at CNET who tried, AI Overviews is already turned off in Search Labs, and if anything, all we could do is boost AI Overviews to cover more search topics when we turn it on in Labs.
On the Labs page, Google said, “Turning [the AI Overviews and more experiments] off does not disable AI Overviews in Search outside of Labs.”
Enabling this experiment may allow you to ask more complex questions in Google searches and receive fuller AI Overviews. You can ask something like “Create a 5-day meal plan that includes blueberries” and you’ll get an AI-generated response at the top of GooglesSearch. Great for people who love blueberries, but bad for people who just aren’t into AI.
