If you don’t want to see an AI-generated summary of a webpage link when using Google Search, you can type “-ai” at the end of your query. This is an option that WIRED readers highlighted in a recent article about scams found in Google’s AI observations. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using this excellent addon over the past week, and I wish Google offered a permanent toggle with similar zapping capabilities.
“People find search more useful with AI observations, and as a result they’re coming back to search more,” a Google spokesperson told WIRED. “We offer a ‘web’ filter to only see links, but people only use it for a small portion of searches.” The spokesperson compared AI Overview to other features included in search results, such as knowledge panels, which cannot be removed.
If you want to try it out, you can put any combination of letters or numbers followed by an en dash, such as “-1” or “-z”, at the end of your Google search, and it works just as well, as reported by PCMag. This prevents the AI overview from being fully displayed. The en dash function in Google is designed to remove whatever topic you associate with it from search results. The removal of the AI overview seems accidental, and it’s unclear how long this trick will stick. After typing results, you can also tap the “Web” tab just below the search bar to see site links—which is sometimes hidden under “More.”
In my tests, the -AI trick seems to be limited to search queries in computer browsers. When I tried it in the Safari and Chrome apps on iOS, Google’s AI-generated “Web Guide” still came up prominently in the results. However, Google offers a classic search button to the right of these results. After clicking that button, the results will reload and show you a mix of website links and short-form videos. This exception appears to be on Android – at least on the Google Pixel phone we tested, using “-ai” removed the AI overview.
It’s a nice change from the current default when I’m using my laptop, and I’ll probably continue typing “-AI” at the end of every search until it becomes muscle memory, just like I add “Reddit” to my queries all the time. Still, I feel nostalgic for the minimalist Google I grew up with and the sheer simplicity of those top 10 blue links.
If you’re looking to replace a search engine with a service without any generative AI, DuckDuckGo and Brave are two solid options worth considering. Both search engines allow users to turn AI summaries on and off in Settings. You don’t need to change browsers to use a different search engine, as Google lets you swap the default search engine in Chrome’s Settings menu.
When Google launched AI Overviews in 2024, it was a major turning point for the search engine. But the AI overview was widely mocked on social media for incorrect answers, such as an infamous result that suggested cooking pizza with glue. However, this hasn’t stopped Google, as the company has continued to lean toward AI tools and iterate on user experience since the initial release of AI Overviews.
While Google claims that the accuracy of these results has improved over time, generative AI tools still sometimes introduce inaccuracies when summarizing information. Therefore, it is always advisable to click and double-check everything you read in an AI overview. I think the biggest reason for this is to completely eliminate middlebots and go straight to those dangerous websites.
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