Ways to Conceal Google’s AI Summaries from Your Search Results

Navigating the online world in 2026 means encountering a constant influx of generative AI tools. Interested in trying out some AI agents? How about using this chatbot sidebar? Do you want every search query answered with an AI-generated summary? While there’s no off switch to completely escape this array of AI tools, there is a keyboard trick you can employ to temporarily sidestep Google’s AI Overviews.

If you’d prefer not to see AI-generated summaries of webpage links while using Google Search, simply add “–ai” at the end of your query. This option was highlighted by WIRED readers in a recent article discussing scams associated with Google’s AI Overviews. I’ve found this clever addition quite useful over the past week, and I wish Google would provide a permanent toggle with similar functionality.

“Users find Search more useful with AI Overviews, leading them to return to search more frequently,” a spokesperson from Google shared with WIRED. “We offer a ‘web’ filter for links only, but it’s seldom used for most searches.” The spokesperson likened AI Overviews to other integrated features in search results, like knowledge panels, that cannot be removed.

To test this out, you can attach any combination of letters or numbers preceded by an en dash, such as “–1” or “–z,” at the end of your Google search, and it functions just the same, as noted by PCMag. This prevents AI Overviews from appearing entirely. The en dash trick in Google is intended to exclude whatever topic you link it to from the search results. The exclusion of AI Overviews appears incidental, and it remains uncertain how long this method will be effective. After submitting a query, you can also click on the “Web” tab—sometimes found under “More”—just below the search bar to view site links.

In my experiments, the –ai tactic seems to work only for search queries in desktop browsers. When I tried it in the Safari and Chrome apps on iOS, Google’s AI-generated “web guide” still emerged prominently in the results. However, Google does provide a Classic Search button on the right side of these results. Clicking that option refreshes the results to display a combination of website links and short-form videos. The exception appears to be Android—at least on a Google Pixel phone we tested, where using “–ai” successfully removed AI Overviews.

It’s a refreshing change from the current default while using my laptop, and I’ll likely keep typing “–ai” at the end of every search until it becomes second nature, much like how I regularly append “Reddit” to my queries. Still, I miss the simplicity of the minimalist Google I grew up with and the straightforward nature of those top 10 blue links.

If you’re considering switching search engines to one without generative AI, DuckDuckGo and Brave are two excellent alternatives to explore. Both platforms let users toggle AI summaries on and off within their settings. You can change your search engine without altering browsers, as Google allows the modification of the default search engine in Chrome’s settings menu.

When Google introduced AI Overviews in 2024, it marked a significant shift for the search engine. However, AI Overviews faced considerable backlash on social media due to incorrect responses, including a notorious suggestion to bake pizza with glue. Despite this, Google has continued to embrace AI tools since the initial launch of AI Overviews and has consistently worked on enhancing the user experience.

Although Google asserts that the accuracy of these results has improved over time, generative AI tools still occasionally include inaccuracies in their summaries. Therefore, it’s always advisable to click through and verify anything you encounter in an AI Overview. This further emphasizes the reason to bypass the middlebot entirely and visit those websites directly.