How to turn off Google AI on mobile?
On mobile, the fix depends on whether you search in a browser or the Google app. In a browser, tap "More" then "Web" for text-only results, or set udm=14 as your default engine. Inside the Google app, no permanent fix exists — Google controls that interface completely.
Why — the first-principles explanation
Mobile is genuinely harder than desktop, and not because the steps are more complicated. It's because the Google app is not a browser, and that single fact removes your best tool.
On a desktop, every search passes through a browser you control. The browser decides what URL to send, which is why you can register `udm=14` as your default search engine and permanently skip AI Overviews. Your browser is a neutral middleman working for you.
The Google app removes the middleman. There's no address bar, no search-engine setting, no way to alter the request. You type, and the app sends whatever Google decided it should send. You cannot install a preference into software whose entire job is to show you Google's preference. That's not a bug or an oversight — an app that let you strip Google's features would be an odd thing for Google to build. So the honest mobile answer is: if you want AI-free searching on your phone, the first step isn't a setting at all. It's using Chrome or Firefox instead of the Google app.
A second mobile-specific wrinkle: screen space hides the escape hatch. In a mobile browser, the Web filter exists but usually sits inside the "More" overflow menu, because the filter row can't fit six items on a phone. Thousands of people conclude the option doesn't exist on mobile. It's one tap deeper.
And on Android there's a third layer — the Google search widget and Assistant/Gemini entry points baked into the launcher. Some of those can be removed in device settings, but Gemini's integration into Android generally cannot be fully uninstalled. The deeper the AI is baked into the phone you bought, the less say you have.
An example that makes it click
Searching in a browser is like driving your own car to a restaurant. It's your car, so you choose the route — you can always take the road that avoids the billboard.
Searching in the Google app is like riding the restaurant's free shuttle. It's comfortable and it goes straight there, but it's their vehicle and their route, and it drives past every billboard they own. Asking the driver to take the back road doesn't work; the route is the point of the shuttle. If you want the back road, you have to get out and drive yourself. That's the whole mobile answer: get out of the shuttle.
How to do it
- First decision: stop searching from the Google app if you want AI-free results. Use Chrome or Firefox instead — this is the step that makes everything else possible.
- In a mobile browser, per search: search, tap "More" in the filter row under the search box, then tap "Web". Results become text links only.
- In Chrome on Android, permanent: Settings → Search engine → Manage search engines → Add. URL: https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14. Set as default. Every address-bar search now skips AI Overviews.
- On iPhone: Safari blocks custom search engines, so use Chrome or Firefox for iOS with the same udm=14 engine, or add a Safari extension that appends it.
- AI Mode on mobile: open google.com in a browser signed in with Incognito off, tap the Search Labs flask icon, tap Manage, toggle "AI Mode" off.
- Android home screen: long-press the Google search widget to remove it, and check your launcher settings to remove the search bar where your device allows it.
- Gmail app: Settings → your account → smart features, and turn off both switches.
- Accept the limit: Gemini's integration into Android cannot be fully uninstalled on most devices, and AI Overviews cannot be turned off anywhere.
Key facts
- Google Search Help states: "AI Overviews are a core Google Search feature, like knowledge panels. Features cannot be turned off."
- On mobile, the Web filter is typically nested inside the "More" overflow menu rather than shown in the visible filter row.
- The permanent udm=14 method requires a browser that supports custom search engines — it is not available inside the Google app.
- Safari does not support arbitrary custom search engines, so iPhone users need Chrome, Firefox, or an extension, as of 2026-07.
- AI Mode's toggle lives in Search Labs and requires being signed in with Incognito mode off, because the setting saves to your account.
- Google publishes separate AI Overviews help pages for Android and for iPhone/iPad, both describing the same Web filter.
▶ The 60-second explainer (script)
Turning off Google AI on your phone is harder than on a computer, and here's the real reason: the Google app is not a browser. On a desktop, your browser decides what to send Google, so you can set a custom search engine and permanently skip AI Overviews. In the Google app, there's no address bar and no search engine setting. You type, it sends whatever Google wants. You can't install your preference into an app whose whole job is showing Google's preference. So step one on mobile isn't a setting — it's using Chrome or Firefox instead of the Google app. Once you're in a browser: search, tap More in the filter row, tap Web. Text links, no AI. Yes, Web hides under More on phones — that's why people think it doesn't exist on mobile. To make it permanent in Chrome for Android: Settings, Search engine, Manage, Add, paste google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14, set as default. iPhone users, Safari blocks custom engines, so use Chrome or Firefox. And AI Mode has its own toggle in Search Labs. Gemini baked into Android, though? That one you're mostly stuck with.
What authoritative sources say
People also ask
Why can't I turn off AI in the Google app?
The app has no address bar and no custom search engine setting, so there's no way to change what it requests. Use Chrome or Firefox instead for AI-free searching.
Where is the Web filter on my phone?
Under "More" in the filter row beneath the search box. Small screens can't fit all the filters, so Google collapses Web into that menu.
What's the best setup on an iPhone?
Chrome or Firefox for iOS with https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 as your default search engine. Safari doesn't allow custom search engines.
Can I remove Gemini from my Android phone?
You can remove some entry points like the search widget and Assistant shortcuts, but Gemini's Android integration cannot be fully uninstalled on most devices.
Do I need to be signed in to turn off AI Mode?
Yes, with Incognito off. Search Labs settings are stored on your Google Account, so there's nowhere to save the preference otherwise.