- Google’s AI summaries caused confusion for many users
- New Chrome tool removes AI overviews and helps clean up search results
- Users can bypass AI content and regain control of their search experience
Google recently expanded its AI Overviews to more regions and queries, but these summaries, which often appear above traditional results, can be misleading or even just plain incorrect – a seriously annoying addition for users who rely on Google Search for accurate information.
Avram Piltch, editor-in-chief at Tom’s Hardware, has created a new Chrome browser extension to help users take back control of their Google searches.
The Bye, Bye Google AI extension removes the divisive AI Overviews from search results and offers options to clean up other cluttered parts of the search page.
Any compatible browser
Instead of offering direct paths to useful links, AI Overviews often keep users on Google’s site longer. This shift has raised concerns about how it impacts web publishers, whose content is often the source of Google’s answers but who may now receive less traffic.
In response, Piltch built Bye, Bye Google AI during a weekend and made it available for free. The extension supports Chrome, Edge, and any browser compatible with Chrome extensions.
It allows users to not only hide AI Overviews, but also sections like videos, text ads, and “People Also Ask.” It supports 19 languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, and Arabic.
Users who want to bypass AI entirely without an extension can add “&udm=14” to search URLs to access the cleaner “web” tab.
On desktop, this can be set as a default search method through Chrome’s settings. For mobile users, a site called tenbluelinks.org helps configure a custom search engine that skips AI elements, although this method doesn’t work in Safari.
While Google continues to push AI content into its results, tools like Bye, Bye Google AI show that there’s still room for users to shape how they search and explore the web.
