Google has rolled AI Mode out to basically everyone searching from the U.S., and for most people it’s no longer an optional experiment you can just switch off in your account settings. If you’ve gone looking for a simple “disable AI Mode” toggle and come up empty, that’s not you missing a setting — Google has largely removed it as AI Mode graduated from a Search Labs trial into a standard part of Search.
Table of Contents
- Quick Answer
- Why the Search Labs Toggle Doesn’t Really Turn AI Mode Off
- Use the Web Tab or &udm=14 to Get AI-Free Results
- Tips and Common Mistakes
- Google Search AI Mode FAQs
- Make Your Digital Life Better
The good news is there’s still a reliable way to get plain, link-only results on every search, plus a couple of smaller tweaks that clean up AI-related shortcuts elsewhere. This guide covers what actually works in 2026, and clears up why the old Search Labs toggle isn’t the fix it used to be.
Quick Answer
There’s no official one-time switch that removes AI Mode for good. The most reliable fix is to add &udm=14 to the end of any Google search URL (or bookmark https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 as a custom search engine) — this forces Google’s plain “Web” results with no AI Mode or AI Overviews. You can also click the “Web” tab (under “More” if it’s hidden) after running a search to get the same effect one search at a time.
Why the Search Labs Toggle Doesn’t Really Turn AI Mode Off
AI Mode started in 2025 as an opt-in experiment inside Search Labs, and some accounts still show an “AI Mode” entry there with an on/off toggle at labs.google.com/search. But that toggle now mostly controls early-access features being tested for AI Mode, not the AI Mode tab and AI-generated answers that Google has since rolled out broadly to signed-in U.S. searchers. Once a feature like this moves from experimental to standard, Search Labs toggles for it typically stop doing much — the same thing happened with AI Overviews, which kept reappearing for people who’d switched them off in Labs.
In short: if you still see an AI Mode toggle in Search Labs, it’s worth switching off since it won’t hurt, but don’t count on it to remove the AI Mode tab or AI-generated summaries from your results. There is currently no setting, in your Google account or otherwise, that removes the AI Mode tab itself.
Use the Web Tab or &udm=14 to Get AI-Free Results
The dependable workaround is Google’s “Web” filter, which strips out AI Overviews, AI Mode, Generative UI panels, and other add-ons, leaving the classic list of links. After running any search, look at the row of tabs below the search box (All, Images, News, Shopping, and so on) — if you don’t see “Web” listed, click “More” to find it.
Clicking that tab every time gets old fast, so the faster route is the URL parameter it relies on: add &udm=14 to the end of any Google search results URL and the page reloads in Web-only mode immediately. To make this permanent, add a custom search engine in your browser using the URL https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 and set it as your default — Chrome, Firefox, and Edge all support this under their search engine settings. Sites like udm14.com exist specifically to make this easy to bookmark or set as a homepage shortcut, especially on mobile.
One caveat: udm=14 isn’t an officially documented Google setting, just a URL parameter that happens to trigger the same filter as the Web tab. Google has kept it working for a while now, but it could change or stop working without warning since it’s not a supported feature.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Don’t confuse AI Mode with AI Overviews. AI Overviews is the AI-written summary box that can appear above regular results on an ordinary search. AI Mode is the separate, full chatbot-style tab next to Images, Videos, and News. The udm=14 trick and Web tab suppress both, but they’re technically different features and neither has its own dedicated off switch.
If you use Chrome and want to clean up AI Mode shortcuts in the address bar itself, that’s a separate browser setting, not a Google account setting. Right-click inside the address bar and uncheck “Always show AI Mode shortcuts” to hide the shortcut chips. For a more complete removal, go to chrome://flags, search for “AI Mode omnibox entrypoint,” and set it to Disabled, then relaunch Chrome. These are experimental flags, so the exact names can shift in future Chrome updates.
The udm=14 fix and Web tab only apply on the browser or device you’re using them on — there’s no account-wide switch that carries the setting across your phone, laptop, and other browsers. If you search from multiple devices, set up the custom search engine or bookmark on each one.
Skip anything that promises to “permanently disable AI Mode” via a Google account setting — as of now, that setting doesn’t exist for the broadly-rolled-out version of AI Mode. Be cautious of browser extensions claiming to block it too; stick to ones with clear reviews and a narrow, specific purpose (just hiding AI boxes), since anything that reads and modifies every page you visit is worth vetting first.
Explore more: More technology how-to guides.
Google Search AI Mode FAQs
Is there an official Google setting to turn off AI Mode?
Not anymore for most accounts. AI Mode started as an opt-in Search Labs experiment, but it has since rolled out broadly to signed-in U.S. searchers, and the toggle that remains in Search Labs mostly covers early-access features rather than removing the AI Mode tab itself.
Does the Search Labs AI Mode toggle do anything at all?
It may still control a few experimental capabilities Google is testing for AI Mode, so it’s fine to switch off. Just don’t expect it to remove the AI Mode tab or stop AI-generated answers from appearing — that requires the Web tab or udm=14 method instead.
What’s the difference between AI Mode and AI Overviews?
AI Overviews is the AI-generated summary box that can appear above regular results on a normal search. AI Mode is a separate, full chatbot-style tab next to Images, News, and Videos. The Web tab and udm=14 trick suppress both, but they’re distinct features.
Will Google’s udm=14 trick keep working in 2026?
It’s been working reliably for a while and Google hasn’t shut it down, but it isn’t an officially documented setting, just a URL parameter tied to the same filter as the Web tab. Because it’s unofficial, it could change or stop working without notice.
Make Your Digital Life Better
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Originally published at gtwebs.com.
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