‘You’re a lifesaver’ Google fans cry as user reveals clever trick to hide ‘annoying’ new AI search results
WAVES of Google users aren’t happy with the tech giant’s new AI-generated search results.
The company started rolling out the huge change to its search engine last week as part of a bumper AI drive.
It comes as Google faces increased competition from ChatGPT creator OpenAI.
Users in the US have started noticing the firm’s new AI Overviews feature, which shows AI-generated answers at the top of search result pages.
AI Overviews is only available to test in the UK at the moment but eventually it will expand globally – and there’s no official way to switch it off.
A number of people have come forward complaining about the feature on social media, describing it as “annoying” and “intrusive”.
“Is there a way to turn off the google ai overview thing it’s so annoying,” one person wrote on X.
“how do i delete ai overview!!!” another wrote.
“this is so annoying google what have you done!!!”
A third said: “Google may need to rethink its latest search results rollout + AI Overview before people lose trust in Google and switch to Bing.
“I feel like Google has forgotten that people want to use search engines to find accurate & credible information quickly.”
In response, a frustrated user has created their very own Chrome tool that hides AI Overviews.
The Hide Google AI Overviews extension has already been downloaded 3,000 times and has a five star rating at the time of writing.
“Recognizing that not all users appreciate the AI-powered summaries and insights which can clutter search results, this extension offers a clean, streamlined interface that focuses solely on traditional results,” developers write.
While there is no official way to switch off AI Overviews from appearing, Google has announced a new filter.
The Web filter appears under the More tab where you can see text-based links only.
“We’ve added this after hearing from some that there are times when they’d prefer to just see links to web pages in their search results, such as if they’re looking for longer-form text documents, using a device with limited internet access, or those who just prefer text-based results shown separately from search features,” Google said.
THE GREAT AI GAMBLE
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Senior Technology and Science Reporter
I saw first hand some of the big AI changes Google has planned at an event in San Francisco last week.
The company went so wild for it that the term “AI” was mentioned 120 times on stage (according to Google’s own AI-generated counter).
From all-seeing AI that remembers where you left your keys, to tools that detect scam calls, no stone was left untouched by this year’s big tech buzzword.
But AI Overviews was by far the biggest announcement marking a major change for Google’s original product, search.
Bosses say Google search can now do “more than you ever imagined”.
Judging by some of the reaction, not everyone wanted more and many were quite happy with Google search as it was.
The ability to filter results so they show web text pages only as it did before hasn’t calmed tempers either.
People are calling for it to be made a default option rather than a filter.
Will users get over it and grow to love the feature? Or will they continue to complain and switch? Even AI doesn’t have the answer to that…