Editorial illustration for Test Shows ‘-ai’ Trick Blocks Google AI Overviews Only on Desktop Browsers
Hack Google AI Overviews: 3 Simple Desktop Workarounds
Test Shows ‘-ai’ Trick Blocks Google AI Overviews Only on Desktop Browsers
If you’ve ever tried to mute Google’s AI‑generated “web guide” from your search results, you might have heard about the “‑ai” suffix hack. The trick involves tacking “‑ai” onto the end of a query, which, according to early reports, can suppress the automated overview that Google now serves alongside traditional listings. That sounds useful—especially for power users who prefer a plain list of links.
But the method’s reliability has been under question. While the workaround seems to work on a laptop or desktop browser, it’s unclear whether the same behavior carries over to mobile environments where most searches now happen. The discrepancy matters because a sizable chunk of traffic comes from iOS devices, and any inconsistency could leave users exposed to the AI overlay they’re trying to avoid.
The following observations shed light on where the hack actually holds up—and where it falls short.
In my tests, the -ai trick appears to be limited to search queries in computer browsers. When I tried it in the Safari and Chrome apps on iOS, Google's AI-generated "web guide" still popped up prominently in the results. However, Google does offer a Classic Search button on the right side of these results.
After clicking that button, the results will reload and show you a mix of website links and short-form videos. The exception seems to be on Android--at least on a Google Pixel phone we tested with, using "-ai" removed AI Overviews. It's a nice change from the current default when I'm using my laptop, and I'll likely continue typing "-ai" at the end of every search until it becomes muscle memory, just like I add "Reddit" all the time to my queries.
Even so, I feel nostalgic for the minimalist Google I grew up with and the utter simplicity of those top 10 blue links. If you're looking to switch search engines to a service without any generative AI, DuckDuckGo and Brave are two solid options worth considering. Both search engines allow users to toggle AI summaries on and off in the settings.
You don't need to change browsers to use a different search engine, as Google lets you swap the default search engine in Chrome's settings menu. When Google launched AI Overviews in 2024, it was a major turning point for the search engine. But AI Overviews was widely mocked on social media for incorrect answers, like an infamous result that suggested baking pizza with glue.
It didn't stop Google, though, as the company has continued to lean further into AI tools since the initial release of AI Overviews and has kept iterating on the user experience.
The -ai suffix works, but only on desktop browsers. By appending “-ai” to a query, the AI‑generated overview disappears from the results page, giving a cleaner list of links. On iOS, the same trick fails; both Safari and Chrome still display Google’s “web guide” alongside the results.
Google does provide a Classic Search button on the right side of those mobile pages, offering a manual way to revert to a non‑AI view. The method’s limitation to computer browsers suggests it relies on a desktop‑specific rendering path, though the article does not explain the underlying mechanism. It’s unclear whether future browser updates or changes to Google’s UI will preserve the shortcut.
For users who prefer a brief respite from AI summaries, the trick offers a simple, if narrow, workaround. Yet the need to type an extra suffix and the lack of support on mobile devices may limit its practical appeal. Until Google adjusts its default behavior, the -ai hack remains a modest, platform‑dependent fix.
Further Reading
- Papers with Code - Latest NLP Research - Papers with Code
- Hugging Face Daily Papers - Hugging Face
- ArXiv CS.CL (Computation and Language) - ArXiv
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Common Questions Answered
How does the '-ai' trick work to remove Google AI Overviews from search results?
The '-ai' suffix is a workaround that tricks Google's algorithm into suppressing AI-generated overviews when added to the end of a search query. This method is currently only effective on desktop browsers, and does not work consistently on mobile platforms like iOS.
Are there any limitations to using the '-ai' method to block AI Overviews?
The '-ai' trick is restricted to desktop browser searches and does not function on mobile browsers like Safari or Chrome on iOS. On mobile devices, users can alternatively use the Classic Search button to temporarily revert to traditional search results without AI-generated summaries.
What alternative methods exist for avoiding Google's AI Overviews?
Google provides a 'Web' filter underneath the search bar that allows users to switch to traditional link-based results. Additionally, users can manually click the Classic Search button on mobile platforms to temporarily remove AI-generated summaries from their search results.