Google has begun integrating the “AI Overviews” feature into search results, which displays artificial intelligence-generated summaries at the top of the page for some queries, instead of just showing traditional links.
Google offers this feature as a way to provide a quick summary of basic information about the topic, while providing additional links that allow the user to delve deeper into the content.
However, these changes were not accepted by all users, as some prefer to return to traditional search results that allow direct access to sources and reading them in full, instead of relying on brief summaries.
In this context, a technical report indicated that some users resort to adding the symbol “-ai” to the end of search phrases, such as: “iphone 18 release date -ai,” in an attempt to reduce the appearance of artificial intelligence summaries and return to traditional results.
This method relies on Google search parameters that allow the exclusion of certain words, but it is not considered an official way to turn off the “AI Overviews” feature, nor are results guaranteed, and its effectiveness varies according to the type of search and region.
Also, this trick is not a permanent setting, it must be applied manually with each search, and it may not work in all cases.
Google confirms that the “AI Overviews” feature aims to facilitate understanding of the content and provide a starting point for research, while providing links for further exploration.
This development reflects a growing debate about the way to present research results, between those who prefer quick summaries and those who prefer direct access to original sources and compare information independently.
