And with about 60 seconds of effort, you can give yourself a simpler, smarter, and more efficient search setup that lets you find what you want from sources you trust without all the greasy AI gravy. It’s a return to a purer-seeming, more straightforward form of search — something closer to the web-wading prowess Google gave us originally, way back in its early days, before all the other stuff started creeping into the mix.
With the way things are shaping up around Gemini and other such large-language model AI systems right now, it may be the most important and impactful upgrade you make all year.
Ready?
Google’s Gemini-free web search option
So here’s the secret ingredient that makes this whole thing possible: Amidst all the AI hullabaloo coming out of Google’ grand I/O gala last week, the company quietly rolled out an out-of-sight feature that seems like the most significant search improvement of all.
It’s a new web-only mode for Google Search results that lets you eliminate all AI elements, knowledge panels, and also — for the moment, at least — ads from the page and focus only on the most relevant results from the web for your query. A novel concept, no?!
Google didn’t make any big announcements about the option, and you’d really have to know it’s there to find it. But it’s an incredible new resource to tap into, and with some super-simple setup, you can bring it up to the surface and make it readily available at your fingertips for hassle-free ongoing use.
