It’s Awful That Google Won’t Just Let Users Turn Off AI Overviews

Google Search used to give people a list of links. Now, many searches show an AI Overview at the top of the page. It tries to answer the question in a short summary.

That may be useful sometimes. But AI answers can be wrong, confusing, or missing important details. When that happens, people may have to check several websites just to find out whether the summary can be trusted.

The bigger problem is choice. Google does not offer a simple, permanent switch that lets everyone turn AI Overviews off. People who prefer regular search results should not have to look for workarounds. They should be able to choose what appears on their own screens.

This matters even more as AI becomes part of everyday life. Concerns are growing about its effects in schools, where students can use AI to produce work and teachers must decide what is truly their own. The New York Times has also reported on Google’s push around AI in education. These concerns make it more important for people to have control over when they use AI – not to have it placed in front of them by default.

Google may believe that AI summaries make Search better. But a feature is not better for everyone just because it is new. Some users want quick summaries. Others want links to original sources and the chance to judge the information themselves.

Google should let users turn AI Overviews off with one clear setting. People who like the feature could keep it on. People who do not could switch it off. That is a small change, but it would show respect for users and their choices.