You Can’t Completely Turn Off Google’s AI Overviews — But This Cursing Trick Comes Close

Google’s AI Overviews — the summaries generated automatically that show up at the top of numerous search results — cannot be fully disabled. However, internet users have stumbled upon a surprisingly effective workaround: simply include a curse word in your search.

In particular, putting “fuck” or a variation of it into your Google search query appears to prevent the AI Overview from displaying. While the exact source of this tip is uncertain, LA Times journalist Keri Blakinger shared it in a TikTok video back in March, attributing the idea to the Scriptnotes podcast.

Yet, the earliest known reference appears to be a January 27 Tumblr entry from user flootzavut, who stated: “Swear in your search request. It may sound absurd, but the most effective method I’ve discovered to avoid the AI summary is simply to add ‘fucking’ [to] my search.”

And it works. For instance, searching “what’s the most expensive car” generally triggers an AI Overview at the top of the results page. However, appending “fuck” to the end of that same query eliminates the AI-generated summary, providing you with standard search results — featuring snippets and links authored by humans. Be aware that the “People Also Ask” section may still include AI-generated content, but the primary results page is delightfully devoid of AI.

There’s even a touch of visual humor to accompany the hack: side-by-side screenshots labeled “No fucks given” and “Fucks given” illustrate the contrasting search results with and without the AI Overview.

That said, exercise caution when using this trick. Cursing in your search can significantly alter the results. For example, appending “fucking” to a query like “best Thailand resorts” might produce wildly irrelevant results — and possibly NSFW content.

Why does this work? It likely relates to Google’s AI safety filters. The AI model, Gemini, seems to steer clear of responding to queries that contain profanity, likely as part of its content moderation protocols. Some users have also reported that adding “-AI” to a search can suppress the AI Overview, essentially indicating to the system not to create a summary.

Although Google doesn’t currently provide a built-in option to disable AI Overviews, there are several other methods to lessen their frequency. Mashable and Lifehacker have both discussed alternative tricks and browser extensions that assist users in avoiding AI-generated content.

Still, if you’re seeking the most entertaining way to take back your search results, cursing at Google might just be the most gratifying choice.