Technology
How to enable or disable Google AI Overview outside the US
Google has added AI Overview to its search results for US web users, which is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Instead of users considering it as a useful service that enhances the experience, they think about its potential inaccuracy, its devastating impact on publishers because it pushes their original content further down the search results page, and simply because fact that it cannot be turned off (actually they can turn it off with this extension). Meanwhile, those of us outside the US are wondering what all the fuss is about. Here’s how to find out by enabling AI Overview on your Android phone or iPhone outside the US – and then disabling it again if you don’t like it.
Google says its AI Overview will come to users outside the US later in 2024, but you don’t have to wait until then to try AI Overview in the UK or elsewhere. AI Overview, which Google says will “take the work out of search by providing an AI-generated snapshot of key information and links to dig deeper,” is gradually rolling out to US users, whether they like it or not. also an experimental feature available in Search Labs. With this simple hack you can get access from anywhere – even in the US, if you don’t see the new changes in your browser yet.
Before we start, here are some things you’ll need:
- be 18 years or older
- A Google account
- An Android device or iPhone with the latest version of Google, Chrome, Firefox or Safari
- A trusted VPN
Note that this method of enabling AI Overview also works on a computer running the desktop version of Chrome, but we’re focusing on the mobile experience here. Our screenshots were taken with an Android phone.
If you haven’t used a VPN (virtual private network) before, keep in mind that it redirects your IP address so you can browse the Internet as if you were in another country. For the purposes of this tutorial, your browser will be fooled into thinking you are in the US. Note that the experimental AI Overview Search Lab feature is available in a number of countries and languages other than the US and English, but we chose the US specifically because Google has now rolled it out to all users there.
There are many VPN providers, but we recommend this one NordVPN due to its wide range of servers and competitive pricing, although a free trial is also available. Find more options in our list of the best VPNs.
Technically, all you need to do is turn on your VPN and search “from the US” on Google to see the AI overview. However, in our tests this yielded no results and we also had to enable the Search Labs feature, as we describe below.
Please note that even with AI Summary enabled, not every search result will be given an AI Summary response. Google doesn’t specify the requirements, but says you’ll see one “when our systems determine that generative AI could be particularly useful — for example, when you want to quickly understand information from a range of sources.” When you first enable AI Overview, some also provide some examples of what those searches might look like.
How to get Google AI overview in search results
If you’ve checked all the boxes mentioned above, it’s not that difficult to get AI Overview answers in your search results.
- Install one VPN on your phone and set the location to US.
- Open Chrome or another compatible browser and make sure you’re signed in to your Google account.
- Tap the Search Labs icon (it’s a lab vial). If it doesn’t appear, search Google for “Search Labs” and click on the top result.
- You should see a large ‘Enable’ button for AI Overview. Tap this and agree/decline the newsletter updates.
- Now go back to Google Search and see if you get an AI summary result. You’ll know because there’s an orange astroid icon with “AI overview” next to it.
How to disable Google AI Summary answers in search results
If you don’t like AI Overview, you can easily disable it (and US users can achieve the same effect with a Chrome extension). You can simply disable your VPN so you can see local results again, or you can disable the AI Summaries feature in Search Labs as described below.
- Open your preferred app and make sure you’re signed in to your Google account.
- Tap the Search Labs icon and select “Manage.”
- Disable the ‘AI overviews and more’ option.
You may also be interested in the 5 best Samsung Galaxy AI features that will change the way you use your phone.
