How to Turn Off AI Features in Your Browser

Every major browser now ships an AI assistant. Here's where to switch each one off, and which browsers let you turn it off rather than just hide it.

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This guide is for anyone who would rather browse without a chatbot in the toolbar, AI suggestions in the address bar or "summarize this page" prompts. It covers the six most widely used browsers, using each vendor's current help documentation.

Two things to know first. Only two of the six give you one setting that turns all of their AI off: Firefox and, on a computer, Opera. In the others you work through several switches, and some of those switches only hide a button while the feature stays one click away. Second, turning off a browser's AI doesn't change the websites you visit. Google's AI Overviews, for example, are part of Google Search, so no browser setting removes them.

Google Chrome

Chrome has no master switch. Its AI settings sit on one page, AI innovations (chrome://settings/ai), but each feature has its own toggle, and AI Mode in the address bar is controlled from a right-click menu instead.

On a computer (Windows, Mac, Linux)

1. Click the three-dot menu > Settings > AI innovations > Gemini in Chrome (or go to chrome://settings/ai/gemini). Gemini in Chrome runs on Windows, Mac and Chromebook Plus, so on Linux you can skip to step 4.
2. Under "Preferences", turn off Show Gemini at the top of the browser, plus Show Gemini in Chrome in Mac menu bar and turn on keyboard shortcut on a Mac or Show Gemini in Chrome in system tray and turn on keyboard shortcut on Windows. You can also right-click the top of the browser and choose Unpin Gemini.
3. If you have used Gemini and want it to stop reading your tabs, turn off Share current tab by default under "Permissions" on the same page.
4. To hide AI Mode, right-click the address bar and untick Always show AI Mode. That removes the "AI Mode" and "Add tabs and more" buttons from the address bar.
5. Back on AI innovations, open History search, powered by AI and turn it off (for now it is offered only in the US, in English).
6. Open Help me write and turn off Offer writing help. That stops Chrome offering to draft text in boxes on websites. Like history search, Help me write is currently US-only and English-only.
7. To remove the AI models Chrome downloads to your computer, turn off On-device AI on the AI innovations page. Chrome deletes the files and won't download them again while the setting is off. This also stops other features that rely on those models, such as some scam warnings.

Steps 1 to 4 hide Gemini and AI Mode; they don't remove them. The only full off switch is an administrator policy: GeminiSettings set to 1 blocks Gemini in Chrome, and GenAiDefaultSettings sets the default for most of the other AI features. These are mainly for work computers, but you can set them on your own PC. Tab organizer, the AI tab-grouping tool, is no longer in Chrome, so there's nothing to turn off.

On Android, iPhone and iPad

Gemini in Chrome stays inactive until you agree to use it, and Google's help pages don't describe a setting that removes the Ask Gemini entry from the menu. If you have started using it, tap Stop sharing page in the chat box when you don't want Gemini to see the page.

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft retired Copilot Mode in Edge in May 2026, but most of its features (Copilot reading across your tabs, Journeys, the writing assistant) are now built into Edge itself. There is no single off switch. You can hide the button and stop Copilot reading your pages.

On a computer (Windows, Mac, Linux)

1. Go to Settings and more (…) > Settings > Appearance > Copilot and sidebar, or type edge://settings/appearance/copilotAndSidebar.
2. Under "App specific settings", select Copilot and turn off Show Copilot button on the toolbar.
3. Go back to Settings and select Copilot and AI.
4. Turn off Allow Copilot to read context clues on the web. Copilot then can't use the current page, page title, your open tabs or your browsing history.
5. On the same page, turn off Copilot new tab page if new tabs open with a Copilot chat box.

Hiding the button doesn't remove Copilot. Depending on your region, account and Edge version, it can still turn up in the sidebar, on the new tab page or in the right-click menu. Work computers can switch Copilot off fully: Microsoft documents policies for the toolbar icon, page access and the sidebar.

On Android, iPhone and iPad

Microsoft's help pages don't describe a way to hide Copilot in the mobile app. A May 2026 report found that Edge 148 for Android and iOS puts a Copilot icon at the left of the search bar with no setting to hide it: the "Show Copilot" toggle from older versions is gone. You can still turn off the Copilot new tab page and Copilot search box in the app's settings.

Apple Safari

Safari's AI comes from Apple Intelligence, the system-wide AI on supported iPhones, iPads and Macs. Safari uses it to summarize web pages. Safari has no setting of its own that turns summaries off, so the main switches are in the system settings, and they changed in iOS 27 and macOS 27.

On iPhone and iPad

1. iOS 26 or earlier: go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and turn off Apple Intelligence. That one switch turns it off everywhere, Safari included.
2. iOS 27: the master switch is gone. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, turn restrictions on, tap Siri, then block the capabilities you don't want or choose Siri (Classic Version). To switch off just Siri's AI, you can also go to Settings > Siri, tap Turn Off Siri, then turn it back on and choose Siri Classic.
3. To stop Safari picking out and highlighting information on the pages you visit, go to Settings > Apps > Safari and turn off Highlights.

On a Mac

1. macOS 26 or earlier: System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > turn off Apple Intelligence.
2. macOS 27: there is no master switch. Go to System Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Siri, then choose Siri Classic or set individual capabilities to Blocked.

On iOS 27 and macOS 27, the Summarize option in Safari's page menu may still be there after you've done this. Apple's documentation doesn't say whether Screen Time removes it, and doesn't describe a Safari setting that does. Companies that manage their own devices can block Safari summaries through Apple's device-management settings.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox has the clearest control of the six. Since Firefox 148 (released 24 February 2026), the desktop version has an AI controls panel with one switch, Block AI enhancements, that blocks every current generative AI feature and any added later. The Android and iOS apps got the same switch in Firefox 151 (May 2026).

On a computer (Windows, Mac, Linux)

1. Open the menu button (☰) > Settings, or type about:preferences in the address bar.
2. Select AI controls in the list on the left.
3. Turn on Block AI enhancements, and confirm with Block when asked.

That blocks translations, alt text for PDF images, tab group suggestions, key points in link previews, speech recognition and the AI chatbot in the sidebar, and stops the pop-ups promoting them. AI models that were already downloaded to your computer are deleted. If you want to keep one feature, such as translations, set its dropdown to Available or Enabled; anything new stays blocked by default. The switch is off unless you turn it on, and your choice carries over to future updates.

Two limits: extensions can still use outside AI services on their own, and the panel doesn't cover older machine-learning features or your search engine's AI answers.

On Android, iPhone and iPad

Since version 151 (19 May 2026), Firefox for Android and iOS have AI controls too: open Settings, tap AI controls and turn on Block AI enhancements. The mobile list is shorter. Depending on your device and region, it covers translations and voice search on Android, and translations and Shake to Summarize on iOS.

Brave

Brave's assistant, Leo, does nothing until you agree to use it the first time. You can hide it in settings, but turning it off completely needs a policy.

On a computer (Windows, Mac, Linux)

1. Right-click the Leo button in the toolbar and choose Hide. You can also use the toolbar customization option under Settings > Appearance.
2. Go to Settings > Leo (brave://settings/leo-ai) and turn off Show Leo icon in the sidebar and the other Leo switches you don't want.
3. To stop the "Ask Leo" suggestion in the address bar, go to Settings > Appearance and untick Leo AI Assistant under the address bar suggestions.
4. If you've used Leo before, choose Clear Leo data on the Leo settings page. That deletes your saved chats and resets your opt-in.

Leo stays in the main menu after these steps. To turn it off completely, Brave points to the BraveAIChatEnabled policy set to false (Group Policy on Windows, a managed preference on Mac). Brave also has a brave://flags setting called Brave AI Chat that can be set to Disabled, but it's experimental and could disappear in a later version.

On Android

1. Go to Settings > Leo.
2. Turn off Show autocomplete suggestions in address bar and Show in quick search engines bar.

Brave says Leo can't be removed from the main menu on Android, and policies don't work on phones.

On iPhone and iPad

1. Tap the main menu > All Settings > Leo.
2. Turn off Show in Quick Search Engines bar.

Opera

Opera's built-in assistant, once called Aria, is now Opera AI. On a computer it has a real master switch; Opera says turning it off disables all Opera AI features in the browser.

On a computer (Windows, Mac, Linux)

1. Click Easy Setup in the top-right corner, or open Settings (Alt+P on Windows and Linux, ⌘+, on Mac).
2. Find the Opera AI section and turn off Opera AI. This is the main switch. If you'd rather keep the assistant but tidy up, leave it on and turn off just the AI button or AI Prompts (the suggestions that appear when you highlight text).
3. ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI services in the sidebar are separate. Click the three-dot icon at the bottom of the sidebar and untick them.

Opera AI is also built into Opera GX and Opera Air, though Opera documents these switches for Opera One. Opera also says Opera AI isn't available in private windows.

On Android, iPhone and iPad

Opera's help centre explains how to reach the assistant's own settings (open the AI chat, tap the three-dot icon, then the Settings icon), but doesn't describe a switch that removes it from the mobile apps. You can stop it reading the page you're on by turning off page content access at the top of a new chat.

Good to know

• Hiding isn't disabling. A hidden button in Chrome, Edge or Brave leaves the feature installed and reachable from menus. Only Firefox's switch, Opera's main switch, and administrator policies actually turn the AI off.
• Most of this AI runs on the company's servers. Gemini, Copilot, Leo and Opera AI send your questions, and often the page you're on, to their makers' servers. Hiding a button doesn't change that if you still use the feature; not using it, or blocking it outright, does. Chrome's and Firefox's on-device models are the exception: they run on your computer, which is why both browsers let you delete them.
• Updates can add new switches. New AI features usually arrive with new toggles, and existing settings sometimes move. Firefox is the exception, because its block applies to future features too. Check these pages again after a big update.
• Work and school devices may have these settings locked by an administrator, in either direction.