How to turn off Gemini

What is Gemini AI?

Gemini AI is a series of artificial intelligence models developed by Google DeepMind. As one of the leading tech companies worldwide, Google released Gemini in 2023 to push the boundaries of AI in areas such as natural language understanding and machine learning. While Google’s chatbot is not as popular as its competitors (such as ChatGPT or DeepSeek), it’s still well-known and may be useful for its advanced capabilities (such as text, image, and data processing). 

In its effort to advance AI development, Google introduced Gemini AI in its Workspace Business and Enterprise plans on January 15, 2025. However, Gemini's release received mixed reactions. While the use of AI tools is seen as beneficial by many and widely adopted, some users (especially Gmail clients) found their addition frustrating. The quiet implementation of Gemini also prompted questions about intrusiveness and kick-started search queries on how to disable Gemini on the devices it appeared on.

Why you might want to disable Gemini on your device

Like any other AI model or chatbot, Gemini has characteristics that may discourage users from embracing it. While some may be minor (such as pop-up prompts), others raise more pressing  concerns. Here are the reasons you might want to disable Gemini on your device:

• Privacy concerns. With its latest integration in Google Drive and Gmail, Gemini AI may now access your emails and documents (although Google claims it’s not using them for AI training). While Google extensively collects user data to improve its services, doing so with Gemini may cause some to consider disabling the feature (especially with all the risks surrounding AI security).
• Performance issues. Running an advanced AI assistant like Gemini might cause slight device performance issues. If your device has limited resources or Gemini's features are enabled across multiple apps simultaneously (say, Docs and Sheets), it may result in slower performance or even system crashes.
• AI inaccuracies. While Gemini uses machine and deep learning algorithms to evolve, it’s susceptible to inaccuracies such as AI hallucinations. And it’s not the only one — even the best AI search engines suffer from misinformation, causing confusion and doubts about the AI model's capability.

PRO TIP: If you’re concerned about online privacy and data security, using a VPN for privacy protection can help improve your privacy and security while browsing.

How to turn off Gemini

The answer to the question “How to turn off Gemini?” is complicated. While the option to disable this feature should theoretically exist for Google Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus users, it appears to be hidden at the moment. As of now, Gemini is integrated into various Google services like Gmail, Google Workspace, and mobile devices and may require you to contact Google Support and specifically ask for the feature to be disabled. 

However, while the AI feature seems to lack the setting for manual disabling (at least for now), you can still limit its presence and data collection on Gmail and your mobile phone by tinkering with your settings. Here’s how.

How to turn off Gemini on Gmail

Turning off Gemini on your Gmail account essentially means disabling the "smart compose" and "smart reply" features. This will not fully turn off Gemini but will limit its intrusiveness at least a bit. Here's how to do so on your mobile phone and desktop.

How to turn off Gemini on Gmail on mobile (Android and iOS)

Turning off Gemini on Gmail is the same whether you use Android or iOS. Here’s how:

1. 1.Open your Gmail app.
2. 2.Navigate to the three horizontal lines in the top left corner.
   
3. 3.Scroll down and tap on “Settings.”
   
4. 4.Pick the account that you want to disable Gemini on.
   
5. 5.Scroll down to the “General” section. Find and disable the "Smart compose" and "Smart Reply" options.
   

How to turn off Gemini in Gmail on desktop (Windows, MacOS)

Turning off Gemini on Gmail on your Windows computer is almost identical to doing so on a mobile phone. The steps on MacOS are also the same and work as follows:

1. 1.Go to your Gmail account.
2. 2.Click the gear icon in the top right corner. 
   
3. 3.Select “See all settings.”
   
4. 4.In the "General" tab, find the "Smart compose" and "Smart reply" options and turn them off.
   
5. 5.Click "Save changes" at the bottom of the page to finalize your changes.
   

How to turn off Gemini in Google Workspace

While the option to fully turn off Gemini on Google Workspace is inaccessible for now, users can limit Gemini’s influence by disabling some of its smart features. Here’s how to limit Gemini’s presence on your Google Workspace.

How to turn off Gemini in Google Docs

To turn off Google Gemini in your Google Docs means disabling smart features (such as “Smart compose” or “Smart reply”) on your document. Here’s how it’s done:

1. 1.Open your document.
2. 2.Click “Tools” on the top sidebar.
   
3. 3.Go to "Preferences."
   
4. 4.Untick “Smart compose” and “Smart reply” suggestions and click “OK” to save changes.
   

How to turn off Gemini in Google Sheets

To turn off some of the Gemini’s features in Google Sheets, do the following:

1. 1.Open your sheet.
2. 2.Click “Tools” on the top sidebar.
   
3. 3.Hover over “Suggestion controls.”
   
4. 4.Click on the features (for example, "Enable autocomplete") to disable them.
   

How to turn off Gemini in Google Slides

Turning off Gemini features on Google Slides is the same as in Google Docs. All you have to do is: 

1. 1.Open your document.
2. 2.Click “Tools” on the top sidebar.
   
3. 3.Go to “Preferences”
   
4. 4.Untick “Smart compose” and “Smart reply” suggestions and click “OK” to save changes.
   

How to turn off Gemini in Google search

Google doesn't offer a simple toggle to completely turn off Gemini within Google Search for regular users. However, you can limit Google's data collection (which Gemini also may use) by turning it off in your search engine settings. Here's how to do it.

How to turn off Gemini in Google search on mobile

To turn off Gemini's data collection on your mobile phone's Google search engine (both Android and iOS), follow these steps:

1. 1.Open your Google app.
   
2. 2.Tap on your profile picture and go to “Settings.”
   
3. 3.Tap “Privacy and safety.”
   
4. 4.Under "Content," pick "Search personalization."
   
5. 5.Scroll down and tap “My Google activity.”
   
6. 6.Go to “Web and app activity.”
   
7. 7.Tap “Turn off” and proceed with further steps.
   

PRO TIP: Toggling off the “Personalize search” slide in the “Search personalization” page will also disable Gemini from accessing your data for search personalization purposes.

How to turn off Gemini in Google search on a computer

To turn off Gemini’s data collection on your desktop’s (both Windows and MacOS) Google search engine, follow these steps:

1. 1.Open Chrome and click on your profile picture in the top right corner.
   
2. 2.Click “Manage your Google account.”
   
3. 3.Click “Data and privacy” in the left sidebar.
   
4. 4.Find “Web and app activity” and click on it. Then click “Turn off.” 
   

How to turn off Gemini in Google Assistant

While you can technically choose which digital assistant — Gemini or Google Assistant — to use on your smart device, Google Assistant still uses Gemini to answer users' queries. Unfortunately, just like with Gmail, Workspace, and other Google services, you can’t fully turn off Gemini on Google Assistant, but you can limit its AI-powered features. To do that:

1. 1.Find the Google Assistant app on your phone or smart device.
   
2. 2.Tap and hold on until you see a dropdown menu. Then tap "Settings."
   
3. 3.In the settings menu, scroll down until you find “Personal results.”
   
4. 4.Toggle the “Personal results” off to limit the app’s (and, therefore, Gemini’s) access to your data.
   

To further limit Gemini's presence in Google Assistant, you can turn off Google's data collection in your Google account settings (the same as turning off Gemini in Google search). Or choose Google Assistant as a primary digital assistant. Here's how to do it:

1. 1.Go to Google Assistant's settings.
   
2. 2.Tap “Digital Assistants from Google.”
   
3. 3.Pick “Google Assistant.”
   
4. 4.Confirm the change by tapping “Switch.”
   

What to do if you can’t disable Gemini

Since manually disabling Gemini is an option that seems to be off the table for now, the only thing you can do is limit Gemini's presence by switching off some of the smart features. Additionally, you can also limit Gemini's access to your data by tinkering with your Google account's data and privacy settings. And finally, you can try more additional measures, such as:

• Checking for software updates. Some features (including Gemini) may require a Google update before they can be disabled. Checking for updates will let you know whether (and when) such an update is available.
• Contacting Google Support. While the option for manually disabling Gemini seems to be unavailable for now, users may have the power to change that. A critical mass of users contacting Google Support and (politely) explaining the issue might convince the company that it’s a desired benefit, potentially prompting quicker updates.
• Clearing your cache and cookies. The Gemini AI settings may not update immediately due to stored data. Clearing cookies may help the system implement the changes quicker.