Google Search AI Overview Hider

WHAT IT DOES

This script removes AI Overview sections from Google search results pages. When you search on Google, you may see an AI-generated summary at the top of the results page, often labeled "AI Overview" or "Generative AI is experimental." This section can push organic search results further down the page, making it harder to find the links you're actually looking for. This script detects and hides the AI Overview section, restoring the traditional search results layout where organic links appear at the top. A counter in the bottom-right corner shows how many AI Overview sections have been hidden, giving you immediate feedback on the script's activity. The hiding is purely visual—the AI content is still loaded but hidden from view, and all organic results remain fully accessible.

WHERE IT RUNS

The script runs on all major Google domains, including .com, .co.uk, .ca, .de, .fr, .it, .es, .com.au, and .co.jp. It works on search results pages (/search?q= or ?q=). It handles both desktop and mobile views, and updates dynamically as new results load via infinite scroll.

HOW TO USE

After installation, the settings panel appears on the left side of the screen with the gear emoji (⚙️). Open the panel to configure the script:

- The "Hide AI Overviews" toggle enables or disables the hiding. When enabled, AI Overview sections are hidden automatically. When disabled, they are shown again.

- Click "Refresh page" to manually re-apply hiding if new AI Overviews appear after dynamic loading.

- Click "Reset" to restore the default setting (enabled).

The script works automatically—just search as usual and the AI Overview sections will be hidden. The counter shows how many were removed.

TECHNICAL SECTION — REAL MECHANISM

The script detects search result pages by checking the URL for /search? or ?q=. It identifies AI Overview containers using multiple detection strategies. First, it scans for common class names that Google uses for AI Overviews, including .ai-overview, .sge-ai-overview, .search-generative-experience, .generative-answer, and .sge-container. It also looks for data attributes like [data-ai-overview] and [data-sge]. Second, it searches for structural indicators by scanning all div, section, and article elements for text that contains phrases like "AI Overview," "Generative AI," "SGE," or "AI-generated," and checks that the element is a block container with sufficient content. Third, it looks for specific Google-generated class names (e.g., .cQnBpf, .gskI5b, .Nq6lBd) that often appear on AI Overview containers. Once an AI Overview is identified, the script finds its parent container (such as .g, .srg, or .M8OgIe) and applies CSS properties to hide it completely: display:none, visibility:hidden, height:0, overflow:hidden, and zero padding/margin/border. This ensures the AI Overview takes up no visible space and does not affect the layout of surrounding organic results. Each hidden element is tracked with a WeakSet to avoid duplicate processing and marked with a data attribute for later restoration. The script uses a MutationObserver to watch for new elements being added to the page and queues processing with a debounce to handle rapid DOM mutations during scrolling.

THE PANEL

The settings panel is built with BotGentz's BGPanel component. It is draggable via its header, allowing you to reposition it anywhere on the screen. The panel snaps to the left edge by default but can be moved freely. Click the gear emoji to collapse the panel into a small bubble, and click the bubble to expand it again. The panel remembers its position per page session. Press the Escape key to quickly close or minimize the panel. The panel includes a status flash bar that provides visual feedback when settings are changed or actions are performed. All settings save automatically via GM_setValue.

PLEASE NOTE

This script requires the free BotGentz browser extension to run. It does not function as a standalone Chrome extension and does not use chrome.* APIs. Google frequently updates its search results page structure and the naming of AI Overview elements, which may break the selectors used to detect them. If AI Overviews stop being hidden, please check for script updates. The script hides AI Overviews visually after they load—it does not block them from being fetched or rendered. The script stores only the enabled preference via GM_setValue. No data is sent externally—all data is stored locally in your browser. The script never reads or writes password fields, hidden inputs, or file inputs. All DOM operations use safe methods (style properties, classList, WeakSet) and never use innerHTML.