How to hide or disable Gemini AI features in Google Docs and Gmail

In short: Google is showing more Gemini AI prompts in Docs and Gmail, and there are a few ways to hide them or turn them off.

What's going on

Some Google Docs users are now seeing a large Gemini bar at the bottom of the page. Gemini is Google’s AI assistant, and the bar is meant to suggest AI help while you write. The feature is rolling out gradually, so some people see it and others do not.

If you only want to hide the big bar in Google Docs, there is a direct option. In Docs, click Gemini in the top menu, hover over Bottom bar preferences, then select Turn off. This removes the bottom bar from your screen.

If you want fewer Gemini features across Docs, there is another step that may work for personal Gmail accounts. In Gmail, open Settings (the gear icon), click See all settings, then in General scroll to Smart features and turn it off. Wired reports this can remove items like the Gemini menu and the bottom bar in Docs, but it also turns off several helpful Gmail tools like Smart Compose, Smart Reply, grammar suggestions, and even Gmail’s built-in spellcheck.

Work accounts can be different. If you use Google Workspace through your job, your company’s IT admin may control whether Gemini features can be turned off.

What to watch

If the Gmail setting does not work for you, Wired points to a Chrome extension called Bye Bye Gemini. It hides Gemini elements by changing how the page is displayed (like putting a piece of tape over buttons you do not want to see). Google can also change these controls over time, so the exact steps may shift.

Source: Wired