How to Turn Off Gemini AI Tools in Gmail and Google Docs

Google has recently been showing many Google Docs users a large Gemini toolbar at the bottom of the screen, encouraging them to use its AI features. Some users saw this appear as a test back in April, while others are only seeing it in the past few weeks, so the rollout is inconsistent.

For anyone who sees the bar and doesn't want it, it can simply be hidden by clicking Gemini in the menu bar, hovering over the bottom bar preferences, and selecting the option to turn it off.

Fully disabling AI features

For those who want to remove AI from Google Docs entirely, the options depend on the type of account. For a company-managed Google Workspace account, only the organization's IT administrator can control which AI features appear — individual users have no way to change this themselves.

For personal @gmail.com accounts, there is a solution, though it isn't obvious: it's hidden in Gmail's settings. Opening Gmail, going into all settings, and finding the "Smart features" option under the General tab allows a user to uncheck it. Google will ask for confirmation before disabling it, but once applied and Google Docs is refreshed, the Gemini menu, the audio button, and the bottom AI toolbar all disappear.

It's worth noting this setting also disables several other Gmail AI features, including grammar suggestions, autocorrect, smart compose, smart reply, and spellcheck (though the browser's own spellcheck will still work).

For those for whom this doesn't work, or who don't want to lose Gmail's other smart features, there's an alternative: a Chrome extension called "Bye Bye Gemini." It uses CSS to hide all Google AI elements across Gmail, Docs, and Drive, and also removes AI Overviews from Google search results.