How to Remove Google's Gemini AI From Docs and Gmail

Key points

• Google is rolling out a Gemini AI sidebar, a built-in artificial intelligence assistant, across Google Docs for many users in 2025.
• A single Gmail setting can remove most Gemini features from Docs, but it also turns off Gmail's own AI tools including autocorrect and smart reply.
• A free Chrome browser extension called Bye Bye Gemini removes Google AI features across Docs, Gmail, and Drive without touching any settings.
• Company employees on Google Workspace, Google's paid business product suite, cannot turn off AI features themselves; only their IT administrator can.

Google has been quietly adding a large Gemini bar, a built-in AI assistant panel, to the bottom of Google Docs screens for a growing number of users. Gemini is Google's family of AI models, the technology behind its chatbot and writing tools. You did not opt in. It just appeared.

If you want it gone, the fastest fix takes three clicks. Open Google Docs, click Gemini in the top menu bar, hover over Bottom bar preferences, and select Turn off. The bar disappears immediately.

That hides the bottom bar. But the Gemini menu and other AI buttons stay put. Removing those takes a couple of extra steps.

Does this work for work accounts too?

Not directly. If your email address belongs to your employer and runs on Google Workspace, Google's paid business suite, AI settings are controlled by your company's IT administrator, not by you. Talk to your IT team if you want changes made.

Personal Gmail accounts, any address ending in @gmail.com, give you more control.

How do you turn off Gemini features in Google Docs?

The main toggle is buried inside Gmail's settings, which is counterintuitive but real. Open Gmail, click the gear icon at the top right, then choose See all settings. Under the General tab, scroll down to Smart features and uncheck it. Reload your Docs window and the Gemini menu, the audio button, and the AI toolbar all vanish.

There is a trade-off. Turning off Smart features also disables Gmail's grammar suggestions, autocorrect, smart compose, smart reply, and nudges. Gmail's built-in spellcheck goes too, though your browser's own spellcheck keeps working. If you rely on any of those Gmail tools daily, this route may cost more than it saves.

For some users this setting also has no effect on Docs at all. Google's rollout is uneven.

What if the Gmail setting does not work?

There is a simpler fallback: a free browser extension called Bye Bye Gemini for Google Chrome. Install it and every visible AI element across Docs, Gmail, and Drive disappears. The extension works by hiding those interface elements from your browser view, a technique called CSS filtering. It removes AI-generated summaries from Google Search results as well, which is a bonus many users will appreciate.

This method does not require touching any Google settings and has worked consistently for users who found the Gmail toggle ineffective.

As first reported by Wired AI, Google has a pattern of reversing or overriding user choices like these during future updates, so neither fix carries a permanent guarantee. Still, both options work today, and knowing they exist is worth something when your screen starts filling up with tools you never wanted.

Common questions

Will turning off Smart features in Gmail hurt anything I use every day?

It disables Gmail's autocorrect, smart compose, smart reply, grammar suggestions, and nudges. Your browser's spellcheck stays on. If you rely heavily on Gmail's writing suggestions, the Bye Bye Gemini extension is the better option.

Does the Bye Bye Gemini extension cost anything?

No. It is a free Chrome extension. It does not change any Google account settings; it simply hides AI interface elements from your browser view.

Can I get the Gemini bar back if I change my mind?

Yes. Reverse the Gmail Smart features toggle, or disable the Bye Bye Gemini extension, and everything reappears. For the bottom bar specifically, go back to Gemini in the Docs menu bar and turn it on again under Bottom bar preferences.