How to Remove Google's Gemini AI From Docs and Gmail
Google is rolling out a large Gemini bar inside Google Docs that many users never asked for. Here is how to hide it, or remove AI features from Docs and Gmail entirely.
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 compose.
- A free Chrome browser extension called Bye Bye Gemini removes Google AI features across Docs, Gmail, and Drive without touching any account settings.
- Company employees on Google Workspace, Google's paid business product suite, can't 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 didn't opt in. It just appeared.
As we reported on 5 August, Google is replacing its old voice assistant with Gemini whether users want it or not, and the same pattern is playing out in Docs. The fastest fix here 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. 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 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's 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 tools daily, this route may cost more than it saves.
For some users this setting has no effect on Docs at all. Google's rollout is uneven.
What if the Gmail setting does not work?
There's a simpler fallback: a free Chrome extension called Bye Bye Gemini. Install it and every visible AI element across Docs and Gmail disappears, along with AI-generated summaries from Google Search results. The extension works by hiding interface elements from your browser view, a technique called CSS filtering, and doesn't require touching any Google account settings.
Google has a pattern of reversing user choices like these during future updates, as Wired AI first noted, so neither fix carries a permanent guarantee. Both work today.
The plain judgement on this one: the Gmail toggle is fragile and costs you real Gmail features, so most people are better off just installing the extension. Watch whether Google quietly breaks it after the next Workspace update.
Common questions
Will turning off Smart features in Gmail hurt anything I use every day?
It disables Gmail's autocorrect, smart compose, 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's a free Chrome extension. It doesn't 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.
