If you’ve followed any Google announcements recently or used its apps over the past couple of years, you’ve probably noticed one thing, everything is now about AI. From Gmail and Google Drive to Docs and even Messages, Gemini has made its way into almost every Google app, whether you asked for it or not.
For me, AI still feels like a bit of a buzzword. There are only a handful of use cases on my phone that I actually find useful. If you’re in the same boat and want to cut down on Google AI features across your apps, this guide will walk you through how to do exactly that.
What you should know before disabling Google AI on your phone
As important as it sounds, there is unfortunately no single switch to disable AI across your Android phone. That’s partly because different manufacturers have implemented AI features in their own way, but I still feel there should at least be a universal toggle to turn off Gemini across apps.
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The good news is that you can still disable Gemini across multiple Google apps, along with some Pixel-specific AI features, if you know where to look in the settings. And if you change your mind later, you can always turn these features back on just as easily.
Below, I’ll walk you through how to disable Google AI features across apps like Messages, Gmail, Google Photos, and even some Pixel-exclusive tools. I’ve used the Pixel 10 Pro for this, but the steps should be fairly similar on most Android phones.
Google Messages
If you’ve opened the Messages app on your Android phone and found the Gemini button sitting above the plus icon a bit annoying, you can easily turn it off. Personally, I also think it’s better to keep Gemini out of the same space where you handle your personal conversations.
1. Open the Google Messages app.
2. Tap the Profile icon on the top right.
3. Select Messages settings.
4. Scroll down and tap Gemini in Messages.
5. Disable the toggle for Show Gemini button.
Gmail
Gemini has also slowly made its way into Gmail, whether it’s showing updates for your online orders, tracking flights, suggesting ways to polish your emails, or more recently introducing an AI-powered inbox. Similar to Google Messages, you’ll need to go into Gmail’s settings to turn these features off.
1. Open the Gmail app on your phone.
2. Tap the hamburger menu in the top left and go to Settings.
3. In Settings, select your email account and then find Google Workspace smart features.
4. Open it and disable both Smart features in Google Workspace and Smart features in other Google products.
This will disable Gemini and AI features not just in Gmail, but across Workspace apps like Google Chat, Drive, and Meet. If you disable the second toggle as well, Gemini will also be removed from services like Google Wallet and some smart features in Google Maps
Google Photos
With the past couple of updates, Google has also replaced the normal search in Google Photos with Gemini-powered feature called Ask Photos. Other than that, there are also other AI features in Google Photos such as remixes, photo to video, memories, and much more. If you don’t want Google’s AI creeping into your personal photos, here is how you can disable:
1. Open the Google Photos app.
2. Tap the Profile icon from the top right and then select Photos settings.
3. Tap Preferences and then Gemini features in Photos. Disable the Gemini features that you don’t need. If you don’t need any of them, you can just disable the topmost Use Gemini in Photos toggle.
Phone app
If you own a Google Pixel smartphone, chances are Google has added a bunch of AI features into core apps, including the Phone app. While some of these features, like Call Screen and Hold for Me, can be useful, not everyone wants them enabled all the time. If you’d rather keep things simple, you can turn them off.
1. Head over to the Phone app on your phone.
2. Tap the hamburger menu in the top left corner and go to Settings.
3. Under the Call Assist section, you’ll see all the AI-powered features. Tap on any feature and disable the toggle for it.
Pixel Screenshots
If you own a Google Pixel 9 or Pixel 10 series phone, your device comes with the Pixel Screenshots app that analyzes every screenshot you take to give you contextual info later. While this can be useful in some cases, like saving details or pulling info from an image, there’s also a chance you don’t want all your screenshots being analyzed:
1. Open the Pixel Screenshots app on your phone.
2. Tap the gear icon in the top right corner.
3. Disable the toggle for Search your screenshots with on-device AI.
Alternatively, you can go into the app info page and disable the Pixel Screenshots app entirely if you don’t plan on using it.
These are some of the ways you can get rid of Google AI across apps on your phone. If you don’t want to use Gemini at all, you can simply disable the app itself, which breaks its integrations across other apps and essentially turns off AI features on your device.
I’ve felt for a while that while some AI features are genuinely useful, most of them still have a pretty low hit rate and aren’t as practical as companies make them sound. Personally, I prefer keeping things simple, and this is how I go about it.