Already getting sick of seeing ‘AI’ results at the top of a search when all you want is a link to a site?

I just discovered this article showing a way to not see it (although it doesn’t disable it altogether).

TLDR:

  • In Chrome open settings menu, choose Search engine on left menu and scroll down to site search
  • Click Add button and choose a name (eg Old Google, Google Web or whatever)
  • Add a shortcut word (eg web, og, or whatever)
  • Add this URL string: https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14
  • Save that, and now if you search for something and use the shortcut word you set you’ll just get proper results, no ‘AI’ shown
  • Or, if you don’t want to have to add a shortcut word, you just make that search your default (use the 3 dot menu next to the name you set) and all searches will show that way, no shortcut word needed.

EDIT - meant to add that there are detailed instructions for Edge, Firefox and Safari in the article if you don’t use Chrome

Hope that helps someone - I really don’t like all that extra nonsense when I just want a link to a site that I know exists!

[Obligatory - “or don’t use Chrome/Google…”, I know - but people do, so this might be useful]

  • Carighan Maconar
    5•17 days ago

    Also, Apple Maps is totally fine, it’s not overloaded with ads like Google Maps is and it basically always finds the place I search for.

    Okay this is the one thing I’d readily disagree on.

    Beyond its absolutely inability to find non-US results (there’s a steak house next to me, I can enter that exact name including capitalization + the name of the city I live in, and it’ll instead find a different-named steak house in a US city names like my non-US one instead), not being able to click places on the map to select them is just laughable.

    Nevermind how it’s navigation is ridiculous, at least over here. It just travels shortest path, no respect for traffic lights or anything.

    It’s a very good showcase of how superior Google Maps actually is, as a maps application. And how much openstreetmap has left everything else in the dust, too.

    • @_pete_
      1•15 days ago

      I guess YMMV, I just tried a few places around me (UK) and it found them all. You can also defiantly tap on a place to select it.

      Did you try it recently or a while ago? I know it was pretty woeful when it came out but it’s improved a whole lot over the years.