How to turn off Gemini across Google services

Google's AI assistant Gemini is showing up in more and more of the company's services. If you don't want to use it, there is no single switch that turns it off everywhere, according to Engadget. It has to be done in each service separately. If you turn off Gemini in Gmail, it can still appear in Docs, Sheets, Chrome, Android or at gemini.google.com.

Menu names and locations change often and may vary by version, country and account type.

Gmail and work accounts

On a personal Gmail account, open settings via the gear icon and select "See all settings." Under the General tab, uncheck "Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet." Then the smart features in Google Workspace must also be turned off.

Keep in mind that this also removes older features such as spelling and grammar corrections and email prioritization. Smart features are turned off by default in Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the EEA.

BGR writes that Gemini icons, suggestions and help text may still appear, and that using them prompts you to turn the feature back on.

On a work or school account in Workspace, the switch does nothing for Gemini in Docs, Sheets and similar apps, according to Engadget. Only the administrator can turn Gemini off completely there.

Chrome, Android and Photos

In Chrome on a computer, go to Settings and AI innovations and turn off the options under Gemini in Chrome, as well as "History search" and "Help me write." Under System, "On device AI" can be turned off. According to BGR, Chrome may have an AI model of about 4 GB stored locally, which may need to be removed manually.

On Android, open the Gemini app, tap your profile picture and select "Switch to Google Assistant." Also remove any Gemini shortcuts. If you simply uninstall the app, Gemini is not turned off if it is still the default assistant.

In Google Photos, go to Settings, Preferences and Gemini features, where you will find the "Use Gemini in Photos" option. Turning it off also disables AI-based photo search.

Conversations and history

At gemini.google.com, you can select Activity and then "Turn off" or "Turn off and delete activity" to stop conversations from being saved in your activity history. According to Google's own help page, however, conversations are still stored in the account for up to 72 hours so Google can provide the service and process feedback.

By default, Gemini activity is deleted automatically after 18 months. This can be changed to 3 or 36 months, or auto-delete can be turned off.