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YSK: It's possible to get search results from Google without the annoying 'AI' answers at the top

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: 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]

solarvector ,

As you said there are people who don’t want to switch from Chrome and Google, but at this point if you’re talking about a ten step fix-it plan, is really does make more sense to just use Firefox and DDG. Or searx, I’m pretty sure that’s still fewer steps.

givesomefucks ,

Yeah. I went to duck duck go a while ago.

Their default maps is terrible, but web search works fine.

For some reason the only videos they link on the video tab is YouTube tho, which sucks and you’re better off just searching YouTube instead at that point.

Carighan ,
@Carighan@lemmy.world avatar

DDG

“Hey wanna use our AI chat?!”
“Hey, like these autogenerated result-blobs instead of your actual results?”
“Hey, we thought you hate finding the place you were looking for, so we use Apple Maps to ensure you’re getting fucking nowhere, ever!”

I wish DDG was usable. All it is, is a good showcase that Google isn’t as bad as they could be.

tgxn ,
@tgxn@lemmy.tgxn.net avatar

DDG AI chat is actually pretty decent, offers multiple options for free with no noticable limit; maps is dogshit agreed, still have to fall back to google, use uBlock and can remove the featured results on DDG.

Carighan ,
@Carighan@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah I was more comparing how they push things on you, too. They’re of course much nicer, in particular because you can just turn things off, which is how it ought to work. I don’t mind things being default-on, most users would otherwise never realize stuff even exists. But it really needs to be able to be disabled, like how DDG allows it. (But sadly not for their godawful Apple Maps)

tgxn ,
@tgxn@lemmy.tgxn.net avatar

Yeah you’re not wrong, I used DDG without uBlock the other day and it’s basically become Google that “doesn’t track you”. Which I think is the main thing going for them. I wish they’d use OSM or something that’s actually not slow as fuck.

_pete_ ,

Pfttt… at least with DDG you can turn any of that stuff off with a button in a UI rather than having to make a new bookmark or fuck around with your browsers search engine.

You can even turn the ads off if you want.

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.

Carighan ,
@Carighan@lemmy.world avatar

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.

tgxn ,
@tgxn@lemmy.tgxn.net avatar

Agreed, and additionally in Australka at least it’s also slow as absolute fuck. Click on the map preview? Takes at least 30s to load the base map.

sanguinepar OP ,
@sanguinepar@lemmy.world avatar

is really does make more sense to just use Firefox and DDG

I take the point - but it doesn’t make sense if you still prefer Chrome/Google to those overall and just want to change one aspect of it. This is just a way to improve the experience for people who are mostly happy with what they use and not interested in changing from it. It’s great that we as users have that choice, that’s how it should be.

Dudewitbow ,

but youre asking for something thats effectively cosmetic filtering, a feature that google pushing Manifeat V3, for example removed ublock for having as a user feature. while its good to have a choice, you need to understand when you’re effectively fighting against yourself by asking for a feature that was intentionally removed, and you could get back, had you werent deadset with siding with the company that killed the feature.

sanguinepar OP ,
@sanguinepar@lemmy.world avatar

I’m not asking for anything. This isn’t a support request. I found something I find useful and wanted to share it. That’s all.

Jagothaciv ,

First mistake is using Chrome second mistake is using Google.

sanguinepar OP ,
@sanguinepar@lemmy.world avatar

Maybe I should have put that last line up the top instead…

paraphrand ,

No, this is Lemmy. It’s Linux, Firefox, DDG and pirate all intellectual property. Period. No exceptions.

sanguinepar OP ,
@sanguinepar@lemmy.world avatar

Apparently so. Oh well, the info will still hopefully help people who’re fine with their choices :-)

cosmicrookie ,
@cosmicrookie@lemmy.world avatar

This is like those 20 minute videos for a problem that can be fixed in 20 sec

At the end of the day, if you keep using google, you will keep getting manipulated into what google wants you to. It may be fair, as it is free. Its a choice really. I pay a small amount to Kagi and have clean results with optional Ai if i feel like using it.

sanguinepar OP ,
@sanguinepar@lemmy.world avatar

This is like those 20 minute videos for a problem that can be fixed in 20 sec

Hence my TLDR. It’s a 6-point bullet list (and the last one is optional).

XeroxCool ,

I’m pretty sure they meant “20 minutes” to mean a lifetime of always fighting google and “20 seconds” to mean switching to a different browser

sanguinepar OP ,
@sanguinepar@lemmy.world avatar

a lifetime of always fighting google

I think that might just be verging on hyperbole, no?

cosmicrookie ,
@cosmicrookie@lemmy.world avatar

I know.

Its an overcomplicated solution for a problem that doesnt really fix anything in the long run.

sanguinepar OP ,
@sanguinepar@lemmy.world avatar

I never said it fixed anything in the long run. It allows me (and probably others) to do things the way I want to do them. If it doesn’t apply to everyone, that’s ok.

AsudoxDev ,
@AsudoxDev@programming.dev avatar

If you don’t like the “extra nonsense”, how about you stop using Google products? Namely Chrome and Google?

sanguinepar OP ,
@sanguinepar@lemmy.world avatar

Feel like I covered that at the bottom.

boredsquirrel ,
@boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net avatar

Well, replace that with Firefox and use this Addon:

addons.mozilla.org/…/add-custom-search-engine/

Ghoelian , (edited )

Why would you need an extension for that? You can add other search engines right in the settings of firefox.

Edit: I was wrong, this is a feature Librewolf adds in their builds.

boredsquirrel ,
@boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net avatar

No you cant. Engines either need to support the “OpenSearch” standard, which is useless because it only works for a few and only for default configuration.

Or they need to have an Extension themselves, which is a silly concept.

Instead, this addon uses a URL (as it is supported in Firefox Mobile, Chrome, Brave, Edge, …) and converts it to an OpenSearch Search engine which you can then add.

Afterwards you can remove the Addon.

Ghoelian ,

Yes, you can. You just enter a url, and put the %s somewhere in the query params which firefox will replace with your query.

I just tested this with my own website, which definitely does not support any OpenSearch standard, and it works exactly like you’d imagine (except the page doesn’t exist of course).

Edit: nevermind, turns out this is a librewolf thing. Sorry about that

boredsquirrel ,
@boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net avatar

Librewolf supports custom OpenSearch engines? Cool?

Didnt know that. Firefox should absolutely support this again, needing an Addon is embarrassing

scytale ,

You can also use startpage which just proxies your search queries and doesn’t return the AI answers.

Feathercrown ,

I actually like the ai answer box

sanguinepar OP ,
@sanguinepar@lemmy.world avatar

That’s fair enough - as long as users have options then all good as far as I’m concerned :-)

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