Google Gemini has infiltrated almost all Google services, including Gmail. Some find the tools useful, others rarely use them, and some would prefer to turn them off as much as possible. If you’re in the latter group, you’ll be happy to know that there is a way to disable Gemini on your Google account: this applies to Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Docs. Note that you will also need to disable Gemini separately in Google Photos and Google Chrome. This is a good time to mention that you can also prevent Google Gemini from training on your personal chats and web data.
It’s best to use the web interface for this, so you’ll need to use a browser on your laptop or desktop, or a mobile browser on your phone. Log in to Gmail and make sure you are using a web hotspot and not an app. Go to Settings (the gear icon at the top right), then choose See all settings. In the “General” tab, scroll down to the section called “Google Workspace smart features.” Select the only option titled Manage Workspace smart features settings. A pop-up window will appear displaying Gemini support options. The first toggle controls Gemini in Google Workspace apps like Gmail, Google Docs, etc. Disable it to remove Gemini from Gmail. The other toggle controls Gemini Assistance in other Google products such as Maps, Google Wallet, and Google Assistant. Turn this toggle off if you want complete disabling almost everywhere else.
Gemini icons, prompts, and tooltips may still appear in Google Workspace products with the option disabled. You can actually ignore them. If you try to interact with them, you will be prompted to turn smart features back on; However, Gemini will not do anything in the background.
You may also want to disable Gemini elsewhere
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Gemini isn’t just integrated into Google’s Workspace apps. It will eventually take over much of your Android phone, your Chrome browser, and even cloud services like Google Photos. A recent Google Photos feature will train AI on your personal photos, if you don’t turn it off. You can easily turn off Gemini in Photos by opening the app, tapping your profile icon in the top right, and going to Photos Settings > Preferences > Gemini Features and deactivation Using Gemini in Photos. Granted, this also disables AI-based search in Photos, but for some it might be worth it.
Disabling Gemini in Chrome is your next step. With Chrome open, select the three dots and navigate to Settings > AI Innovations > Gemini in Chrome. Disable all options. Then save a menu to AI Innovations and disable two options: History Search And Help me write. Below Settings > System deactivate the On-device AI functionality. This should stop the 4GB AI model that might have been silently installed on your device.
Finally, if you don’t want to use Gemini on your phone as your default assistant, you can go back to the standard Google Assistant, at least for now. Find or open the Gemini app on your device, tap the menu button at the top left (two vertical lines), then select your profile picture at the bottom. Scroll through the settings until you see Switch to Google Assistant. Tap on it and choose Google Assistant. You’ll also want to change your default assistant app if Gemini is set as a shortcut for anything. You can then uninstall the Gemini app, but Google says this won’t disable everything if it’s still your default assistant.
