Google search without ads and AI: How to get only links in your results

At its Google I/O event on May 14, the internet giant announced AI summaries, perhaps the biggest change to search results in decades: AI summaries will now appear at the top of search results for many common search queries.

Not all users are happy with the new AI Overview, especially those looking for links rather than answers to their questions. Luckily, the new “Web” search filter gives you exactly that: it shows only text-based links, no ads, no AI, no images, no videos.

Even better, you can get link-based results on Google just by searching in your browser's address bar. We'll show you how to do this in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Microsoft Edge.

What are Google Search web filters?

Google's new web filters are similar to its filters for news, images, videos, shopping, etc. results. When you select the web filter, your search results will only return text-based links and will not display ads, AI summaries, or knowledge panels like “Top Stories” or “Frequently Asked Questions.”

The new filter will appear below the search box on Google search results pages, alongside other filters like news, images, videos, etc. Typically, you'll need to click on the three-dot “more” menu to see it as an option.

Clicking on the Web filter link will take you to Google search results that are made up of text-based links only, without any answers, ads, AI, etc. Under the search query box, “Web” will be underlined and highlighted in blue.

Like the AI ​​Overview, the Web Filters currently only appear in your Chrome browser if you're logged in to your Google account, but they'll likely appear in other browsers regardless of your logged-in status.

How do I get Google Search web filter results in my address bar search?

Depending on your browser, it's very easy to customize your browser settings so that your address bar search will show you Google web filter results directly. You just need to create a custom site search shortcut in your browser and trigger that search option with your keywords or make it the default for all your searches.

The important URLs to remember are https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14The “%s” represents the search query and the “udm=14” tag limits the results to the new web filter.

Here we'll show you how to add the custom site search you need to Google's web filters in the four most popular web desktop browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari.

Google Chrome

Open a Google Chrome browser window and click on the three-dot menu in the top right corner, next to your Google Account profile. setting It's at the bottom of the menu. To access Chrome settings, type: chrome://settings in the browser's address bar.

select Search engine Click “Manage search engines and site search” from the left column, then click “Manage search engines and site search” in the center of the browser window. Then scroll down to “Site search” and click the blue addition button.

In the pop-up window that appears, create a name for your new search shortcut and a keyword to trigger it – here I chose “Old Google” and “og”. In the last field (“URL with %s instead of query”), enter the URL we explained above. https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14. Next Blue addition button.

Now, when you search using “og” + your search term in the address bar, the results will be displayed using Google's web filters.

If you want to make this your default search option, click the three-dot menu next to your new site search and select Make Default. When you make your new search shortcut your default search, all searches in the address bar will use web filters and won't require keywords.

Microsoft Edge

The steps to add a Google Search web filter shortcut are similar to Google Chrome, since the Windows browser is based on the Chromium codebase. setting Click on the three-dot menu in the top right corner, Privacy, Search and Services.

At the bottom of the next screen, Address bar and searchafter that Manage search enginesAlternatively, you can go directly to that screen by typing: edge://settings/searchengines It will appear in the Edge address bar.

click addition Click the button to create a new site search shortcut. Search engine Name of the shortcut (I used “Old Google”) Shortcuts is the term that will trigger that particular site search (I used “og”). URL templates The string that triggers the Google Search web filter: https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14.

To make the new Google URL your default search, Address bar and search Go to the Settings page and click on the drop down menu The search engine used in the address barWhen you select a new custom site search, the search in the address bar will default to the Google Search web filter.

Mozilla Firefox

In Firefox, setting up search shortcuts is a bit different: instead of using the search settings, you create a new bookmark with a keyword shortcut, then use that keyword in the address bar to trigger the web filter results in Google Search. Unfortunately, the desktop version of Firefox doesn't allow you to add new search engines.

from Bookmark In the Firefox dropdown, Managing BookmarksOn the next screen, right-click on the folder in your bookmarks where you want to place the shortcut and select “Add Bookmark.” (It doesn't matter where your bookmarks are located, since you'll be launching it from the address bar.)

In the next popup window, name (e.g. “Old Google”) email address https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 and keyword (e.g. “og”) and save the search filter as a bookmark.[保存]Once you press the button, you can access Google Web Filter results by simply typing in your keywords before searching in the address bar.

Apple Safari

Safari doesn't enable custom site shortcuts by default, and the only way I was able to add a Google Web Filter search was to install Smart Keyword Search, a free Safari extension that enables site search shortcuts.

Once you've installed Smart Keyword Search, you'll first need to set it up so that it can tailor your Google search results. settingclick Extensions At the top of the window, click Smart Keyword Searchand then click the “Edit Website” button. On the next page, click the drop-down menu next to google.com and select “Allow.”

Now, close the settings window and click on the Smart Keyword Search icon that appears next to the Safari address bar. A pop-up window will appear with various “rules” that the extension will use to modify your searches. Click the “Create” button to start a new rule, then enter a name (e.g. “Old Google”), a prefix (e.g. “og”), and a familiar URL for your web filter search shortcut.

A smart keyword search requires you to enter the URL slightly differently because it uses the variable “{search}” instead of “%s” to indicate the search query. https://google.com/search?q={search}&utm=14Hit the “Submit” button. Now, when you type “og” (or your chosen prefix) before searching in the address bar, you'll get results limited by Google's web filters.

How to limit Google web searches to “verbatim” results

You can further customize your searches on Google so that the search engine only returns results based on the exact terms you use, rather than synonyms or related words. The “Verbatim” option was introduced in 2011 and is usually accessible through the “Tools” link on most Google searches.

To add a “verbatim” restriction to a web filter shortcut, add the attribute “&tbs=li:1” to the end of your custom search URL. https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14&tbs=li:1

Searches using the new URL will now return only text-based web links that match the exact search query.

For more details, check out how to use Google's Circle Search feature on your iPhone and 5 Google Assistant settings you should change right now.

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