Swear at Google Until It Hides AI Search Results

Are you tired of the annoying "AI overview" at the top of your search results? Turns out you can get rid of it by starting your search with the word "fuck." The trick spread thanks to a now-viral thread on Tumblr and it works wonders. I've been trying it out all morning: the AI disappears but the results are otherwise more-or-less the same.

Is this the best way to stop seeing AI in search results? No. We've talked about how to disable Google's AI search results by changing the default search engine in your browser to only pull in web results, and that's better. But is this the funnest way to stop seeing AI in search results? Fuck yeah it is. And it's perfect if you sometimes want to see AI results, but need a way to exclude them on a case-by-case basis.

Credit: Justin Pot

Sometimes, when you search, you want a quick answer. AI results in search are potentially useful for this. Sometimes, though, what you're looking for is a deep dive on a particular issues written and curated by actual experts. AI results, in that context, are mostly just cluttering your search results.

Turns out you can blast them out of your search results with a strategically placed f-bomb. I don't know specifically why this works, but I assume it's some filter Google set up to avoid situations where the AI swears at users.

It's particularly funny because this is how people use profanity in real life. Comedian James Acaster once explained the reason he started swearing during standup in one of my favorite bits. He realized that by not swearing he "attracted a demographic that I hate." The point: saying "fuck" every now and then can means people who don't like profanity won't engage with you. This trick, apparently, also works with bots: swear liberally and they won't interact with you. Welcome to the fucking future.

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