Have you noticed how desperate tech companies are to get you to use their artificial intelligence features, even if you don’t want to use them? They're adding buttons to user interfaces and using pop-up tool tips to implore you to click them and become a dedicated user of their AI creations. Google Docs is one such battleground.

If you’re one of the users who see this feature and you don’t want it on your screen, good news: The giant bar is easy enough to hide. Click Gemini in the menu bar, then hover over Bottom bar preferences and select Turn off. Do that and the bar is gone. It can't hurt you anymore.

But if you'd like to banish AI features from Google Docs entirely, you can keep going. The first method, which is working for some people but not others, is to change a setting in Gmail. The second, which seems to be working for everyone, is to install a Chrome extension. First, a caveat: The process is a little different for personal Google accounts (basically, any account with an @gmail.com email address) and company accounts that use Google Workspace (basically, any account managed by your employer with an email address of your company's domain). For company-issued Workspace accounts, it’s up to the administrator to decide which AI features you do and don’t see.

For personal users, there is a bit more control. Open your Gmail account, then click the gear in the top right corner. Next, click See all settings. Then, in the General tab, scroll down until you see the Smart features option. Uncheck this and Google will ask you to pretty please not disable the feature. Then, once the setting has applied, head back to your Google Docs window and refresh it.

It’s worth noting that this box in Gmail’s settings doesn’t even mention Google Docs. It’s also worth noting that turning this off disables a number of other AI-powered features in Gmail, including grammar suggestions, autocorrect, smart compose, smart reply, and nudges. This also disables Gmail’s spellcheck, though the spellcheck offered by your browser will continue to work.

If disabling those things doesn’t present an issue for you, head back to Google Docs. The Gemini menu, the audio button, and (most importantly) the AI toolbar at the bottom of the screen are now all completely gone. There's still a Gemini button in the top-right corner, granted, but that’s a lot easier to ignore than those other intrusions if you don’t want Gemini in Docs.