How to Disable the Gemini Side Panel in Google Chrome

Google Chrome integrates its Gemini AI assistant into the browser’s side panel, allowing you to ask questions about the contents of your open tabs. If you do not want Gemini to read your page content or wish to remove the feature entirely, Chrome provides a setting to disable it.

Follow these steps to permanently turn off the Gemini side panel feature.

Step 1: Open Chrome AI Settings

Google consolidates its generative AI features under a dedicated settings menu.

1. Open Google Chrome on your computer.
2. Click the three vertical dots (Menu) in the top-right corner of the browser window.
3. Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
4. In the left sidebar, click on AI Innovations (or AI Premium / Google AI, depending on your specific Chrome version).
5. Select Gemini in Chrome.
6. You can now turn off a bunch of Gemini features:
   • Show Gemini at the top of the browser
   • Show Gemini in Mac menu bar and turn on keyboard shortcut (for Macs)
   • Change navigation keyboard shortcut
   • Change Keyboard shortcut to open Gemini

Did that help?

Step 2: Turn Off “Help me understand” or “Gemini”

Once inside the AI settings pane, you can manage individual feature permissions.

1. Locate the feature labeled Help me write, Gemini in Chrome, or Page Insights.
2. Toggle the switch next to the feature to Off.

Note: Disabling this toggle prevents Chrome from sending your active tab data, URLs, or page content to the AI model.

Step 3: Remove the Gemini Icon from the Toolbar

If the Gemini shortcut icon is still pinned next to your address bar, you can unpin it to clean up the user interface.

1. Right-click the Gemini icon (the sparkle graphic) on the top toolbar.
2. Click Unpin from the context menu.

Alternatively, you can click the Side Panel icon, open the drop-down menu within the panel, and uncheck Gemini to hide its entry.

Alternative Method: Using Chrome Flags

If the settings toggle is missing or you want to completely deactivate the underlying functionality, you can disable the feature via Chrome’s experimental flags backend.

1. Type chrome://flags into the address bar and press Enter.
2. In the “Search flags” box at the top, type Gemini.
3. Look for flags related to the side panel ecosystem, such as #optimization-guide-on-device-model or #expanded-alt-text.
4. Change the drop-down setting next to the relevant Gemini flags from Default or Enabled to Disabled.
5. Click the Relaunch button at the bottom of the screen to apply the changes.

Questions? Let me know in the comments section below, and I will get back to you with suggestions.