During Google’s I/O Event on May 14, the company announced a major change to its search results: AI Summaries. For common search queries, users will now see an AI summary at the top of their search results. While this new feature has garnered mixed reactions, with some users preferring traditional link-based results, Google has introduced a “Web” search filter that provides only text-based links without ads, AI summaries, or knowledge panels. This new filter can be accessed directly from the Google Search results page by selecting it from the Filters menu.
To access the Web search filter directly from the browser address bar, users can customize their browsers to use a specific search query for Google. Depending on the browser, users can create a custom search engine shortcut with the URL “https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14” to restrict search results to the Web filter. The process for setting up this shortcut varies for different browsers, including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari.
Google Chrome users can set up the Web filter shortcut by navigating to the browser settings and creating a custom search engine with the provided URL. Similar steps can be followed for Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and Safari, although the method may vary slightly in each browser.
For Firefox users, setting up a Web filter shortcut involves creating a bookmark with a keyword shortcut that triggers the filter when used in the address bar. Safari users can install the Smart Keyword Search extension to enable shortcuts for site-based searches, allowing them to access the Web filter for Google searches.
Users can further customize their Google searches by adding a “textual” restriction to their search queries, which limits results to exact matches of the search terms used. By adding the attribute “&tbs=li:1” to the custom search engine URL, users can ensure that search results are based on exact text-based links.
Overall, the introduction of AI summaries and the Web search filter provide users with options to tailor their search experience based on their preferences for text-based links or AI-generated summaries. By customizing browser settings and search queries, users can enhance their search results to better suit their needs.
Article Source
https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/google-search-without-ads-or-ai-how-to-get-just-links-in-your-results/