5 Best Ways to Clean Up Google Search Results

Google's results pages now carry an AI Overview, sponsored results, shopping carousels and "People also ask" boxes above and between the links. Here are five ways to get a cleaner page, depending on whether you want to hide sections, block sites or switch search engines. Disclosure: the first is made by Patrick Bushe, who runs this site.

#1. Search Cleaner by Patrick Bushe

A free Chrome extension that hides sections of Google's results page.

What it does:

• Hides the AI Overview: on as soon as you install it, along with an optional switch for the AI Mode tab.
• 25 switches: choose which sections to hide, from Sponsored / Ads and shopping carousels to videos, images, "Discussions & Forums" and the knowledge panel.
• Private: its only permission is storage, for your settings, and it doesn't send your searches anywhere.

The limits: it works on google.com (not country sites such as google.co.uk), some switches look for English labels, and it hides sections rather than blocking particular websites. See Search Cleaner.

#2. uBlacklist

A free, open-source extension for blocking specific sites from search results. You can block a site straight from the results page, and it works on Bing, DuckDuckGo and several other engines as well as Google.

• The trade-off: it blocks sites but doesn't hide Google's AI Overview, ads or other sections, so it pairs well with a section hider.

#3. Google's "Web" filter

Built into Google: after searching, choose "Web" under the search box (sometimes under More) and you get text links only, without AI Overviews or most other extras.

• The trade-off: you have to pick it for each search, and it drops images and maps you might want.

#4. Kagi

A paid, ad-free search engine that lets you block, lower or raise particular domains in your results.

• The trade-off: it's a subscription, and its results come from its own mix of sources, so they won't match Google's.

#5. DuckDuckGo

A free, private search engine with a simpler results page and a setting to turn its AI answers off.

• The trade-off: its results differ from Google's and can be weaker for some local or very specific searches.

The verdict: To keep Google but lose its extras, use Search Cleaner, and add uBlacklist if there are particular sites you never want to see. If you're happy to change search engines, Kagi and DuckDuckGo are both worth a try.

---