Firefox vs Chrome: Switching Off Artificial Intelligence in Each Browser

Firefox vs Chrome AI Controls: The Short Answer

Firefox gives you one switch that blocks its AI features, and Chrome spreads its AI controls across several settings pages. Pick Firefox if you want one switch that stays set. Chrome is workable if you accept turning off several separate controls and re-checking them after updates.

Neither choice removes AI Overviews from Google Search by itself. Both browsers ship AI features, so the question is how completely you can switch each one off, and how many places you need to visit to do it.

This page relies on four sources: Mozilla's February 2026 post on AI controls, Google's Chrome help page on Gemini, The Register's December 2025 article on disabling Chrome AI, and the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Where a source is silent, this page says so, and the readings that are ours are marked as ours.

What Each Browser Puts in Front of You

Firefox lists five AI controls at launch. Chrome reaches you through a pinned Gemini button, a writing prompt, a history search and an address-bar entry. Knowing which features exist is the first step.

Firefox's Five Launch Controls

Mozilla's post lists five individual controls at launch:

• Translations
• Alt text in PDFs (portable document format files)
• AI-enhanced tab grouping
• Link previews
• AI chatbot in the sidebar

Mozilla describes the AI controls section as "a single place to block current and future generative AI features in Firefox." The single toggle is the part of the design that covers what is not on the list.

Chrome's Gemini and Its Related Entry Points

Google says Gemini in Chrome offers "AI assistance in your browser to easily get key takeaways, clarify concepts, find answers and more." By default it uses content from your current tab, and you can share up to 10 open tabs.

Google says it is "gradually releasing" Gemini in Chrome, so it may not be available to everyone yet. It needs a Chromebook Plus, Mac or Windows computer, the latest Chrome and a signed-in account. It is not available in Incognito mode, and age and region requirements apply.

The Register's article adds four more Chrome entry points to find:

• Page content sharing, which sends content from your tabs to Gemini (chrome://settings/ai/gemini).
• "Help me write," which offers writing help (chrome://settings/ai/helpMeWrite).
• AI-powered History Search, which the article says sends browsing information and queried pages to Google when it is on (chrome://settings/ai/historySearch).
• An AI Mode entry in the address bar, which the article says needs changes in chrome://flags to disable.

Google Search is a separate case. The Register handles AI Overviews through a search engine setting, not through a browser AI setting, and the Chrome section below covers that workaround.

How to Turn Off AI in Firefox

Firefox's off switch is one toggle in one settings section, and Mozilla says the setting holds across updates. The steps below follow Mozilla's post.

1. Open Firefox's desktop settings and find the AI controls section. Mozilla says the section starts with Firefox 148, which rolls out on 24 February 2026, so an older build will not have it.
2. Turn on "Block AI enhancements." Mozilla says that when this toggle is on, "you won't see pop-ups or reminders to use existing or upcoming AI features."
3. Expect the setting to hold after an update. Mozilla says that "once you set your AI preferences in Firefox, they stay in place across updates."

Mozilla describes the toggle as blocking all of Firefox's AI features. Mozilla lists five individual controls, but the sources here do not say how they behave once the toggle is on. The sources also do not say whether Firefox's AI features send data to Mozilla's servers, so that question stays open on this page.

How to Turn Off Gemini and Other AI in Chrome

Chrome has no single switch in the sources this page uses. Turning off its AI takes several steps across separate pages, and the Gemini button needs a different step from the keyboard shortcut.

Hide or Unpin the Gemini Button

Google's help page gives this path: go to Settings, then AI innovations, then Gemini in Chrome. Under Preferences, turn off "Show Gemini at the top of the browser." Mac and Windows also have menu bar or system tray options. Alternatively, right-click the top of the browser and choose Unpin Gemini.

Google's page covers hiding or unpinning the icon. It does not describe a full switch that disables the feature. The Register says unpinning does not disable the Gemini keyboard shortcut, so the shortcut needs its own step.

Turn Off Gemini's Page Access and Other Entry Points

1. Open chrome://settings/ai/gemini. Turn off "Show Gemini at the top of the browser," "Show Gemini in system tray and turn on keyboard shortcut" and "Page content sharing." The Register lists all three.
2. On the same Gemini in Chrome settings page, find Permissions and turn off "Share current tab by default." Google says this stops the current tab being shared automatically.
3. Open chrome://settings/ai/helpMeWrite and turn off "Offer writing help."
4. Open chrome://settings/ai/historySearch, which controls the feature The Register says sends browsing information and queried pages to Google when it is on. The sources here do not give its toggle label, so read The Register's December 2025 article for the exact wording.
5. For the AI Mode entry in the address bar, follow the chrome://flags steps in The Register's article. The article warns that flag names may change, so the names you see may differ from the article.

The Register also flags its own extension recommendation for hiding AI Overviews as a conflict of interest, because the article's author wrote that extension.

Avoiding AI Overviews in Google Search

The Register says AI Overviews can be avoided by adding a custom search engine at chrome://settings/searchEngines, using the URL {google:baseURL}/search?udm=14&q=%s. That search engine shows the Web tab and also drops images, videos and answer boxes. Using it means accepting those losses along with the removal of AI Overviews.

What Stays On in Chrome

The sources do not say whether Chrome's on-device model can be removed. They do not say whether Chrome's AI settings persist across updates either. The Register warns that its flag steps depend on Chrome's experimental flags page, whose names may change. The sources also do not cover managed Chrome installs or older builds. Google says Gemini in Chrome is not available in Incognito mode, so that private window is one place the feature does not appear.

Firefox vs Chrome: Where the Off Switches Differ

Firefox's off switch is one toggle. Chrome's is a set of separate controls spread across several settings pages and, for one entry point, experimental flags. Four differences come out of the sources.

• Master switch: Firefox has a single toggle that blocks all of its AI features. The sources show no equivalent in Chrome.
• Persistence: Mozilla says Firefox preferences stay in place across updates. The sources do not say the same about Chrome.
• Flags: The sources describe no flags step for Firefox. Chrome's AI Mode entry in the address bar depends on chrome://flags.
• AI Overviews: Neither browser's choice removes AI Overviews by itself. The Register's workaround is a search engine setting.

The practical difference is the number of places to visit. The sources name five Chrome pages: the Gemini settings page, the writing help page, the history search page, the flags page and the search engines page. Menu names in either browser can change between versions, so the more places you set, the more places you may need to look again after an update.

Head-to-Head Comparison Table

The table lists each criterion the sources answer. Where a source is silent, the cell says so instead of filling the gap.

Source Licence of Each Browser's Code

Mozilla publishes Firefox's source under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. That is a copyleft licence. Anyone may use, change and share the covered code, provided distributed source files, including modifications, remain under the licence and recipients can obtain that source.

Ban the Bots has not verified the licence status of every component of either browser, so this page does not call Firefox entirely open source. The sources here state no licence for Chrome.

The licence governs what you may do with the code. It does not say which AI features ship in a given build, so it does not change the off-switch steps above.

Who Should Pick Which Browser

Pick Firefox if you want one switch that blocks its AI features and stays set across updates. Chrome is workable if you accept turning off several separate controls and re-checking them after updates.

Ban the Bots' own reading of the sources: Firefox's off switch is one toggle in one settings section that persists across updates. Chrome's is spread over several settings pages and, for some entry points, experimental flags. Menu names in either browser can change between versions, and the sources here cannot tell you which names your build uses.

This page does not name a winner. A reader who needs AI Overviews gone from Google Search gets no full answer from either browser choice alone, and the search engine workaround trades away images, videos and answer boxes. A reader who wants Gemini in Chrome is not choosing between two switches. They are choosing Chrome, and the rollout requirements above apply to them.

The verdict would change in three cases. If Google documents a full switch that disables Gemini in Chrome, the Chrome side changes. If Chrome's settings pages gain a single block switch, the master-switch difference goes away. If Firefox's preference stopped holding across updates, the Firefox side would change. None of those changes appears in the sources this page uses. If you want one switch, start with the Firefox steps above.

FAQ

Is Firefox better than Chrome for avoiding AI?

Firefox has one toggle that blocks its AI features, and Mozilla says the setting stays in place across updates. Chrome has no single switch in the sources, and its controls sit on several pages. Whether Firefox fits better depends on whether one switch matters more to you than using Chrome.

Can I turn off Gemini in Chrome completely?

The sources do not show a full switch. Google's help page covers hiding or unpinning Gemini, and The Register says unpinning does not disable the keyboard shortcut. The Register lists the toggles on chrome://settings/ai/gemini to turn off. Google also says Gemini in Chrome is not available in Incognito mode.

Does Firefox have AI?

Yes. Mozilla's post lists five individual AI controls at launch: Translations, Alt text in PDFs, AI-enhanced tab grouping, Link previews and an AI chatbot in the sidebar. Mozilla describes the AI controls section as covering current and future generative AI features.

How do I turn off AI in Firefox?

Open the AI controls section in Firefox's desktop settings, which starts with Firefox 148, and turn on "Block AI enhancements." Mozilla says this blocks all of Firefox's AI features and that the preference stays in place across updates. The full steps are in the Firefox section above.

Does turning off AI in Chrome remove AI Overviews?

No. Neither browser's choice removes AI Overviews from Google Search by itself. The Register describes a custom search engine at chrome://settings/searchEngines that avoids AI Overviews, and that search engine also drops images, videos and answer boxes.

Related Guides

• Browsers without AI, for readers comparing more than these two browsers.
• Chrome alternatives, for other browsers to set against Chrome.
• Brave vs Firefox, for adjacent ground on Firefox.
• How to turn off Gemini in Chrome, for the Gemini steps on their own.
• How to turn off AI Overviews, for the Google Search side.
• Search engines without AI, for alternatives to Google Search.
• Zen browser review, for one browser on its own.

Sources

• Mozilla, blog post on AI controls in Firefox, 2 February 2026: blog.mozilla.org/en/firefox/ai-controls/
• Google, Gemini in Chrome help page: support.google.com/chrome/answer/16283624
• Avram Piltch, The Register, 26 December 2025: theregister.com/2025/12/26/disable_ai_features_chrome/
• Mozilla Public License 2.0: mozilla.org/en-US/MPL/2.0/