How to Turn Off Galaxy AI on Samsung Phones (2026)

• What is Galaxy AI?
• Why turn off Galaxy AI?
• Turn off Galaxy AI everywhere at once
• Turn off Galaxy AI feature by feature
• What you lose when you turn it off
• Samsung vs. iPhone vs. Pixel: which is easiest to de-AI?
• What you can do next
• FAQ
• Conclusion

What is Galaxy AI?

Galaxy AI is Samsung's bundle of generative and on-device AI features built into recent Galaxy phones, spanning Circle to Search, Chat Assist, Note Assist, Photo Assist, Now Brief, Live Translate, and more. Samsung ships most of these features turned on by default the first time you set up a new Galaxy phone, and it groups them under one settings hub while still requiring you to switch several off individually.

The feature list has grown every year since the Galaxy S24 launch, and Samsung has continued expanding which models get which features, so a phone bought in 2026 likely carries more Galaxy AI tools than the same model did a year earlier. That expansion is exactly why "how do I turn this off" has become one of the most common Galaxy support questions.

Why turn off Galaxy AI?

People turn off Galaxy AI mainly for three reasons: they don't want their photos, messages, or voice recordings processed by cloud AI, they find the always-on suggestions and pop-ups distracting, or they simply never asked for the features and don't trust default-on settings they didn't choose. None of these reasons require you to give up your phone — Samsung, unlike some of the more locked-down "AI-free" phone options, lets you disable each Galaxy AI tool without replacing the device.

This matters beyond personal preference. As AI moves deeper into the tools people use for work, school, and job applications, more people are asking what they can actually opt out of on the devices they already own — see Ban the Bots' broader guide to phones without AI for the buying-decision version of this question. Turning off Galaxy AI is the fastest way to answer it if you already own a Samsung phone and don't want to buy a new one.

Turn off Galaxy AI everywhere at once

You can disable most Galaxy AI cloud processing in one step from the Galaxy AI settings hub, though a full opt-out still requires checking a few features individually. Start here before working through the feature-by-feature list below.

1. Open Settings and tap Galaxy AI (on some models this is under Advanced features → Intelligent features instead).
2. Scroll to "Process data only on device" and turn the switch on. This forces Galaxy AI to skip Samsung's servers for the features that support on-device processing, and it automatically turns off the AI tools that can only run in the cloud.
3. Restart your phone. Samsung's own support guidance says to restart after disabling AI features, since some toggles only fully apply after a reboot.

This one setting does not turn off every Galaxy AI feature — Circle to Search, for example, lives under a different menu entirely (see below) because it is a joint feature with Google, not a Samsung-only tool.

Turn off Galaxy AI feature by feature

Most individual Galaxy AI features turn off from inside the Galaxy AI settings page, but a few — Circle to Search chief among them — live in a different settings menu because of how they're built. Work through the ones you actually use.

Circle to Search

Circle to Search is a joint Samsung/Google feature, so it is not controlled from the Galaxy AI menu. To turn it off: open Settings → Apps → Choose default apps → Digital assistant app, then turn off "Analyze on-screen images." After this, holding the home button to circle an item on screen shows a message that Circle to Search is unavailable due to your settings, instead of running the search.

Chat Assist and Writing Assist

Chat Assist suggests message replies and rewrites tone in messaging apps. Go to Settings → Galaxy AI, find Chat Assist (sometimes listed as Writing Assist) in the feature list, and turn off its switch. Do this per app if the feature also appears inside individual apps like Samsung Messages or Samsung Keyboard.

Note Assist

Note Assist auto-summarizes and formats notes inside the Samsung Notes app. Turn it off from Settings → Galaxy AI → Note Assist, or from inside Samsung Notes itself under the app's own AI settings menu.

Photo Assist and generative editing

Photo Assist covers object removal, generative fill, and portrait effects in the Gallery app. Disable it from Settings → Galaxy AI → Photo Assist. Turning this off removes the generative-editing tools from the Gallery editor but does not affect ordinary cropping or filters, which aren't AI features.

Now Brief and Now Bar

Now Brief is the personalized daily summary Samsung shows on the lock screen; Now Bar is the always-on widget that feeds it. Go to Settings → Lock screen and AOD → Now Bar and turn off each toggle there, including the master Now Brief switch, to remove both from your lock screen.

Live Translate, Interpreter, and Browsing Assist

Live Translate (in-call translation) and Interpreter (real-time translation through Galaxy Buds) are Samsung's phone-call and voice translation tools, and Browsing Assist summarizes web pages inside the Samsung Internet app. All three are toggled from Settings → Galaxy AI, listed as their own entries — turn each off individually if you don't use them.

Audio Eraser

Audio Eraser removes background noise from recorded video. It shows up as an edit option inside the Gallery video editor rather than a persistent background process, so there's nothing to pre-disable — you simply don't tap the Audio Eraser button when editing a clip.

What you lose when you turn it off

Turning off Galaxy AI removes convenience features, not core phone functions — you keep calling, texting, the camera, and every non-AI setting. What you give up is specific: no more circle-and-search lookups, no auto-summarized notes or articles, no generative photo editing, and no personalized lock-screen briefing. If you travel internationally or take a lot of international calls, weigh Live Translate and Interpreter carefully before switching them off, since they're the features most likely to be missed day to day.

One thing to plan for: Samsung's toggles are per-feature, not permanent. A software update can occasionally reset settings or introduce a new Galaxy AI feature that ships on by default, so it's worth rechecking the Galaxy AI settings page after any major One UI update.

Samsung vs. iPhone vs. Pixel: which is easiest to de-AI?

All three major phone makers now bundle AI features by default, but they differ in how centralized the off-switches are. Samsung's Galaxy AI menu is the most centralized of the three, which makes it faster to audit even though a few features (like Circle to Search) still hide in unrelated menus.

Verdict: if your goal is the fewest menus to check, Samsung's single Galaxy AI hub is the fastest starting point of the three, even though you'll still need the two extra steps above (Circle to Search, Now Bar) to finish the job. See the full phones without AI buyer's guide if you're deciding between platforms rather than configuring one you already own.

What you can do next

If you're turning off Galaxy AI because you're rethinking how much AI touches your daily life more broadly, a few other Ban the Bots resources go further than phone settings. Read about where AI is showing up in hiring and job screening at /ai-layoffs/ and /ai-lawsuits/, and if you want to push for AI-free defaults at work or school rather than just your own phone, Ban the Bots has adaptable templates at /no-ai-policy-template/ and /human-made-policy-template/. For the wider context on why people are opting out of AI features by default, see /ai-backlash/ and /fighting-back/.

FAQ

How do I turn off Galaxy AI completely?

There is no single switch that removes every Galaxy AI feature. Turning on "Process data only on device" in Settings → Galaxy AI disables most cloud-based features at once, but Circle to Search (Settings → Apps → Choose default apps → Digital assistant app) and Now Brief/Now Bar (Settings → Lock screen and AOD → Now Bar) need to be turned off separately.

Why is Galaxy AI on by default on my Samsung phone?

Samsung ships most Galaxy AI features turned on during initial device setup, and expands which models get which features with each software update, so newer phones and recent updates often add tools you didn't specifically opt into.

Does turning off Galaxy AI save battery or data?

Yes, to a degree — disabling cloud-based Galaxy AI features (via "Process data only on device" or turning off individual tools like Live Translate and Browsing Assist) reduces the background network requests those features make, though Samsung does not publish an exact battery-savings figure.

Do I need to restart my phone after disabling Galaxy AI features?

Samsung's own support guidance recommends restarting your device after disabling AI features, since some toggles only take full effect after a reboot.

Is Circle to Search a Samsung feature or a Google feature?

Circle to Search is a joint feature built by Samsung and Google, which is why it's turned off from a different menu (Settings → Apps → Choose default apps → Digital assistant app) than the rest of Galaxy AI, which lives in its own Galaxy AI settings hub.

Will turning off Galaxy AI stop future updates from re-enabling it?

Not automatically — a major One UI update can introduce new Galaxy AI features that ship on by default, so it's worth rechecking the Galaxy AI settings page after any significant software update.

Conclusion

Turning off Galaxy AI on a Samsung phone is realistic and doesn't require a new device: one setting ("Process data only on device") handles most of it, and a short feature-by-feature pass through Circle to Search, Now Bar, and the individual Galaxy AI toggles closes the rest. If you'd rather start from a phone that ships without these defaults in the first place, Ban the Bots' phones without AI guide covers the buying-decision version of this same question.