Turn off Gemini in Google Docs: quick steps to remove AI pop-ups

Google Docs can show a persistent assistant box inviting you to "write with Gemini." You can remove that bottom AI box from within Docs by clicking the Gemini menu, choosing bottom bar preferences, and turning off the bottom bar. If you prefer an account-wide fix, you can also toggle off Google Workspace smart features from Gmail settings.

How do you turn off Gemini in Google Docs?

Click the Gemini option on the top menu bar, choose "bottom bar preferences," and switch off the bottom bar to remove the AI box at the bottom of your document. That sequence is the direct way to eliminate the intrusive assistant UI that appears while you write.

Open any Google Doc, look to the top menu where the label Gemini appears, and click it. In the drop-down, select "bottom bar preferences." The setting presented lets you disable the bottom bar, which gets rid of the on-screen AI box. The article’s author describes missing this control at first and accidentally using the assistant’s own "Ask something else" prompt, which only closed the conversation and did not remove the assistant itself.

How do you disable smart features across Google Workspace?

From Gmail, open Settings (gear icon) then "See all settings," scroll to "Google Workspace smart features," and click "Manage Workspace smart feature settings" to toggle off the Workspace-level smart features that enable some in-Docs AI behavior. This is the broader, account-level switch that prevents Docs from showing certain assistant pop-ups.

Start in your Gmail inbox and click the gear icon for Settings. At the top of that menu choose "See all settings." About halfway down the settings page you will find "Google Workspace smart features." Clicking "Manage Workspace smart feature settings" presents two options: one controls smart features in Google Workspace (the one that suppresses Gemini pop-ups in Docs), and the other applies to additional smart features such as automated calendar events. The author says she toggled off only the first option to stop the in-Docs interruptions.

Why it matters

Writers and people who use Docs for focused work lose time and concentration when an assistant UI appears unbidden; a visible on-screen assistant can interrupt typing and push users into menus they did not ask for. The two-tier control model means Google lets users silence the assistant locally in a document or at the account level via Gmail settings, but the less discoverable placement of the Doc control can cause frustration, as the author experienced.

The article also notes that other users have reported related behaviors, such as a "help me write" feature that can hover over the cursor. Those reports suggest multiple assistant touchpoints across Docs that may require a combination of local and Workspace-level settings to manage.

What to watch

Watch for whether Google moves the Docs control to a more visible spot or adds clearer, single-click toggles, and keep an eye on reports of floating features like "help me write" that may need separate controls. The author’s account is dated June 18, and it captures one user-facing path for turning off the assistant today.