Google Trick Skims Off The AI Stuff It’s Been Filling Your Searches With Lately
Photo 215264858 © Vadim Rodin | Dreamstime.com
Not a day goes by that you won’t cross paths with artificial intelligence, what with how it’s built to supercharge every boring task. Even Google, whose search engine has been a mainstay of everyone’s day-to-day routine, has been swept into this whirlwind.
For those yearning for a more straightforward search experience evoking the good old days, here’s a neat trick: by adding a simple URL parameter, ‘&udm=14’, you can unofficially turn off the tech giant’s AI tools and get back to basics. This action strips away AI-driven features and personalized results that now dominate the platform.
In essence, the parameter tells Google to bypass its personalization algorithms entirely for a broader range of results.
Adding the "&udm=14" parameter to a Google Search removes all the extra's and turns it into a oldschool search with basic text results. (See example, left = normal right = udm=14) pic.twitter.com/jZIQ1Evfy4
— Rick Dronkers (@RickDronkers) May 21, 2024
Currently, Google’s interface doesn’t provide an immediate way to toggle on web search mode as the default, but by appending ‘&udm=14’ to the end of a regular search URL, you can revisit the clean, familiar interface of yore.
Another workaround is the head to a proxy site like udm14.com, which redirects to the simplified web results. However, be cautious; using a proxy site means your query is exposed in the address, so it’s important to trust the site.
It’s alive. https://t.co/agSRj3f4hZ pic.twitter.com/fJAotPfpex
— Ernie Smith is @[email protected] (@ShortFormErnie) May 22, 2024
Take note that removing personalization means sacrificing some convenient features. Knowledge panels, weather snippets, and on-the-fly unit conversions won’t appear with ‘&udm=14’. But if you’re all about dumbed-down tech, these bells and whistles probably won’t matter.
[via Ars Technica and Boing Boing, images via various sources]
