Kill the Gemini pop-ups in Google Docs

Open a fresh Google Doc lately and you’ve probably met it: a box inviting you to “write with Gemini,” parked on your screen with no obvious off switch. A TechCrunch AI writer hit the same wall and went digging for a fix, and the steps below come straight from that reporting. The short version is that you can shut these prompts down in a couple of minutes, and you can stop them across your whole Google Workspace if you want to go further.

Why bother? AI suggestions that hover while you write break concentration, and Google doesn’t make the off switch easy to find. Here’s how to take back your blank page.

Quick Start

What you’ll learn: how to remove the Gemini bottom bar in Google Docs, and how to disable “smart features” across Gmail and Workspace so the pop-ups don’t come back.

What you need: a Google account, and access to both Google Docs and Gmail in your browser.

Fix 1: Turn off the bottom bar in Google Docs

This is the fastest fix and kills the AI box at the bottom of your document.

1. Click “Gemini” on the top menu bar above your document.
2. On the drop-down menu, select “bottom bar preferences.”
3. Choose to turn off the bottom bar. That removes the AI box at the bottom of your screen.

One warning from TechCrunch AI’s experience: don’t try to argue with the assistant. The writer clicked “Ask something else” and asked Gemini to remove itself, and Gemini suggested clicking the “X” icon. That doesn’t disable anything. It just closes the conversation. Skip the chatbot and use the preferences menu instead.

Fix 2: Disable smart features across all of Google Workspace

The bottom bar isn’t the only AI feature floating around. Some users report a “help me write” prompt that hovers over the cursor as they type. Rather than chasing each one like whack-a-mole, you can switch them off in one place through Gmail settings. As TechCrunch AI puts it, an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure.

1. Go to your Gmail inbox.
2. Find the gear icon for Settings and click it.
3. At the top of the menu, click “See all settings.”
4. Scroll about halfway down the page to “Google Workspace smart features,” then click “Manage Workspace smart feature settings.”
5. You’ll see two toggles. The first controls smart features in Google Workspace, including the Gemini pop-ups in Google Docs. The second covers other smart features, like Gmail auto-creating calendar events for your flights.

The TechCrunch AI writer only switched off the first toggle, since the second set of features felt less intrusive. Your call. If Gmail building calendar events from your email bugs you, that second toggle is where you’d stop it.

Once the first option is off, the Gemini prompts that interrupt your writing in Google Docs should be gone.

Why this matters

This is a small fix with a bigger story behind it. Google, like most of the big platforms, is pushing AI into tools people already use every day, often switched on by default and buried behind menus that aren’t obvious. Knowing where the controls live is becoming a basic part of using these products on your terms.

Next steps

• Check the second Gmail toggle and decide whether you want to keep features like automatic flight events.
• Look at the same smart-feature settings in other Google apps you use, since defaults can reset after updates.
• Revisit these menus after major Workspace updates. Vendors sometimes reintroduce features or move the controls, so it’s worth a quick check now and then.

For the full walkthrough and screenshots, head to the original guide at TechCrunch AI.