Bing users who would rather skip the AI answers now have two official ways to do it, according to a new post on Microsoft's Bing Search Blog. The first is the Microsoft Bing AI Search Choice extension for Chrome and Edge, which adds a single toggle for AI-generated answers that applies to every Bing search. The second needs no install: adding "-ai" to the end of a query removes the AI answer for that one search. Microsoft says its research shows users want "to choose whether or not AI is involved in every session," though it hasn't published that research.

Installing the extension also makes Bing the browser's default search engine, and there doesn't seem to be a way to get one without the other, so it looks like a play for Chrome users as well. It's also still labeled a preview, and it isn't new, since Microsoft's head of search, Jordi Ribas, first announced it back in June. Bing doesn't appear to have a matching switch in its own settings either, so anyone on another browser has to type the operator every time.Microsoft has been scaling back AI in other places too, having recently removed eight Copilot actions from File Explorer and dropped the Copilot+ branding from its newest Surface PCs. The Bing push hasn't slowed, though, with the Bing Wallpaper app recently caught redirecting desktop clicks to Bing.com. Google still gives users no way to switch off AI Overviews, so Bing is at least offering a choice, strings and all.