How to remove “Top stories” from Google Search

Updated November 2026

You search for one thing and Google puts a row of headlines above the answer. There is no setting that turns the block off, but there are three ways around it.

1. The “Web” filter

Under the search box, open “More” and choose “Web”. Google then shows plain links only: no Top stories, no video carousel, no AI summary. You have to choose it again for every search.

2. Make “Web” the default with udm=14

The Web filter is the address parameter udm=14. In Chrome, open chrome://settings/searchEngines, add a search engine with the address below and make it the default:

https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14

Every search from the address bar now opens in Web mode. You lose the useful extras too: maps, the calculator, quick answers.

3. Hide only the news

Smart Block is a free Chrome extension that removes just the news parts and leaves the rest of the results page as it was:

• the “Top stories” block in results;
• the News tab under the search box;
• news.google.com, which goes to the regular Google home page instead.

Looking for the news feed on your phone’s home screen or in the Google app? That is Google Discover, a different feature. It is switched off in the Google app settings, not in the browser.