If you’re like me, sometimes you just need a break from your browser shoving AI in your face. Firefox understands and is giving all of us an opt-out method. Firefox AI Controls now let you remove all AI features easily.
Access Firefox AI Controls
Firefox first introduced AI Controls as part of the browser’s settings in early 2026. With the release of Firefox 148, everyone has an effective AI off switch in the browser. No complicated settings or relying on third-party extensions or tools.
All users should have the controls by the end of February 2026. So, if you don’t see them just yet, they’re coming. I was lucky enough to be one of the first round of Firefox users to get the update. And yes, I immediately used them to turn off AI in Firefox, especially after Firefox’s history with CPU spikes due to AI.
To access the AI Controls, ensure you’re updated to the latest version of Firefox and then open the Firefox menu and click Settings. Click AI Controls on the left.
The first stop on my journey to remove AI from Firefox was to block the browser from pushing new AI features. Under AI Controls in Firefox’s settings, toggle Block AI enhancements.
This stops new AI features from being included in updates, and it gets rid of pop-ups recommending you add them. It’s a simple control, but I’m glad Firefox thought to include it.
Remove Firefox On-Device AI
Firefox attempts to protect your privacy by processing some AI features on your device. While I appreciate putting privacy first, if I’m not using the features, why have them on my device at all?
Firefox AI Controls includes a section called On-device AI. This includes translations, alt text in PDF viewer, tab group suggestions, and key points in link previews.
In the AI Controls settings, toggle each setting under this section to Blocked. Just use the drop-down box beside each setting to change it.
Please be aware if you’ve used these features before, your device already downloaded the AI models necessary to use them. Blocking these delete the models from your device.
Previously, the Firefox Nightly browser offered a way to remove these, but now, you can remove these features in the regular Firefox browser.
Block AI Chatbots in Firefox
Firefox lets you choose between multiple AI chatbots to use as you browse. It’s a handy feature if you want it, but if you don’t, block it using Firefox’s AI Controls. Personally, if I want to use an AI chatbot, I’ll just open the chatbot’s site.
Under AI Controls in settings, scroll down to AI chatbot providers in sidebar. Use the drop-down box to select Blocked. This removes the AI chatbot button from the sidebar when you open Firefox again.
Manually Disable AI in Firefox
If you can’t update Firefox for any reason, but still want to get rid of the AI features, you do have a few more options.
If you don’t mind using an open-source tool, remove AI features from Firefox, Edge, Chrome, and Chromium-based browsers using a free script. It only takes a few minutes. The downside is if the browser policy changes, the script might not work correctly or at all.
Firefox lets you adjust configurations manually, as long as you know which options to look for. Technically, you can just disable one option to disable all other AI features, but Mozilla has acknowledged this doesn’t always work, so it’s best to disable all options manually.
Open Firefox and go to about:config. Click Accept the Risk and Continue. This is just to warn you changing configuration options will change how Firefox works.
Disable options by clicking the toggle switch to the right of each option and setting it to False. Search for and disable each of the following:
- browser.ml.enable – The AI kill switch, but doesn’t always disable everything as it should. If you want to keep some AI features, don’t disable this one.
- browser.ml.chat.enabled – Remove chatbot functionality from Firefox. You must disable this one for the other chat-based configurations to disable correctly.
- browser.ml.pageAssist.enabled – Turns off AI page summarizer.
- extensions.ml.enabled – Prevents extensions from accessing any Firefox AI controls.
- browser.ml.chat.menu – Removes the right-click menu option to chat about this.
- browser.ml.chat.page – Disables chat menu.
- browser.ml.chat.sidebar – Removes the AI chat from the sidebar.
- browser.ml.chat.page.footerBadge – Disables the floating page in the footer.
- browser.ml.chat.page.menuBadge – Gets rid of the Ask AI badge.
- browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled – Disables AI generated link previews.
- browser.tabs.groups.smart.enabled – Eliminates smart tab groups powered by AI.
If you only want to get rid of certain features, just disable the ones you want.
Another option is to create a user.js file that contains the above preferences, or the preferences you want to change. Open a plain text editor, such as Notepad, and enter each option in the following format:
user_pref("option", false);Replace option with one of the preferences listed above. For instance, for the AI kill switch preference, your line would user_pref("browser.ml.enable", false);
Enter each option on a separate line. Then, save the file as “user.js”. It must have that exact name and file extension.
Then, open Firefox and enter about:support in the address bar. Scroll down to Profile Folder and click Open. Copy and paste the user.js file into this folder. Restart Firefox for your changes to take effect.
If you ever want the AI features back, just remove the user.js file from this folder.
Whether you use Firefox AI Controls or the manual method, you have control over AI features in your browser. Now, customize your new tab page with a fun background image. Or, see how to integrate Firefox Focus into Safari for a more secure experience on iOS. You can even remove all the AI from Windows while you’re at it.
