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I don't want to try now Ask with AI. Is there a way, without using ad-blockers / user style / user scripts, to avoid having the pop-up shown every time I open Stack Overflow?

Ask with AI pop-up

  • Sidebar element text
    • Ask with AI
  • Pop-up text

    New: find answers more quickly with the help of AI. Try it now

I have been working on adapting an open-source demo to my needs. I have found hacky solutions to several of the problems I'm facing, but I want to understand why the hacky solution works and how to implement something elegant, so I'm openening Stack Overflow questions by using different "normal" methods:

  • Clicking a link on Google search results
  • Opening a new tab by clicking a link on Stack Overflow pages.
  • etc.

Today, Sunday, March 31, 2024, every time that I open https://stackoverflow.com, an emerging / temporary UI element shows, pointing to the sidebar option Ask with AI. This is very disruptive to my workflow.

I'm using Mac Mini M1, with Chrome and Safari. All are up to date.

I already clicked the Close (X) button in the pop-up.

I'm using Node.js in Visual Studio Code to host websites and run web apps at localhost. To "reset" the end user experience, when needed, I clear the localhost cookies and logout of Stack Overflow as I'm "playing" with the Stack Exchange API GET /me end-point.

From the comments

If the answer is "there is no way for end-users to solve this without a hack", it's fine. Also, if the answer is to disable JavaScript or something more elegant than using an extension and userscript.

One of the reasons that I'm trying to avoid extensions is that they might make it more complex to debug the stuff I'm working on (web apps). I'm open to using a different web browser or a specific user profile for research / using Stack Overflow.

7
  • 2
    This is a bug which was previously fixed: meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/427062/… you might want to change the support tag to the bug tag. Commented Mar 31, 2024 at 23:28
  • I'm not sure how many people even get this lab to try out. I do not. Maybe you should click the try it out button and see if it stays afterwards. Commented Mar 31, 2024 at 23:49
  • 8
    @Lamper46 New instances of old, fixed bugs are not duplicates Commented Apr 1, 2024 at 0:28
  • 2
    Until they fix this again, it doesn't seem to appear if you make the sidebar collapsed by default (settings - preferences - something with sidebar), but that may be undesirable if not collapsing it by default was an intentional preferance. Still a hack, but it at least doesn't require external tools Commented Apr 1, 2024 at 1:12
  • 1
    1st of April prank gone wrong? Commented Apr 1, 2024 at 15:36
  • 1
    @anatolyg no, there's no prank this year: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/398249/… Commented Apr 1, 2024 at 16:49
  • 1
    I've marked this as status-declined for now because the OverflowAI Search alpha has concluded on the Public Platform, therefore you should not be seeing the pop-up anymore. Commented Apr 23, 2024 at 22:39

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
10

If we consider that being annoyed by a pop-up is a problem, turning off Enable OverflowAI Search [Alpha] is a solution that end-users can implement without extensions and scripts.

Enable OverflowAI Search Alpha

Another solution might be to use a different "Stack Overflow client". I don't have a recommendation yet, but there are data dumps and the Stack Exchange API, among other possibilities.

I had turned on Enable OverflowAI Search [Alpha].

  1. Go to user account Settings > Preferences.
  2. In the section Labs > Enable OverflowAI Search [Alpha], click on the toggle button to turn it off.

Update

2024-04-05

After I disabled OverflowAI Search now I'm getting a banner. Despite that I have discarded it, it appears again.

New search experience powered by AI

New search experience powered by AI
Stack Overflow is leveraging AI to summarize the most relevant questions and answers from the community, with the option to ask follow-up questions in a conversational format.
Get early access

I discarted (clicked the Close (X) button) yesterday on my Mac Mini. Today, when opening Stack Overflow using Chrome on my Macbook Air, it appeared again.

-2

I think the only way to get rid of this is to logout of StackOverflow completely and just visit as a guest. OK it means you can no longer contribute anything but as they are replacing us all with robots I guess that doesn't matter any more.

1

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