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Google Docs has three different suggestion systems that are often confused: Smart Compose adds inline writing completions, Smart Reply proposes replies to comments, and smart chips appear when you type @. To disable the first two, open Tools > Preferences, clear the appropriate checkboxes, and select OK. Google’s documented smart-chip instructions do not include a general switch for turning off the @ suggestions; a second @ can dismiss the popup, but that is an unofficial community workaround rather than a supported setting.
Identify which Google Docs prompt you want to stop
The fix depends on where the prompt appears. Use this distinction before changing a setting:
| What you see | Feature | Documented control | What happens when disabled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faint text completing a sentence while you type | Smart Compose | Yes: Tools > Preferences > Show Smart Compose suggestions | Inline Smart Compose suggestions stop in the document and in comments. |
| Suggested responses beneath a comment | Smart Reply | Yes: Tools > Preferences > Show Smart Reply suggestions | Suggested comment replies stop appearing. |
A menu that opens after entering @ |
Smart chips insertion menu | No general off switch is documented in Google’s computer help | The @ menu can still open; an unofficial dismissal workaround may close it. |
Smart Compose and Smart Reply are separate preferences. You can turn off one while leaving the other enabled. Neither checkbox is the documented control for the @-triggered chip menu.
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Use the location of the prompt as a quick test
Place the cursor in an ordinary paragraph and type a few words. If a lighter completion appears directly ahead of the cursor, you are seeing Smart Compose. Open a comment thread and look underneath the reply box. Short suggested responses there indicate Smart Reply. Finally, type @ in a document. A list that offers people, files, dates, events, or places is the smart-chip insertion menu. These tests keep you from clearing a preference that controls a different part of Docs.
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Turn off Smart Compose suggestions
Smart Compose displays machine-generated completions as you write. It is the feature responsible for text that appears ahead of your cursor or offers a possible ending to the sentence. Google says that clearing its preference also suppresses Smart Compose suggestions in comments.
Computer instructions
- Open the Google Docs file in a desktop browser.
- On the top menu, select Tools.
- Choose Preferences.
- Clear Show Smart Compose suggestions.
- Select OK to save the change.
Return to the document and type a new sentence to check the result. Existing text is not rewritten or removed; the preference controls whether new Smart Compose prompts are shown. You can leave the dialog with Smart Reply enabled if you still want suggested responses in comment threads.
What this setting changes
- Inline Smart Compose completions no longer appear in the main editing area.
- Smart Compose suggestions in comments are also suppressed, according to Google’s help.
- The change does not disable smart chips, comment notifications, spelling tools, or other Docs features.
- It affects the preference for the account and Docs environment in which you changed it, not the wording already entered by you or collaborators.
To restore the feature later, return to the same dialog, select Show Smart Compose suggestions, and choose OK. Re-enabling it does not create or alter document text by itself; it only allows new completions to be offered while you type.
Turn off Smart Reply suggestions in comments
Smart Reply is separate from Smart Compose. It presents short, suggested responses when you are replying to a comment. If your problem is suggested replies under comments rather than faint text in the document, change this preference instead.
Computer instructions
- Open a Google Docs document.
- Select Tools from the menu bar.
- Select Preferences.
- Clear Show Smart Reply suggestions.
- Select OK.
Smart Reply suggestions should no longer be offered beneath comments. This setting does not affect the @ menu and does not remove existing comments or replies. Other collaborators can continue to see or use their own suggestions according to their settings.
Smart Compose versus Smart Reply
Both features use machine-learning systems, but they operate in different places. Smart Compose helps formulate text as you type. Smart Reply proposes a response after someone comments. Because the checkboxes are independent, clear both if you want to remove both kinds of writing assistance.
Google describes these systems as suggestions rather than authoritative answers and cautions that generated text may not always be factually correct. Turning off one or both can therefore be a preference for concentration, predictable wording, or a review process that requires every sentence and reply to be written deliberately.
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Can you turn off the smart-chip menu opened by @?
Google’s computer help explains that typing @ in a document opens suggestions. You can then type letters, numbers, or symbols to narrow the list. The menu can offer people, Docs, Sheets, and Slides files, dates, Calendar events, and places.
The same documented instructions do not provide a general preference for disabling that @-triggered menu. That means the absence of a checkbox is significant: the documented Smart Compose and Smart Reply switches are not chip controls, and changing them will not stop the @ menu from appearing.
This is a statement about Google’s published instructions, not proof that no account-specific, administrator, or future control could exist. Google may change the interface, and Workspace features can vary by account or rollout. If a new chip-related preference appears in your copy of Docs, its label and behavior should take precedence over older instructions.
Why the menu appears
The at-sign starts an insertion flow, not a writing-completion flow. Docs treats the character as an invitation to find a person, a file, a date, an event, or a place. Continue typing letters, numbers, or symbols to narrow the list, or select an item to insert its contextual chip. This explains why clearing Smart Compose does not change the menu: the two systems are triggered by different actions and have separate documented behavior.
Workarounds for dismissing @ suggestions
Type a second @
A Google Docs Community Product Expert has suggested typing a second @ to dismiss the suggestions. This is a community workaround, not a setting documented in Google’s product help. Community pages warn that answers may not be verified or current, so treat the method as optional and test it in your own document.
Use the space-and-delete workaround
The same community answer describes another variation: enter a space and then delete it to move past the popup. It may be useful when the first method does not behave as expected, but it is not guaranteed across browsers, accounts, or interface versions.
Why these workarounds are limited
- They dismiss a particular popup; they do not disable chip insertion globally.
- They do not change the Tools > Preferences settings for Smart Compose or Smart Reply.
- A future Docs update could change how the keyboard sequence behaves.
- They may be inconvenient when you intentionally need an at-sign in ordinary text.
If you regularly insert email addresses, handles, or other text beginning with @, verify that the workaround leaves the intended characters in the document. If it does not, undo the last action and use the at-sign only after the text around it is complete.
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Understand what smart chips do
Smart chips are contextual items embedded in document text. A person chip can expose contact actions, a file chip can open the linked file, a Calendar event chip can open event details, and a place chip can expose map-related actions. The chip is more than decorative text: selecting it can reveal information or actions associated with the item.
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Smart-chip examples and their effects
- People: a people chip can expose a contact action, including opening a Gmail compose tab.
- Files: a Docs, Sheets, or Slides chip can open the linked file.
- Calendar events: an event chip can open event information.
- Places: a place chip can expose actions associated with Maps.
These actions are why a chip may be useful in a project document, even when the insertion popup is distracting. Dismissing the popup does not remove chips already inserted, and disabling a writing suggestion does not change what an existing chip can do when selected.
Do not confuse chips with Smart Fill
Smart Fill is a Google Sheets feature. It is not a Google Docs setting and is not a fix for Docs’ @ suggestions. Changing Sheets suggestion controls will not alter the behavior of a Google Docs document.
Choose the right setting quickly
- Prompt appears as you type normal sentences: clear Show Smart Compose suggestions.
- Prompt appears below a comment as a possible response: clear Show Smart Reply suggestions.
- Menu appears immediately after
@: there is no general off switch in the cited Google computer help; try the community dismissal workaround if needed. - You see more than one kind of prompt: clear both writing-suggestion checkboxes, then handle the
@menu separately.
A practical decision sequence
First identify the trigger, then change only the matching preference. If the trigger is ordinary typing, test Smart Compose in a fresh sentence. If it is a comment reply, test inside a comment thread. If it is @, do not spend time toggling the two writing controls: they are unrelated to chip insertion. This sequence also makes troubleshooting clearer because each test has one expected result.
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Google describes Smart Compose as available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French for work or school accounts. Google states that Smart Reply is available in English for Google Docs and Slides. Availability can differ by account, organization settings, language, and staged rollout.
If a checkbox is missing, first confirm that you are using Google Docs on a computer and that you opened the document’s Tools > Preferences dialog rather than a browser or operating-system settings panel. An account may not have the feature enabled, or the interface may use a slightly different label.
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Google also cautions that these are machine-learning features and that their suggestions may not always be factually correct. Turning them off is reasonable when you need predictable typing, want to reduce distractions, or do not want generated wording shown while composing.
Troubleshoot when suggestions keep appearing
The checkbox was cleared but suggestions remain
- Confirm that you selected OK after clearing the setting.
- Check that you changed the setting in the same Google account and browser profile used for the document.
- Reload the document and test with newly typed text.
- Determine whether the remaining prompt is Smart Reply or a chip menu rather than Smart Compose.
- Repeat the location test: ordinary paragraph, comment reply, and an at-sign each correspond to a different system.
Smart Compose is gone, but comment prompts remain
Smart Compose and Smart Reply are independent. Reopen Tools > Preferences and clear Show Smart Reply suggestions as well. Disabling Smart Compose alone does not remove suggested replies beneath comments.
The @ menu still opens
That is expected under the documented behavior. The Smart Compose and Smart Reply checkboxes do not control chip insertion. Use the second-@ or space-and-delete workaround only as an unofficial dismissal method, and do not treat it as a permanent account setting.
The menu looks different from the instructions
Google can change menu labels and feature availability. Look for the document-level Tools menu and a Preferences item. If your organization manages Docs, an administrator policy or staged rollout may also affect what appears.
A collaborator still sees prompts
Suggestion preferences are not a document-wide formatting command. Another collaborator may have Smart Compose or Smart Reply enabled in their own account, and anyone with editing access can still insert a chip. Your changes do not erase chips or impose your preference on everyone else in the file.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Accessibility considerations
Google’s screen-reader guidance explains that chips can expose contextual information and actions. For example, a people chip can open a Gmail compose tab, a file chip can open the file, a Calendar event chip can open the event, and a place chip can expose map actions. The guidance also describes keyboard navigation for chip popups.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThese accessibility instructions explain how to interact with chips; they do not establish a setting that disables the @ suggestions. If the popup interrupts keyboard or screen-reader work, the documented Smart Compose and Smart Reply controls can remove their respective prompts, while the community dismissal sequence may help with an individual chip popup.
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When testing a workaround with assistive technology, listen for whether the focus returns to the document and confirm that the intended at-sign or following text remains present. Because the sequence is not a supported preference, behavior can differ between accounts and interface versions.
What turning these features off does not do
- It does not delete smart chips that are already in a document.
- It does not remove comments, replies, linked files, people, dates, events, or places.
- It does not disable spelling or grammar assistance unless those features have their own controls.
- It does not prevent another collaborator from inserting a chip or seeing suggestions under their own account settings.
- It does not guarantee that every Google Workspace account will show identical menus or feature availability.
- It does not convert an existing chip into plain text or break its link to a file, person, event, or place.
Practical recommendation
Start with the exact prompt you want to remove. For inline completions, clear Smart Compose. For suggested comment responses, clear Smart Reply. If the interruption follows @, Google’s cited computer instructions do not document a global disable switch; dismiss the popup with the community workaround when necessary and continue typing. Keeping this distinction prevents you from changing the wrong preference and explains why chip suggestions may remain after both writing-suggestion checkboxes are cleared.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I turn off Smart Compose in Google Docs?
Open the document on a computer, choose Tools > Preferences, clear Show Smart Compose suggestions, and select OK. Google says this also suppresses Smart Compose suggestions in comments.
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In Tools > Preferences, clear Show Smart Reply suggestions and select OK. Smart Reply has its own checkbox, separate from Smart Compose.
Can I permanently disable the menu that appears after typing @?
Google’s computer help explains the @ menu but does not document a general preference for turning it off. A community Product Expert suggests typing a second @, or using a space-and-delete sequence, to dismiss an individual popup. These are unofficial workarounds, not guaranteed settings.
Will turning off Smart Compose remove smart chips already in my document?
No. Smart Compose controls inline writing suggestions. Existing chips, comments, links, people, dates, events, and places remain in the document.
Why can’t I find the Smart Compose or Smart Reply checkbox?
Availability depends on account, language, organization settings, and rollout. Confirm that you are using Google Docs on a computer and opened the document’s Tools > Preferences dialog. Smart Compose is described for English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French work or school accounts; Smart Reply is described as available in English for Docs and Slides.
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Is Smart Fill the same as smart chips?
No. Smart Fill is a Google Sheets feature. It is not a Google Docs control and will not change the @-triggered chip menu.
The Bottom Line
Use Tools > Preferences to turn off Smart Compose, Smart Reply, or both. The documented Google Docs help does not provide a general switch for the smart-chip menu opened by @; only unofficial dismissal workarounds are described for that popup.
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