Every time you make a Google search now, the first thing you see is an AI Overview.

It’s clean. Precise. Summarised like a school topper’s notes.
Most times, your search ends right there.

But scroll a bit further, and the old-school search results—the familiar list of blue links—are still there. Like a ritual, they follow the AI answer.
A digital safety net, maybe? Or a quiet redundancy?

Here’s the real question though:
Have you ever wondered what this new AI Overview is costing us?

I did.
So I asked Google—quite literally—“What is the carbon footprint of the AI Overview result of a Google search?”

Google’s response?

“Estimates suggest it’s significantly higher than a traditional search, potentially consuming 10 to 30 times more energy.”

Let that sink in.
A single AI-generated answer might emit 4.32 grams of CO₂, while a regular Google search emits just 0.2 grams.
That’s a 21x jump—for a cleaner-looking answer.

Now, multiply that by the billions of searches happening every day.
Suddenly, your convenience comes with a planetary surcharge.

And here’s what bugs me the most:
I never asked for it.
You didn’t either.
Google doesn’t ask if you want the AI Overview. It just assumes you do.
There’s no opt-out. No toggle. No “Would you prefer a traditional search instead?”

Why not?
Because somewhere along the way, our search engine became an answer engine.
And in that shift, we lost choice.

This is not a luddite’s lament about AI taking over.
This is about designing smarter digital experiences—ones that consider climate consequences and user agency together.

Let’s pause for a moment.
If an AI Overview is enough to answer my question, then why also run the traditional search result stack below?
Why double the computing effort, double the data retrieval, and double the emissions?

Isn’t that the opposite of efficiency?

I’m not saying shut down AI responses. For complex queries, they’re a boon.
But for something like “Best chhole bhature in Delhi” or “Weather in Lucknow tomorrow”?
A list of links—or a quick Google card—would’ve done just fine.

What I’m proposing is simple:
Give users a choice.
A small toggle: “AI Overview” or “Classic Search.”

Just like we choose between light mode and dark mode.
Just like we skip ads or select subtitles.
Why not choose how our information is served—especially when the environmental stakes are this high?

Google has always positioned itself as a sustainability leader—carbon-neutral since 2007, aiming for net-zero by 2030.
But sustainability isn’t just about offsets. It’s also about defaults.

And if your default setting is an energy-hungry AI model running billions of times a day, that’s not neutrality. That’s digital indulgence.

The future of search should be smart, ethical, and user-aware.
In a time when even our swipes and clicks leave a footprint, the least we deserve is the right to choose how heavy it is.

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Views expressed above are the author's own.

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