The Intrusive Workspace Integration
Google Docs is evolving from a simple word processor into a hub for Google Workspace. A major part of this evolution is the “Smart Chips” feature. When you type the @ symbol, Google Docs immediately interrupts your typing to display a large, interactive dropdown menu. It searches your Google Contacts, your Google Drive files, and your calendar events, suggesting that you insert a “Smart Chip”—a clickable, rich-text bubble that links directly to the person or document.
While this is an excellent feature for project managers building collaborative agendas, it is incredibly intrusive for standard writing. If you are writing a technical manual that requires the use of the @ symbol for code syntax, drafting a screenplay, or simply typing out an email address or Twitter handle within a paragraph, the constant appearance of the Smart Chip search menu breaks your concentration and forces you to dismiss the popup before you can continue typing. To reclaim your writing environment, you must disable this automated search.
How to Stop Automatic Smart Chips
You can turn off the @ menu trigger via the Preferences menu.
- Open a document in Google Docs.
- Look at the top toolbar and click on Tools.
- Select Preferences from the dropdown menu.
- In the Preferences window, make sure you are on the General tab.
- Look for the checkboxes related to Smart Chips. The exact wording can vary slightly based on your Workspace version, but look for and uncheck Show Smart Chips or Automatically detect @ mentions.
- Click the blue OK button to save your changes.
From now on, the @ symbol will behave exactly like any other punctuation mark on your keyboard. It will just appear as plain text, allowing you to write code, email addresses, and social handles without Google Docs attempting to search your Drive.