How to Turn Off Gemini in Google Workspace, and the Alternative
Since Google bundled Gemini into every Workspace plan in 2025, administrators have been asking how to switch it off. A super administrator can disable Gemini features per service in the Admin console under Generative AI, and can turn off access to the Gemini app, but the features are paid for either way and turning Gemini off in one app does not stop a user asking it about that app's content from another. This page walks through the controls, says what they do not cover, and describes the alternative: a Nextcloud workspace where AI exists only when you enable it.
How to turn Gemini off
- Sign in to the Google Admin console as a super administrator.
- Go to Generative AI, then Gemini for Workspace (since April 2026 the Gemini Enterprise toggles and data-sharing settings sit on their own page under Generative AI).
- For each service (Gmail, Drive and Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Chat and the others), set Gemini features to off for the organisational units or groups you want. Settings can differ per unit, so a pilot group can keep it.
- Separately, turn off access to the Gemini app (gemini.google.com) if you do not want staff using it with a work account.
- Review the data-sharing settings on the same page, and the Workspace Privacy Hub for the current statement on human review and model training. Google's wording has changed over time; read the current version.
Changes take up to 24 hours to propagate. Google's own help articles are the reference, and the layout moves; this is the shape of it at the time of writing.
What the off switch does not do
It does not stop the bill
Gemini is bundled into the 2025 prices. Business Standard costs about $14 whether Gemini is on or off; the price increase page shows what that means.
It is per service, not per data
Gemini off in Drive does not stop a user asking Gemini in Gmail about a Drive file, as Google's own help text notes. Covering everything means every service and the Gemini app.
It does not change where data lives
Gmail, Drive and Docs still process and store data in Google's regions. The sovereignty question is unchanged.
It is a setting, not a contract
A toggle can be moved, by an administrator or by a future product change. Organisations that want AI absent by design need a platform where it is.
The alternative: AI only when you enable it
MassiveGRID's Nextcloud Hub plans ship with no AI assistant: files, mail, Nextcloud Office, Talk and calendar work as they always did, in the U.S., E.U., U.K. or Asia at your choice, from $5.90 per user per month. On dedicated Nextcloud Enterprise instances the open-source Nextcloud Assistant is available on the Ultimate tier and runs against models you choose, local on your instance or a remote provider you contract with, scoped to the apps you decide. Nothing is trained on your data and nothing arrives with a price increase. The Google Workspace alternative page covers the move app by app, and the plan-by-plan comparison says where Google still wins.
Nextcloud Hub Pricing
Per-user plans on MassiveGRID's Nextcloud Enterprise platform: files, office, email, chat and video calls, calendar and contacts, in the U.S., E.U., U.K. or Asia. Pick the region and team size to see what your team would pay.
First month for $1 on monthly billing with coupon code NEXTCLOUD, applied by the Order buttons.
- Files, Photos, Calendar and Contacts
- Nextcloud Office: documents, spreadsheets and presentations
- Talk: chat, audio and video calls, screen sharing
- Standard Email
- 100 GB storage per user
- Desktop and mobile sync clients, public share links
- Nextcloud Enterprise platform with managed updates and daily backups
- Ticket support
- Files, Photos, Calendar and Contacts
- Nextcloud Office and Talk: documents, chat, audio and video calls
- Notes, Tables, Deck and Tasks
- Standard Email
- 1 TB storage per user, ten times Starter
- Desktop and mobile sync clients, public share links
- Nextcloud Enterprise platform with managed updates and daily backups
- Priority support: faster response and escalation
- Files, Photos, Office, Talk, Calendar and Contacts
- Notes, Tables, Deck and Tasks
- Enterprise Email with delegation and other enterprise mail features
- 1 TB storage per user
- Desktop and mobile sync clients, public share links
- Nextcloud Enterprise platform with managed updates and daily backups
- 24x7 support
- Upgrade path to a dedicated instance with your own domain and branding
USD per user per month before taxes; the billing-cycle discount applies to every plan. Order 1 to 50 users online. Need your own domain, a compliance boundary of your own or more than 50 users? See the dedicated instances below or contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Same suite, your region, from $5.90 per user
Order a Nextcloud Hub plan and the first month is $1 with coupon code NEXTCLOUD. Move one team, run a month of real work, then decide.