Disable Smart Find on Page Related Matches in Microsoft Edge

Newer versions of Microsoft Edge web browser come with a new AI-powered and cloud-based “Related matches also found” feature introduced in built-in “Find on Page” (Ctrl+F) search tool. This new feature automatically displays related matches and synonyms on find on page search box as soon as the user starts typing in the box. Microsoft Edge sends some typing data to Microsoft servers to receive and provide these suggestions. If you are a privacy concerned user, you may disable or remove the new smart find on page feature in Microsoft Edge using the methods given in this article.

New AI-Powered Cloud-Based Smart Find on Page Feature in Microsoft Edge

All web browsers allow users to find or search for any desired word on a web page by pressing Ctrl+F keys together. It opens quick find search box where user can type desired term and the web browser starts looking for the typed word on the web page. In Microsoft Edge, this feature is called “Find on Page” and can also be accessed by clicking on the main Edge 3-dots menu and selecting “Find on page” option.

Following screenshot shows the new AI-powered smart find on page feature in Microsoft Edge (version 118 and later) web browser:

You can see a new “Also found” section is available at the bottom of the find on page search box. This is the new AI-powered functionality added to the find on page tool in Microsoft Edge.

This new suggestions feature is called “Smart find update” which shows suggestions including related matches and synonyms to help users in finding what they’re looking for. This new feature also comes with native spelling check and automatically shows correct spelling of the typed word if the user misspells a word.

New Smart Find on Page in Microsoft Edge Collects and Sends Data to Microsoft Servers

According to Microsoft, this new AI-based smart find on page feature collects and sends the text of the webpage, user’s search terms and a service token to Microsoft cloud service. The service token doesn’t contain any user-identifiable information. Microsoft cloud service is used to process the text to find results on the page that are related to user’s search. The webpage text and search terms that are sent to Microsoft are deleted immediately after processing occurs.

Since the new smart find feature sends user’s data to Microsoft servers, some users may find it problematic and may want to get rid of this new AI-powered related matched feature to block or restrict Microsoft Edge from sending their data to Microsoft servers.

Fortunately, Microsoft provides a built-in option to quickly enable or disable the smart find feature in Edge. There is also a Registry policy which can be used to achieve the same result.

If you also want to turn off AI-powered smart suggestions and related matches feature introduced in find on page feature in Microsoft Edge, following methods will help you:

METHOD 1: Disable Related Matches in Find on Page Using Microsoft Edge Settings Page

This is the easiest method to disable related matches feature in Microsoft Edge and prevent Microsoft Edge from collecting and sending your search data to Microsoft servers.

STEP 1: Open Microsoft Edge browser and click on the 3-dots menu button present at the right-side of the toolbar. Now select Settings option from the main menu.

Alternatively, you can press ALT+F keys together to show Edge Menu and then press S key to open Settings page. You can also directly open Edge Settings page using edge://settings/ URL in address bar.

STEP 2: Now click on Privacy, search, and services tab in left sidebar and in right-side pane, scroll down to bottom to Services section.

STEP 3: Look for Include related matches in Find on page option. The option description clearly mentions that the user’s Find on page search and the webpage content will be sent to Microsoft to help find better results, including synonyms, alternate spellings, and answers to questions.

The option is enabled by default which means the new smart find on page feature is activated.

To disable the related matches feature, set the option to OFF.

It’ll immediately disable new AI-powered smart find on page feature in Microsoft Edge and will restore the classic find on page functionality. Now Microsoft Edge will no longer display any suggestions or synonyms on find on page box.

PS: In future, if you want to restore the new smart find feature, enable the above mentioned option again.

METHOD 2: Disable Related Matches Cloud Service in Find on Page Using Registry Editor

Microsoft also provides an official policy to permanently disable the new cloud based smart find feature in Edge web browser. Users can apply this policy by modifying Windows Registry and it’ll completely remove the new AI-powered find on page feature in Edge.

Following steps will help you in implementing the required policy in your device:

STEP 1: Press “WIN+R” key combination to launch RUN dialog box then type regedit and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

STEP 2: Now go to any of following keys:

If you want to remove the feature for all Windows users:

If you want to remove the feature for current user only:

STEP 3: Under Microsoft key, create a new key and set its name to Edge

STEP 4: Now select Edge key and in right-side pane, right-click and select “New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value” option. Set the new DWORD name as RelatedMatchesCloudServiceEnabled

Leave the value of the DWORD to 0

Now restart Edge browser and the new smart find on page feature will be disabled permanently.

PS: In future, if you decide to restore the new smart find feature in Edge, delete the above mentioned DWORD from Registry.

NOTE: Your Browser is Managed by Your Organization Message in Edge

After applying the above mentioned policy or registry tweak, you may notice “Your browser is managed by your organization” message showing on Edge Settings page and main 3-dots Menu in your Edge browser. Don’t worry! It happens when you implement a policy in the web browser. You can safely ignore the message.

Following article provides more details about this message:

[Fix] Your Browser is Managed by Your Organization Message in Microsoft Edge

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