You add a page to your bookmarks and Safari drops it into a topic folder you never picked. That's Apple Intelligence organizing your bookmarks, not the search suggestions in the address bar.
There is no documented switch for bookmark location suggestions alone. Turn off Safari's access under System Settings > Siri > App Access, then save pages with Add Bookmark to so the folder is your call.
In this guide, I have covered:
Contents
Why Safari Picks a Folder You Didn’t Choose
You hit the bookmark button and Safari files the page under a topic you never created. That’s Apple Intelligence doing the organizing: Safari can group bookmarks and Reading List items into suggested topics, then preselect one of those locations when you save a page.
This has nothing to do with the address bar. Turning off Include search engine suggestions under Search changes what appears as you type a search, not where a bookmark lands.
Apple doesn’t document a separate Safari switch for bookmark locations. Your two levers are macOS app access, which limits what Safari feeds to Apple Intelligence, and the Share menu, which lets you name the folder yourself.
Limit Safari’s Apple Intelligence Access
If a suggestion appears every time you save a page, start in System Settings rather than in Safari. These switches control what Safari is allowed to learn from and display inside the app.
- Open the Apple menu and select System Settings.
- Select Siri in the sidebar.
- Select App Access.
- Select Safari from the list of applications.
- Turn off Learn from this application.
- Turn off Show Siri Suggestions in application.
- Quit and reopen Safari.
Quit and reopen Safari so it reloads the changed permissions, then test the add button on a page you have never bookmarked.
You’ll know it worked when saving a page no longer offers a suggested topic. A topic you already used may still linger. That’s Safari remembering it, not learning a new one.
These switches affect Apple Intelligence features that depend on learning from Safari and showing suggestions in the app. Apple doesn’t present them as a bookmark-folder switch, so Safari may still remember a topic you used before.
Save a Page in a Chosen Folder
When the destination has to be right the first time, skip the bookmark button. The Share menu asks you where the page belongs.
- Open the webpage that you want to bookmark.
- Click the Share button
in the toolbar. - Select Add Bookmark to.
- Pick the destination folder from the list.
- Click .
Open the Safari sidebar 
and confirm the bookmark sits in that folder. Do it this way and the suggested location never gets a vote.
Move a Bookmark Out of a Suggested Topic
Already saved into a topic you didn’t want? Nothing is lost. Drag it out and carry on.
- Open the sidebar in Safari.
- Find the suggested topic that holds the bookmark.
- Select the bookmark.
- Drag it into the destination folder.
- Open that folder and confirm the bookmark is there.
Once the bookmarks you want are out, remove the suggested topic if you don’t need it. Your own folders stay intact, and the automatic location has nothing left to offer.
Favorites do double duty in Safari: they fill the Favorites bar and appear on the start page. If you would rather your start page opened one specific site, you can change the start page to a site address instead.
Check That the Setting Stayed Applied
macOS updates sometimes re-enable preferences you turned off. If the suggestions come back, check these switches before you look anywhere else.
- Open System Settings.
- Select Siri.
- Select App Access.
- Select Safari.
- Check that Learn from this application is off.
- Check that Show Siri Suggestions in application is off.
If either control is back on, turn it off and restart Safari. Our guide to stopping Safari settings from resetting after a macOS update covers the wider pattern.
TIP: Saving only a handful of pages? Use Add Bookmark to from the Share menu each time. The folder is always your choice, whichever one you pick.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Safari have a setting to turn off bookmark folder suggestions?
Apple doesn’t document one. The closest control sits in macOS under Siri → App Access → Safari, where you can turn off learning from Safari and in-app suggestions.
Does turning off search engine suggestions stop bookmark suggestions?
No. Include search engine suggestions only affects what Safari offers in its search field. Bookmark location suggestions come from Apple Intelligence organization, which is a different system.
How can I make sure a bookmark goes into the folder I choose?
Use the Share button, select Add Bookmark to, and pick the folder before you click . The sidebar shows you the result straight away.
What happens to bookmarks already placed in a suggested topic?
Nothing moves on its own. Changing the app-access settings doesn’t relocate existing bookmarks, so drag each one into Favorites or another folder you use.
Will disabling Safari app access affect other Apple Intelligence features?
It may reduce features that learn from Safari or show suggestions inside Safari. Other Apple Intelligence features can keep working, depending on your macOS settings and availability.
Two things decide where a bookmark lands: Safari’s app access and the folder you pick in the Share menu. Narrow the first, choose the second, then check the sidebar to confirm.
