Is there any way to hide the "searching" icon that appears next to a field used in a lookup rule while the lookup is being performed?

We just recently built some SQL tables that interface in real-time with our HCM system, so we now have vastly improved capabilities to auto populate all sorts of information for our employees via lookup rules. However, even though lookup rules are being processed on the backend, I don't necessarily want people to know that the form is "thinking" about what they entered.

I'm aware that the "Autofill" button can be displayed but I don't want people to have to click a button to make the form run the lookup rule, but by hiding it, it "causes the form to appear unresponsive", which is exactly what I'm trying to rectify with this request.

Is this even possible? If so, would anyone be able to advise as to how, or what other options we might have? Thank you very much for your time and have a great rest of your day!