As its site visitors continues to climb, choice seek engine DuckDuckGo is leaning into anti-AI sentiment with the release of latest browser extensions that let customers to set its no-AI seek enjoy, noai.duckduckgo.com, as their default seek engine.
As soon as enabled, customers might be directed to the corporate’DuckDuckGo’s AI-free seek web page, the place there aren’t any AI-assisted solutions, no chat activates, and less AI photographs within the seek effects, the corporate claims. The extensions are recently to be had for Chrome and Firefox customers. In the meantime, individuals who have switched to the DuckDuckGo internet browser have already got their AI settings preserved, despite the fact that they transparent their browser historical past.
The corporate says the extensions are supposed to assist other people have a constant AI-free seek enjoy — one thing that’s tougher to return by means of nowadays, particularly after Google introduced its AI-first revamp of its seek engine at its developer convention previous in Would possibly.
Since then, site visitors to DuckDuckGo has been booming. Remaining week, the corporate famous that internet visits to its no-AI seek web page have been up just about 30% week-over-week, and its U.S. app installs have been additionally up 18.1% week-over-week, with U.S. iOS app installs peaking at 69.9% week-over-week enlargement.
The ones tendencies adopted information that Google was once overhauling its seek field within the largest trade to its seek engine in additional than 25 years. Now, as a substitute of returning hyperlinks on the most sensible of the web page, Google will want sending customers into AI-generated seek overviews, that are turning into extra interactive stories able to developing visualizations, charts, graphs, and even mini apps, as wanted. Practice-up questions from AI Overviews will push customers into an AI Mode chat enjoy. The standard “10 blue hyperlinks” that outlined Google in its previous days are extra of an afterthought, showing under all this AI-fueled productiveness.
However now not everyone seems to be on board with having AI made the default, which is why some are making the transfer to choice engines like google like DuckDuckGo, Kagi, and others.
DuckDuckGo says site visitors to its no-AI seek web page was once up threefold on Thursday, Would possibly 28, 2026 — a brand new high-water mark since Google’s seek announcement — and the numbers are nonetheless mountain climbing. The expansion isn’t coming in spurts both, the corporate issues out. As a substitute, visits are averaging more or less 84% above the baseline, suggesting a extra sustained shift.
Along with the brand new “no AI” seek Chrome and Firefox extensions, DuckDuckGo will quickly replace its authentic DuckDuckGo Privateness Necessities extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera to provide controls for AI seek settings, as neatly.
It’s price noting that DuckDuckGo isn’t an anti-AI corporate. The corporate nonetheless provides its personal AI chatbot with get entry to to many widespread fashions, and a subscription plan that gives get entry to to the newest fashions and different gear, like a VPN carrier, identification robbery recovery, and private knowledge removing products and services.
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