People are flocking to the privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo as Google goes all-in on its expanded AI-driven search interface. At Google’s I/O conference last week, the company rolled out its biggest search upgrade in decades, replacing the standard page of links with an AI-powered search agent that does the leg work for you, complete with support for follow-up questions.
Considering how often the company’s flagship AI Overview feature still struggles with hallucinations, users weren’t thrilled at the news. Many are jumping ship for DuckDuckGo, which lets users tailor how much AI they want in their search experience. A representative for DuckDuckGo told CNET that, in the U.S., installations jumped 21% week over week from May 20 through May 26, directly following Google’s announcement of several AI initiatives. Browser installs on iOS spiked by 33%, including 69% on Memorial Day.
The company also told MacRumors that traffic for its No AI search page has tripled since Google’s announcement. This feature ditches AI-assisted answers, AI-generated images, and DuckDuckGo’s own AI tools from results altogether, letting you browse Search pages as you always have. We’ve reached out to clarify those figures, and will update this article once we hear back.
DuckDuckGo’s standard browser offers a Search Assist function that uses AI to help answer search queries, though you can choose how often you want it to appear or nix it entirely. Similar to Google, there’s also an Ask AI button to the right of the search bar, which you can use to get AI-generated answers.
According to cloud network and cybersecurity company Cloudflare, DuckDuckGo was the No. 2 most-used search engine on mobile and No. 3 overall in the U.S. in December 2025. Given the clear appetite for AI-free search, DuckDuckGo plans to add No AI search settings to its original extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera sometime in the near future.
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