DuckDuckGo Launches Enhanced AI Features with Privacy-First Approach

DuckDuckGo's AI chat is here and it won't spy on you

DuckDuckGo has expanded its generative AI offerings as its AI chat interface, Duck.ai, officially exits beta, according to a blog post released by the company. This development follows a year of integrating AI assistance into its product lineup. The service, accessible at Duck.ai, provides users with AI-generated answers to their search queries in a conversational format. The AI models utilized include those developed by Anthropic, OpenAI, and Meta, with recent additions featuring OpenAI's o3-mini, Meta's Llama 3.3, and Mistral's Small 3. While usage remains free, there is a daily limit on queries, and DuckDuckGo is considering a paid plan for users interested in higher limits and more advanced models. In addition to Duck.ai, DuckDuckGo plans to enhance its traditional search engine, available at duck.com and duckduckgo.com, by increasing the frequency of AI-assisted answers. The company indicates that it currently serves millions of AI-assisted answers daily, with these responses appearing over 20% of the time if opted for in traditional search results. Users can adjust how frequently they wish to see AI-generated responses, with options including "sometimes," "often," "on-demand," and "never," allowing for personalized experiences within the search environment. Diving into a competitive landscape, DuckDuckGo's enhanced integration of generative AI emerges as major players like Google implement similar features, including AI summaries in place of traditional search links. DuckDuckGo's chief privacy promise allows users to access leading AI tools without tracking, offering a distinctive approach in the current tech ecosystem. An essential update is DuckDuckGo's AI-powered answer feature, Assist, previously known as DuckAssist. This feature, an enhancement to the existing Instant Answers functionality, now aggregates answers from various online sources rather than relying chiefly on Wikipedia. This aligns with broader trends in AI integration across platforms, exemplified by Google's AI overviews and AI Mode using Gemini 2.0. DuckDuckGo acknowledges potential inaccuracies in AI responses and emphasizes the display of sources alongside Assist answers. The company has established protocols to minimize the risk of citing spam or opinion pieces, aiming to present reliable information to users. In contrast to many services requiring user accounts, DuckDuckGo's AI features are accessible without needing one. Users can try Duck.ai for free and access the AI chat interface directly from the DuckDuckGo browser. The chat feature allows users to transition seamlessly between AI chat and traditional search modes, streamlining user inquiries. Recent chats are stored locally on user devices, ensuring that sensitive information remains private. DuckDuckGo maintains that chats are not used for training AI models and are only temporarily saved by providers for operational purposes. The company has arrangements to delete these chats within 30 days. In a bid to enhance user experience, DuckDuckGo has also facilitated easy navigation between traditional search and AI chat features. Users can toggle between these modes easily, with a dedicated chat button that auto-fills queries from previous searches, promoting efficient information retrieval. This multilayered approach to integrating generative AI into its platform underpins DuckDuckGo's commitment to enhancing user agency and privacy in their online searches while capitalizing on cutting-edge technology.

DuckDuckGo Is Getting Into AI Search Results, Too

Adjustable AI search results and chatbot access have been added to DuckDuckGo. After months of beta testing, DuckDuckGo's AI integrations are going live for everyone and getting some upgrades at the same time: They're free to use (with certain limits), and stay in line with DuckDuckGo's commitment to user privacy (you don't have to create an account to use them, and your searches aren't tracked). As with Google, Bing, ChatGPT, and others, you can now get AI answers to your web searches at DuckDuckGo. They appear in a small box with an Assist label attached, but they aren't as prominent and don't show up as often as they do on Google or Bing -- DuckDuckGo is aiming for a less-is-more approach to the feature. "We're not making AI features just for the sake of making AI features," writes DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg. "They have to be actually useful in everyday use, starting with helping people get faster, high-quality answers to their questions." With this in mind, you can tune down the amount of AI you see -- head to the DuckDuckGo settings page, and under AI Features, there's a drop-down menu that lets you choose between Never, On-demand, Sometimes, and Often. If you choose either of the latter two, the search engine uses its best judgment as to which queries might benefit from AI answers and which won't. The second part of DuckDuckGo's AI offering is the Duck.ai chatbot. You can ask follow-up questions of the bot whenever you see an AI Assist response in search results, and you can also access it via its own web portal: You've got access to multiple AI models here, including GPT-4o mini, Llama 3.3, and Claude 3 Haiku. Chats are never saved on DuckDuckGo servers, or used to train AI models, and you can wipe all chats from the record using the flame icon in the toolbar on the right. Ideally, DuckDuckGo wants you to use a combination of web search, AI Assist, and AI chat to help you get the answers you're looking for. If you're wondering how all of this stays free without any tracking, DuckDuckGo makes its money from advertising -- it's just that the ads aren't as targeted as they are on Google, because DuckDuckGo doesn't know anywhere near as much about you. The company is also exploring the idea of a paid plan for access to more advanced AI models and for extra chats with AI (there's already a $10-per-month pro-level subscription, which includes a VPN and some other extras). I spent some time playing around with the new AI features, and on the whole they follow the general DuckDuckGo ethos: Everything is simple, straightforward to use, cleanly presented, and accessible without having to jump through multiple hoops just to get started with these tools. With an AI Assist level of Sometimes, DuckDuckGo usually makes the right call about whether or not AI should get involved. The reason why these search engines are rushing to implement AI is that queries like "how does DNA work?" or "how do I fix a PC that won't boot?" are often better answered by a bot than the traditional list of links -- especially if you can ask follow-up questions for clarification. For more traditional searches, like "Eiffel Tower" or "intermittent fasting," DuckDuckGo sticks to the standard approach (AI models have never been to France, or tried dieting). If you're looking for an AI response and one doesn't appear, you can click the Assist button to generate it. AI companies are often vague and dismissive when it comes to accuracy, so it's good to see DuckDuckGo addressing the issue: The AI Assist answers are "as reliable as the sources from which they are drawn," with measures in place to avoid spammy or satirical sites, and user feedback adding an extra level of verification. The web sources for AI answers are always clearly displayed, so you can click through to see the actual websites. All of the AI answers I received seemed fully accurate: I ran some tests with tech questions; the AI Assist tool picked some well-respected online publications to pull information from, and presented it accurately. There is the question of where we get to when AI is answering everything, and humans are no longer bothering to put enough information online for AI to scrape, but that's a topic for another day. I found the Duck.ai chatbot didn't appear as often as I would've liked, to ask follow-up questions. It's easy enough to switch to the chatbot manually, but then you find yourself bumping up against the knowledge cut-off points of these various models -- they rely on historical training data rather than the latest information online. More work needs to be done on integrating live web search with AI here. On the whole, DuckDuckGo seems to have the balance right, if you want to avoid AI overload: The AI Assist feature doesn't always appear, and doesn't dominate the search results when it does show up. Answers are brief and accurate, and while there's a lot of competition out there, the privacy-first approach is reassuring.

DuckDuck Will Now Show AI-Assisted Answers, But Only If You Want Them

DuckDuckGo's AI Chat is now called Duck.ai The company had added new AI models to the chat interface AI-assisted answers were previously available in beta DuckDuckGo, the privacy-focused web browser, announced the rollout of AI-assisted answers on its search engine last week. The feature was so far available in beta, but now the company is releasing it to all users. With this, users will be able to see an artificial intelligence (AI) generated summary of their searched query, similar to Google's AI Overviews feature. However, unlike Google Search, DuckDuckGo is letting users control the frequency of these answers, and they can choose to turn them off entirely as well. In a blog post, DuckDuckGo CEO and Founder Gabriel Weinberg announced the new AI features. The most notable is the introduction of AI-assisted answers, which shows a snapshot of information about the user's searched query. The company says this will enable users to find information at a glance. However, many users do not prefer AI-generated summaries, and instead enjoy the traditional search experience. Google's lack of option in letting users choose whether they'd like to see AI Overviews has led to some exploring unique ways to turn them off. DuckDuckGo has instead taken a different approach and has given the control to the user. By going to the search settings and navigating to AI Features, users can choose how frequently they are shown these summaries. There are four options -- Never, On-Demand, Sometimes, and Often. While Never turns the feature off, On-Demand lets users have granular control over these summaries and they can generate AI-assisted answers by tapping a button on the search result page. In the post, Weinberg highlighted that selecting Often will show AI-assisted answers for about 20 percent of the queries. These AI-generated summaries are shared to AI models anonymously, and the company claims that a user's "personal information is never exposed to third parties." On the reliability of the summaries, the company highlights that the information is sourced via real-time web crawling. However, since DuckDuckGo cannot control the authenticity, the AI-assisted answers show the source from where the information was picked to let users make a judgement call. Apart from this, Duck.ai (formerly known as AI Chat) is also getting a couple of upgrades. DuckDuckGo has added new AI models including OpenAI's GPT-4o mini and o3-mini, and Meta Llama 3.3. Additionally, a "Recent Chats" feature has also been added that stores conversations with AI locally on the users' device. DuckDuckGo claimed that these conversations are not stored on its servers or the AI provider's servers.

DuckDuckGo Now Has AI Summaries: Here's Why They're Better Than Google's

Try Firefox's Latest Update for Vertical Tabs, AI in Your Sidebar, and More While to some, the word DuckDuckGo sounds like a children's game, those who know the search engine are fans of its privacy-first approach to web browsing. The Google alternative has applied this same philosophy to its new AI features, including AI summaries and an AI chatbot. DuckDuckGo Is Introducing Less Intrusive AI Tools to Its Search Engine Known for protecting users from personal data collection, DuckDuckGo has moved some new AI features out of beta, including straightforward AI-assisted answers and an AI chatbot called Duck.ai. These features are now free, anonymized, and most importantly, optional for all users. Where DuckDuckGo AI Features Have Google Beat Google has received some serious flack for its cumbersome and inexorable AI-generated search overviews, which have pushed users to find convoluted ways of turning off Google's AI summaries, including creative strategies like cursing at the search engine. Despite this, Google is adding even more AI elements into Google Search. By contrast, DuckDuckGo's new AI features favor user ease and privacy. The latter is something that all tech companies claim to prioritize but don't always execute, and Google is no exception. As we invite AI tools further into our lives, data privacy becomes increasingly important. Privacy According to the latest DuckDuckGo News announcement, the goal of its new AI features is to "offer the productivity benefits of AI without privacy risks like tracking your prompts and training on your data." For example, chats with Duck.ai are anonymized by DuckDuckGo, and will not be shared for training purposes. Customization In addition to not tracking your AI chats, the company also gives you the power to customize your user experience, without requiring you to create an account or demanding personal information. You also don't need the DuckDuckGo browser app to take advantage of these new AI tools, as they're available on the search engine regardless of the app you use. While using the search engine in its native app might be the most streamlined experience in terms of private browsing, you may want to consider the pros and cons of the DuckDuckGo browser. With Duck.ai, you have the option to choose from the following AI models: OpenAI's GPT-4o mini and o3-mini Meta's Llama 3.3 Mistral's Small 3 Anthropic's Claude 3 Haiku DuckDuckGo's take on AI search overviews is also refreshing compared to other search engines. While the summaries are clear, concise, and relatively accurate thanks to recent source expansion, you have the power to disable or change their frequency. The search engine gives you the option to select a cadence of "often, sometimes (default), on-demand, or never." With the abuse of user privacy becoming more and more prevalent online, it seems like a rarity to find a search engine like DuckDuckGo that doesn't ruthlessly collect every grain of your data. Even if I'm only using search engine-based AI tools to find cardamom latte recipes, I still don't appreciate companies playing watch dog in an effort to better their models. At this point, I don't trust that this "training" won't lead to me receiving ads for milk frothers.

With DuckDuckGo you can use multiple AIs for free. Its system is out of beta - Softonic

DuckDuckGo has launched new AI features, including Duck.ai chatbots and an improved Assist tool, ensuring private and free access to multiple AI models while prioritizing user privacy. DuckDuckGo has officially taken its AI features out of beta, offering users access to multiple AI chatbots for free. The privacy-focused search engine now allows seamless interaction with leading AI models, ensuring users can experience the benefits of artificial intelligence without compromising their personal data. One of the key upgrades is Duck.ai, which provides access to AI chatbots from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Mistral. Initially launched as DuckDuckGo AI Chat in 2024, this feature now includes models like OpenAI's GPT-4o mini and o3-mini, Anthropic's Claude 3 Haiku, Meta's Llama 3.3, and Mistral Small 3. These chatbots are integrated directly into the DuckDuckGo browser, making it easy for users to engage with AI-generated responses. A major concern among users is data privacy, and DuckDuckGo ensures that personal metadata is removed from AI interactions. Chats are stored only on the user's device in the "Recent Chats" section, allowing seamless access without compromising privacy. The company has agreements with AI providers to delete chat data within 30 days and prevent its use for model training. Another feature now out of beta is Assist, DuckDuckGo's AI-powered answer tool, which was originally known as DuckAssist. Unlike its beta version, which primarily pulled information from Wikipedia, Assist now gathers answers from multiple sources across the internet. To enhance accuracy, DuckDuckGo has implemented safeguards to prevent unreliable sources like spam websites and opinion-based content from influencing AI responses. While these features are free, there is a daily chat limit. However, DuckDuckGo is exploring a paid service to offer additional AI models and increased usage limits.

DuckDuckGo's AI beats Perplexity in one big way - and it's free to use

After giving Duck.ai a trial run, I'm increasingly favoring it over Perplexity. Here's why. I've been a fan of DuckDuckGo for a long time. I find the search engine to be far more trustworthy than Google and I do enjoy my privacy. But when I heard that the company was dipping its webbed feet into the AI waters, my initial reaction was a roll of the eyes. Then I gave Duck.ai a go -- and was immediately impressed. (DuckDuck Go's AI features launched in June 2024 and came out of beta last week.) Also: How to use ChatGPT to write code - and my favorite trick to debug what it generates Duck.ai does something that other similar products don't -- it gives you a choice. You can choose between the proprietary GPT-4o mini, o3-mini, and Claude 3 services or go open-source with Llama 3.3 and Mistral Small 3. Duck.ai is also private: All of your queries are anonymized by DuckDuckGo, so you can be sure no third-party will ever have access to your AI chats. After giving Duck.ai a trial over the weekend, I found myself favoring it more and more over Perplexity, primarily because I could select which LLM I use. That's a big deal because every model is different. For example, GPT-4o excels in real-time interactions, voice nuance, and sentiment analysis across modalities, whereas Llama 3.2 is particularly strong in image recognition and visual understanding tasks. I typically find Llama 3.3 a much better option than GPT-4o because it offers a better understanding of your queries. Although GPT-4o is lightning fast, I'd rather dig deeper into the topics. Which LLM you choose is up to your needs and what you're researching. Did I mention that Duck.ai is free? That's right, it even saves your chats locally (and only locally), so you can always save a chat and come back to it later for further "discourse." Another thing DuckDuckGo does differently with Duck.ai is that it strips personal metadata from chats, so they cannot be tied back to the user in any way. Although recent chats are stored locally, there is an exception for data needed by providers to respond to prompts (this is stated in the End User License Agreement). However, DuckDuckGo has agreements that limit how data can be used for training, and all chats must be deleted within 30 days. You can also disable Recent Chats, so nothing is saved. Duck.ai also includes prompt suggestions you can click on to get instant results. For example, I see four prompt suggestions: If I click New Chat (top left), those suggestions might change. You can't click one prompt suggestion repeatedly for different results, but by clicking New Chat, you'll get a different set of four prompt suggestions. Also: How I feed my files to a local AI for better, more relevant responses My favorite aspect of Duck.ai is easily switching between different LLMs without downloading and installing them. I typically use Msty/Ollama on my desktop for AI-based research, but if I want to use a different model, I must download and install it. On top of that, when I use Msty, I'm doing everything locally, so it can be a bit slower. With Duck.ai, everything (even the slower models) is exponentially faster than what's on my desktop. If you're curious, I found myself defaulting to the Llama 3.3 model over Duck.ai's other options. I find it fast enough but delivers better, more accurate results. This is simple. All you have to do is point your desktop browser (any will do) to Duck.ai, click Get Started, agree with the EULA, select your model, and chat. That's it. No installing, no account to create... just fast access to AI. Even better, it's free. Duck.ai (and all the models it includes) is free to use as much as you like. If you're looking for a fast, easy-to-use AI service that won't cost you a penny, I highly recommend giving Duck.ai a try. I've been using their services and apps for a long time, and if there's a company in this particular sector that I trust, it's DuckDuckGo. And there you have it: the simplicity and functionality of Duck.ai. After using the service for a few days, you can call me a convert.

DuckDuckGo is amping up its AI search tool -- but will still let you leave it behind

DuckDuckGo has big plans for embedding AI into its search engine. The privacy-focused company just announced that its AI-generated answers, which appear for certain queries on its search engine, have exited beta and now source information from across the web -- not just Wikipedia. It will soon integrate web search within its AI chatbot, which has also exited beta. DuckDuckGo first launched AI-assisted answers -- originally called DuckAssist -- in 2023. The feature is billed as a less obnoxious version of tools like Google's AI Overviews, designed to offer more concise responses and let you adjust how often you see them, including turning the responses off entirely. If you have DuckDuckGo's AI-generated answers set to "often," you'll still only see them around 20 percent of the time, though the company plans on increasing the frequency eventually.

Unlike Google Search, privacy-focused DuckDuckGo takes it slow with AI

Undoubtedly, AI will significantly impact areas like search in the coming years. However, the speed at which this integration should occur is debatable. Industry leader Google is fully committed to incorporating AI into all its search tools, while privacy-focused DuckDuckGo allows users to decide how far into AI they want to go. This flexibility could score DuckDuckGO major points in a world where not everyone is prepared to embrace AI -- at least not yet fully. According to a recent report by The Verge, DuckDuckGo has ambitious plans to incorporate AI into its popular search engine. As a result, users will soon see AI-generated answers for specific queries on the DuckDuckGo website and the app. Additionally, the company is integrating web search capabilities within its AI chatbot. Both of these tools are now exiting their beta phase. Recommended Videos DuckDuckGo introduced its AI-assisted answers, known as DuckAssist, in 2023. The company initially emphasized that this tool aims to be a "less obnoxious" alternative to features like Google's AI Overviews. The result is a service that provides more concise responses while allowing users to control how often they see AI-generated results. Even more impressively, DuckDuckGo offers the option to disable these responses altogether. In the current version of the DuckDuckGo app, you can choose to use Assist, Sometimes, On-demand, Often, or Never. Sometimes only shows AI-assisted answers when highly relevant, while On-demand only shows AI-assisted answers if you click the Assist button. When set to the Often setting, AI-assisted answers frequently appear on a broader range of searches. Just how frequently? Gabriel Weinberg, the CEO and founder of DuckDuckGo, says only 20% of searches are currently AI-generated, although that is expected to rise over time. They explain: "We'd like to raise that over time ... That's another major area that we're working on ... We want to kind of stay conservative with it. We don't want to put it in front of people if we don't think it's right." Even while implementing AI, DuckDuckGo hasn't forgotten its privacy roots. Interactions with AI models are done anonymously every time by hiding your IP address, regardless of the model you choose. DuckDuckGo's agreements with the AI company behind each available model also guarantee that your data isn't used for training. Currently, you can toggle between GPT-4o mini, o3-mini, Llama 3.3, Mistral Small 3, and Claude 3 Haiku. DuckDuckGo's AI tools can be explored via its chatbot on the Duck.ai website or through the DuckDuckGo browser. Additionally, AI-assisted answers will appear in the DuckDuckGo search engine. What about Google? If you're using Google Search, the most popular search tool in the world, it's essential to understand that entirely opting out of all of Google's AI search features isn't straightforward. However, there are ways to minimize or bypass the AI Overviews feature. For instance, many of these features are still considered experimental, making it somewhat easier to disable them. Additionally, third parties have discovered workarounds, although many of these are hit-or-miss. Ultimately, it's important to recognize that Google's AI Overviews are becoming integral to the overall Google Search experience, for better or worse. Many people will be pleased to know that DuckDuckGo is taking AI seriously and integrating it into its various search products. However, the company recognizes that not everyone wants to use AI. Opting out of AI features is a simple process for those users. That option is also available for those who wish to experience AI search in small doses.

DuckDuckGo AI features exit beta - both search and private chatbots

DuckDuckGo AI answers were first added to the privacy-focused search engine back in 2023, and have now finally exited beta - but you can still switch the feature off. Also out of beta is free, private access to your choice of AI chatbot ... One of the big changes made by Google was its AI Overview, which appears above search results. DuckDuckGo did the same thing with Assist, initially as a beta feature in 2023. The company says that Assist has now exited beta, and is also now pulling in its information from more sources. The feature was previously limited to using Wikipedia. Recent updates to AI-assisted answers include expanding sources across the web, beyond just Wikipedia; answering English-language queries outside the U.S.; and adding customization that lets you decide how often you want answers to appear: often, sometimes (default), on-demand, or never. You can choose how often AI answers are shown, including the option to completely disable them. Navigate to the AI Features section of your search settings. If you really like our AI-assisted answers, change Assist to Often, which will make them appear over 20% of time. On the other hand, if you never want to see any AI features, turn Chat to Off and Assist to Never. Duck.ai is also now out of beta. This lets you use a variety of AI models anonymously, with no account required, and a guarantee that your chats are never used for AI training. If you want to start with chat, try Duck.ai (previously called DuckDuckGo AI Chat), a free and account-less way to access popular AI chatbots, privately. Models are periodically updated and currently feature GPT-4o mini and o3-mini from OpenAI, open-source models Meta Llama 3.3 and Mistral Small 3, and Claude 3 Haiku from Anthropic. Chats are anonymized via proxying and never used for AI model training. You can navigate directly to https://duck.ai/ or via the optional chat icons within our search engine or browsers. (There's also a widget - on iOS for now.) You can also use the !ai or !chat bang search commands from any browser where you have DuckDuckGo search set as the default search engine. Proxying means your identity is protected. When we generate AI-assisted answers, we anonymously call the underlying AI models used to summarize web sources on your behalf, so your personal information is never exposed to third parties. This method is called proxying. Duck.ai chats work similarly. To accomplish this technically, we remove your IP address completely and use our own IP address instead. This way, the proxied requests are coming from us, not you. If you choose to store recent chats, these are stored locally on your device, not on the company's servers.

DuckDuckGo leans further into GenAI as its AI chat interface exits beta

Private search engine DuckDuckGo is leaning further into the generative AI opportunity. The non-tracking search engine has been dabbling with expanding the role of AI assistance in its product for the past year, including launching a chatbot-style interface last fall -- available at Duck.ai. In a blog post Thursday, the company said the service is now exiting beta. It's also now simply called Duck.ai, replacing the longer, mouthful name DuckDuckGo AI Chat. Users of Duck.ai can dip into AI models developed by the likes of Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta via a chatbot-style interface that sees their search queries handled in a conversational style. In other words, they get AI-generated answers to search asks powered by cutting-edge AI models that DuckDuckGo is making available, instead of the conventional search engine list of hyperlinks. DuckDuckGo notes that it has expanded the models users of Duck.ai can tap into -- with recent additions including OpenAI's o3-mini, Meta's Llama 3.3, and Mistral's Small 3. While access to Duck.ai is currently free, there is a daily limit on queries -- and DuckDuckGo says it is "exploring a paid plan for access to higher limits and more advanced (and costly) chat models." Simultaneously, the company is dialling up its use of GenAI in its conventional search engine interface -- at duck.com or duckduckgo.com -- by expanding the frequency that the search engine shows AI-assisted answers in response to a query. These are generative AI text summaries that can appear in response to search queries, above the usual blue links. "We now serve millions of AI-assisted answers daily. If you opt to show them often in our traditional search results, they should appear over 20% of the time," the company writes. Despite deepening its embrace of GenAI, the search firm is being careful to ensure that users retain agency over how much AI babble ends up in their search results. Users are able to choose the frequency that AI-generated answers will appear -- with "sometimes" being the default, and other options "often", "on-demand", and "never" letting users choose their own level of AI adventure. DuckDuckGo is responding to wider market shifts, as GenAI has continued to upend digital business-as-usual generally and web search specifically. Search kingpin Google has scrambled to fast-follow the viral fallout from OpenAI's AI chatbot, ChatGPT, and now embeds generative responses from its own AI models into search results. More recently, Google has even been experimenting with ditching links entirely in favor of AI summaries with a so-called AI Mode. So what can DDG bring to this competitive frenzy? The company clearly feels its core privacy pledge can transfer into this area. It offers users the chance to tap into major GenAI tools with reduced privacy risks, since they do not need to sign up for an account with an AI giant to get access. "Duck.ai allows you to use models from leading model providers without being tracked," its privacy policy suggests. "Chats are anonymized via proxying and never used for AI model training," DuckDuckGo also writes in the blog post, which touts the free (and sign-up free) access to what it bills as "private, useful, and optional AI." So the pitch here kind of boils down to 'have your GenAI cake and eat it in secret.' Although, if you read the full Duck.ai privacy policy, DuckDuckGo is careful to point out that if your search queries include your own personal data, that could end up sitting on the servers of large language model makers. Albeit, it stipulates, it's not tied back to your digital ID since it's masking IPs etc. Another feature DuckDuckGo is offering to make it easier to integrate GenAI into users' search workflows is the ability to easily switch between its conventional search engine interface to AI chat and vice versa. A chat button displayed below the search box of its search engine (see screengrab below) instantly transports the user to the AI chat interface -- with the prompt-field there pre-filled with whatever they had just been searching for on DDG's search engine, making it easy to hit the send button and get an AI-generated answer to the same query. Reversing this flow just requires tapping on the same (now highlighted) chat button to flip back to its conventional web search interface. So this is a best of both worlds approach to tapping GenAI in search. "We're finding that some people prefer to start in chat mode and then jump into more traditional search results when needed, while others prefer the opposite," DuckDuckGo writes, suggesting "some questions just lend themselves more naturally to one mode or the other, too." "So, we thought the best thing to do was offer both. We made it easy to move between them, and we included an off switch for those who'd like to avoid AI altogether," it adds. (Note: The chat button is also described as "optional" -- indicating that users can delve into settings to turn this off too if they don't even want a visual nudge towards GenAI.) While DuckDuckGo started with just Wikipedia as the source for its AI-assisted answers, it has since expanded to include sources from across the web, providing what it dubs as "prominent source links" with more information on what's underpinning the AI answers. Another update is a "Recent Chats" feature that stores users' conversations with the AI search interface "locally on your device -- not on DuckDuckGo or other remote servers." Here, too, users can opt to disable the storage if they don't want any record of their chats kept at all, even on their own device. "Duck.ai chats are not used for any AI training, either by us or the underlying model providers," DuckDuckGo also writes. "To respond with answers and ensure all systems are working, these providers may store chats temporarily, but we remove all the metadata so there's no way for them to tie chats back to you personally." "On top of that, we have agreements in place with all providers to ensure that any saved chats are completely deleted within 30 days."

DuckDuckGo Is Also Trying AI Summaries, but in a Less Annoying Way

Summary DuckDuckGo's AI summaries are expanding their capabilities and can be customized for user preferences. The AI-generated answers aim to be privacy-focused and less intrusive than what competitors are doing. DuckDuckGo's chatbot, Duck.ai, also prioritizes privacy, and future plans include integrating web search capabilities. DuckDuckGo is not everyone's first option, but a lot of people like it because it puts a focus on privacy and because it's otherwise pretty lightweight and straightforward to use. DuckDuckGo is also widely rollout out AI summaries of search pages, although you might like these better than Google's. DuckDuckGo has announced that it's moving its AI summaries out of beta and expanding their capabilities. DuckDuckGo's AI-generated answers, initially launched in 2023 under the name "DuckAssist," now draw information from a broader range of web sources beyond Wikipedia. They are meant to be a less intrusive alternative to similar AI overview features found in other search engines. Whether that's completely true is up to what you think, but they certainly look way better than whatever Google is doing these days. DuckDuckGo is putting a lot of focus on making this as user-customizable as possible. You can adjust the frequency with which these AI-generated answers appear, including turning them off completely. Even if you set them to the "often" setting, these summaries are currently displayed for only about 20 percent of searches, though DuckDuckGo plans to increase this gradually. The AI-generated summaries also clearly display the websites used as sources. Some summaries include a box for follow-up questions -- if you do use that, you'll be moved to DuckDuckGo's AI chatbot, Duck.ai. And talking about Duck.ai, the company's standalone chatbot has also exited beta, so you have one extra chatbot alternative to check out. Like the search summaries and, frankly, the whole browser, Duck.ai tries to be built around privacy. You don't need an account to use the service, and DuckDuckGo emphasizes that user data is not used for training the AI models. The chatbot offers the ability to switch between various underlying AI models, including GPT-4o mini, o3-mini, Llama 3.3, Mistral Small 3, and Claude 3 Haiku. We've seen this from a few chatbots out there, but we're glad to see it in one where privacy is such a priority. DuckDuckGo has secured agreements with the companies providing these models to ensure user data privacy. A new "Recent Chats" feature has been introduced to Duck.ai, storing conversation history locally on the user's device rather than on DuckDuckGo's servers. And work is not stopping there. In the coming weeks, DuckDuckGo plans to integrate web search capabilities directly into the chatbot. This will likely significantly improve its ability to answer a wider range of queries, particularly those requiring up-to-date information. Other planned features include making it multimodal, adding voice interaction on iPhone and Android devices, and the ability to upload images and ask questions about them. CEO Gabriel Weinberg confirmed that Duck.ai will remain free to use. However, the company is considering offering access to more advanced AI models as part of its existing $9.99 per month subscription service, which currently includes features like VPN and identity theft protection. For now, though, they're free, so you might want to take advantage of them. He also said that unlike some of its competitors, DuckDuckGo is not planning to release a separate dedicated app for its chatbot -- the search and chat experiences should remain one for the most part, and it might look kind of similar to what Microsoft Copilot, then Bing Chat, looked like at launch. The new AI improvements, including the new AI summaries and the new chatbot, should be available through the DuckDuckGo website. Source: DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo's Free AI Tools Are Now Out of Beta

Apple software beta tester, "Helps make our computers and phones work!" - Zach's grandparents On Thursday, DuckDuckGo, the company behind the privacy-focused search engine, announced its AI features were out of beta, with a few upgrades. These features are optional so you don't have to use them if you don't want to, and they're also free to use. One of those features grants access to multiple AI chatbots through Duck.ai. This feature was originally called DuckDuckGo AI Chat when it launched in beta in 2024, and it gave you access to popular chatbots like OpenAI's GPT 3.5 Turbo, Anthropic's Claude 3 Haiku and Meta Llama 3. In a blog post by CEO and founder Gabriel Weinberg, DuckDuckGo says it has implemented upgraded models of these popular chatbots into Duck.ai, which now gives you access to OpenAI's GPT-4o mini and o3-mini models, Anthropic's Claude 3 Haiku and the open-source models Meta Llama 3.3 and Mistral Small 3. Duck.ai also saves chats locally on your device in its Recent Chats section so you can come back to a chat later and pick up where you left off. According to a 2024 survey from advisory firm KPMG, more than half of people surveyed are "extremely or very" excited about AI tools like these. But about 63% of people said they are concerned about privacy and cybersecurity issues when using these tools. These concerns aren't unfounded. Most AI chatbots collect and store user data, including your prompts and uploads. Cybersecurity company Cobalt writes online that this data could be vulnerable to misuse by cybercriminals. DuckDuckGo said it strips personal metadata from its chatbot chats so they can't be tied back to you, and recent chats are only stored locally on your device, except as needed by providers to respond to prompts. The company said it has agreements in place with providers to limit how data can be used for training and to delete chats they receive within 30 days. Another DuckDuckGo feature now out of beta includes an AI-powered answer feature called Assist, originally called DuckAssist. This feature is an addition to the search engine's existing Instant Answers feature. When Instant Answers entered beta in 2023 it mostly pulled answers from Wikipedia, but now, DuckDuckGo says this feature pulls answers from across the internet. These releases come at the same time that Google announced the expansion of AI overviews in Search, as well as an AI Mode that uses Gemini 2.0. AI features are being increasingly integrated into products and services, including Gemini showing up across Google's suite of tools, and as model providers continue to race toward more efficient models that can complete a larger variety of tasks. However, we still have to be careful with these answers. According to an article from Tshilidzi Marwala, the rector of the United Nations University and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, these answers are predictions based on a given set of expected outcomes, not statements of fact like we would expect from an informed person. "The model's predictions can be entirely correct within the scope of its data," Marwala wrote online, cautioning that "[if] these systems rely solely on accurate but incomplete data, they risk reinforcing biases and ignoring critical human factors, resulting in unfair or ineffective decisions ... AI accuracy is not necessarily the truth!" DuckDuckGo said in the announcement that it recognizes AI answers can have errors, so sources are displayed alongside Assist answers. The company also said it has some precautions in place to avoid pulling answers from spam sites, opinion pieces and satirical content. These AI features are integrated into DuckDuckGo and are free to use without an account. There is a daily chat limit within Duck.ai, but the company said it shouldn't be an issue for normal day-to-day use. DuckDuckGo wrote online that it's exploring a paid service to give people access to more chat models as well as a higher chat limit. You can try these new features for free in the DuckDuckGo browser, and you can try the chatbot at Duck.ai. You can also access the chatbot in the DuckDuckGo browser by clicking the chat icon in the top-right corner of the browser window. And if you don't want to use these AI features, you don't have to. If you go to DuckDuckGo's search settings, you can turn the chat features off completely. You can limit how often Assist provides you with an answer to often, sometimes, on-demand or never.