DuckDuckGo installs surge 30% as users reject Google's AI-heavy search overhaul at I/O 2026

DuckDuckGo installs are up 30% as users reject being 'force-fed' Google's AI Search | TechCrunch

Last week, after Google announced its huge overhaul to Search, I overheard a woman on the phone saying she was switching to DuckDuckGo because you can "opt out of using AI." "Google just isn't Google anymore," she said. It seems that others had the same idea. At I/O, Google's annual developer conference, the company said its traditional list of blue links is being replaced by an AI agent that answers queries, executes tasks, and runs background monitoring agents. The backlash has been sharp. Some have argued it will kill the open web, while others shared concerns that AI overviews surface inaccurate responses and take away control from users who might not want to use AI. It also overcomplicates simple things. Just try to Google the word "disregard." In response to Google's changes, many have begun defecting to DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused alternative that has never been able to break past Google's dominance, accounting for only around 2% of the U.S. search market. During Google's search antitrust trial in 2023, DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg testified that Google's exclusive default search contracts harmed its ability to pitch itself as the default on other browsers. "Google is force-feeding AI with no way to opt out," Weinberg said Tuesday in a statement, referring to Google's Search overhaul. "As a result, their results are getting worse, not better. We want to be the place that puts users in charge and allows them to decide how much or how little AI they want." Now, it seems that DuckDuckGo is beginning to benefit as consumers flee AI. DuckDuckGo said U.S. app installs went up 18.1% week-over-week on average during the May 20 to May 25 period, compared to May 13 to May 18. The company said that growth was sustained for six consecutive days and peaked at 30.5% on May 25. On iOS, the rate of install is even higher, with week-over-week growth hitting a 33% average, peaking at 69.9%. The search engine also said visits to its AI-free search page, noai.duckduckgo.com, averaged 22.7% WoW growth, peaking at 27.7% on May 24. The page turns off every AI feature, like AI-assisted answers and AI-generated images, by default. The company said the trend is stronger in the U.S, and that DuckDuckGo continued to gain users over the Memorial Day weekend, when it usually sees a dip in traffic. DuckDuckGo offers its own AI product called Duck.ai. It's free and doesn't require users to make an account, but provides access to models, including Anthropic's Claude 4.5 Haiku, Meta's Llama 4 Scout, Mistral's Small 3 24B, and OpenAI's GPT-5 mini. All chats are private because DuckDuckGo strips the user's IP address before requests reach model providers, deletes conversations within 30 days, and prevents chats from being used for training. "Not only do we respect user choice, but also user privacy," Weinberg said. "Everything you do in DuckDuckGo is private, we don't collect search histories or chats and nothing is used for AI training." DuckDuckGo also offers Search Assist, which is similar to Google's AI overviews, and an AI Image Filter that filters out AI-created images from search results. Kamyl Bazbaz, DuckDuckGo's chief communications and policy officer, said both of those AI features are among the company's most popular, despite their differing ethos. "People just want a choice," Bazbaz said. TechCrunch has reached out to Google for comment.

DuckDuckGo reports a surge in installs after Google put more AI into Search - Engadget

DuckDuckGo has reported "a sustained surge" of installs in the US in the week that followed Google's I/O developer conference, where the bigger company announced more AI features for Search. The search engine company says its app installs in the US were up an average of 18.1 percent for six consecutive days, peaking at 30.5 percent on May 25. Most of the new users are on iOS, with installs on iPhones showing an average growth of 33 percent week-on-week and also peaking on May 25 at 69.9 percent. In addition, visits to its noai.duckduckgo.com website also grew an average of 22.7 percent week-on-week, with its peak growth of 27.7 percent happening on May 24. DuckDuckGo says its growth in the US over the past week was multiple times bigger than the international rate, suggesting that surge of installs was in "response to Google's US-centric announcement" and not a global trend. It was also able to sustain the growth through Memorial Day weekend, which historically leads to lower activity. At I/O 2026, Google announced several new AI-powered Search features, including the Intelligent Search Box. Unlike the ordinary Search box, the new one can fit complex queries and can process videos, images, files and even Chrome tabs as input for people's searches. It's worth noting that the new Search box is rolling out everywhere where AI Mode is available, not just in the US. Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers are also getting access to AI Search agents, including ones that run 24/7 in the background to gather information for users. We've seen quite a few posts on Reddit from people making the switch to DuckDuckGo after Google's announcements. "Google is force-feeding AI with no way to opt out," said DuckDuckGo CEO CEO Gabriel Weinberg. "As result, their results are getting worse, not better. We want to be the place that puts users in charge and allows them to decide how much or how little AI they want. That's why we're seeing a spike in people coming to DuckDuckGo this week, it's as simple as that." To be clear, DuckDuckGo also has AI features for its search engine, including ones similar to Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. However, they can easily be switched off in settings, and people can opt to visit the noai.duckduckgo.com website where all AI features are off by default.

DuckDuckGo sees iPhone installs spike following AI-heavy Google I/O - 9to5Mac

Following the AI-heavy Search announcements at last week's Google I/O, DuckDuckGo says it has seen a notable and sustained surge in U.S. users, including a sharp jump in iPhone app installs. Here are the details. Last week, during the Google I/O keynote, the company announced a series of changes coming to its users over the coming weeks and months, most of which are related to AI being more integrated across its ecosystem. You can certainly read all about it on 9to5Google's coverage of the event, but when it comes to search specifically, Google announced an overhaul of the search box, accompanied by a press release calling this "a new ear for AI Search," and the "biggest upgrade (to Google's Search box) in over 25 years." And while some of the new features, such as custom generative UI, are poised to help users visualize and better understand what they are searching for, Google's decision to push AI even deeper into Search has also drawn criticism from users who want a more traditional search experience. In light of that, DuckDuckGo tells 9to5Mac that it has seen a sustained surge in U.S. users since Google I/O, with iOS leading all platforms. The company says iOS installs in the U.S. were up 33% week over week on average, compared with 18.1% growth overall. DuckDuckGo also says visits to noai.duckduckgo.com, the AI-free version of its search platform, have also surged, with an average week-over-week growth of 22.7%. Interestingly, DuckDuckGo notes that "US growth ran multiples of the international rate," adding that these numbers not only held, but accelerated "through Memorial Day weekend, when activity typically dips." According to DuckDuckGo, these numbers suggest that, rather than being a global trend, the recent surge could be "a response to Google's US-centric announcement." That said, DuckDuckGo has also been experimenting with AI features, while frequently going out of its way to make sure it communicates that they are optional, and can be avoided altogether via noai.duckduckgo.com.

'Google is force-feeding AI with no way to opt ': DuckDuckGo CEO says installs are surging after Google I/O

Google spent much of Google I/O 2026 making it clear that AI is now the future of search. But according to DuckDuckGo, not everyone is thrilled about it. The privacy-focused search company says it saw a significant spike in installs and traffic following Google's developer conference, particularly among users looking for ways to avoid AI-generated search features altogether. According to data shared with us by DuckDuckGo, U.S. installs increased an average of 18.1% week-over-week between May 20 and May 25, with growth sustained for six straight days and peaking at 30.5% on May 25. The company says iOS growth was even stronger, averaging 33% week-over-week and peaking at nearly 70% on May 25. Meanwhile, visits to noai.duckduckgo.com -- DuckDuckGo's version of search with all AI features disabled by default -- rose an average of 22.7% week-over-week, peaking at 27.7% on May 24. The timing is hard to ignore At Google I/O, Google doubled down on AI-powered search experiences, including expanded AI Overviews, conversational AI search tools and deeper Gemini integration across its ecosystem. Interestingly, DuckDuckGo says U.S. growth dramatically outpaced international markets immediately after Google I/O, suggesting at least some users were reacting specifically to Google's AI-heavy announcements. "US growth ran multiples of the international rate, which suggests this is a response to Google's US-centric announcement, not a global trend," the company said. For some users, those changes represent the future of the internet. For others, they may represent something else entirely: a loss of control. DuckDuckGo's messaging around the surge is interesting because the company is not positioning itself as anti-AI. In fact, it actively uses AI in several of its own search features. Instead, the company says the issue is whether users can opt out. "Google is force-feeding AI with no way to opt out. As result, their results are getting worse, not better," said Gabriel Weinberg, founder and CEO of DuckDuckGo. "We want to be the place that puts users in charge and allows them to decide how much or how little AI they want. That's why we're seeing a spike in people coming to DuckDuckGo this week, it's as simple as that." Weinberg also emphasizes privacy concerns, saying DuckDuckGo does not collect search histories or chats for AI training. The company's communications chief, Kamyl Bazbaz, argued that users are embracing AI features selectively rather than rejecting them outright. "One of the most popular search features we've launched in years is a filter that removes AI images from image results," Bazbaz said. "The other most popular feature? Search Assist, which uses AI to anonymously generate answers to search queries at the top of the search page. People just want a choice." AI search backlash may be becoming mainstream Until recently, most criticism of AI-heavy search experiences came from publishers, artists, regulators and privacy advocates. But the broader public conversation appears to be shifting to every day users. From AI-generated slop and hallucinations, inaccurate summaries and the increasingly synthetic feel of the web have become more common over the past year as companies race to integrate generative AI into search engines, browsers and operating systems. Of course, a few days of growth doesn't suddenly threaten Google's dominance. But the numbers do hint at something Silicon Valley has mostly ignored so far: the simple fact that some users may not want AI injected into every search experience by default. Let me know in the comments: Do you like Google's new AI tools in its browser? Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok.