DuckDuckGo installs surge 30% as users reject being 'force-fed' Google's AI Search overhaul
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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
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DuckDuckGo's Popular 'No AI' Search Engine Is Now Easier to Access
Macy has been working for CNET for coming on 2 years. Prior to CNET, Macy received a North Carolina College Media Association award in sports writing. At Google I/O in May, Google made it apparent that it is going all-in on AI with the world's most popular search engine. And ChatGPT-maker OpenAI
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People Are Flocking to DuckDuckGo as Google Leans Heavily Into AI
Alex Valdes from Bellevue, Washington has been pumping content into the Internet river for quite a while, including stints at MSNBC.com, MSN, Bing, MoneyTalksNews, Tipico and more. He admits to being somewhat fascinated by the Cambridge coffee webcam back in the Roaring '90s. These ducks are
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DuckDuckGo wins over a surge of users as Google pushes further into AI Search
* DuckDuckGo experienced a US install surge after Google I/O -- 18.1% over six days; iPhone installs are up 33% over the average. * Usage of the alternative search engine's no-AI search page increased 22.7%. * DuckDuckGo includes optional AI but allows users to disable it. DuckDuckGo, an
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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
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DuckDuckGo installs jumped 18% after Google killed the blue links. On Apple devices, the spike hit 70%.
DuckDuckGo installs surged 18% after Google's AI search overhaul. Apple device installs peaked at 70%. Its AI-free search page traffic rose 23%. DuckDuckGo US app installs jumped by an average of 18% week over week between 20 and 25 May. The growth sustained for six consecutive days, peaking at
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DuckDuckGo's booming anti-AI search just got a Chrome extension
The extensions allow users to easily set AI-free search as their default, giving them greater control over their search experience. DuckDuckGo is continuing to build on its AI-free search experience by launching new extensions for Chrome and Firefox. These extensions make it easier to set the
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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
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Traffic triples to DuckDuckGo 'No AI' Search as Google doubles down on AI
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
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DuckDuckGo is growing thanks to Google users frustrated by AI features
After Google announced new AI search features, competitor DuckDuckGo's app downloads boomed. Credit: Ascannio / Shutterstock Google users are flocking to the alternative search engine DuckDuckGo. According to data provided to Mashable by DuckDuckGo, U.S. installs of the search engine's mobile app
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DuckDuckGo Launched Duck AI. Now Their Hit Product is 'No AI'
As a result, DuckDuckGo launched No-AI Search extensions for Chrome and Firefox on June 1, letting users set the AI-free page as their permanent default with one click. DuckDuckGo spent the better part of 2024 building Duck.ai, an anonymous chatbot that lets you chat privately with models from
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'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
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Google's AI-First Overhaul Annoys Users So Much They Are Actually Switching Search Engines
But as we all know, AI can gets things wrong. When asked how to keep cheese from sliding off pizza, it suggested glue, a response that immediately went viral. (At least it recommended non-toxic glue.) And, even without an actual hallucination, sometimes AI search responses aren't quite what you
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DuckDuckGo experienced a dramatic spike in app installs following Google I/O, where the tech giant announced its AI-powered search overhaul. U.S. installs peaked at 30.5% on May 25, with iOS growth hitting 69.9%. The privacy-focused search engine offers users an AI-free alternative, positioning itself as the choice for those seeking user control over their search experience.
DuckDuckGo Sees Unprecedented Growth After Google I/O
DuckDuckGo is experiencing a sustained surge in user adoption following Google's announcement of sweeping changes to its search engine at the annual Google I/O developer conference in May. The privacy-focused search engine reported that U.S. app installs increased by an average of 18.1% week-over-week during the May 20 to May 25 period compared to May 13 to May 18
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. This growth sustained for six consecutive days and peaked at 30.5% on May 25, signaling a clear user backlash against Google's AI-powered search overhaul1
.The trend proved even stronger on iOS devices, where app installs showed an average week-over-week growth of 33%, peaking at an impressive 69.9% on Memorial Day
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. What makes this surge particularly noteworthy is that DuckDuckGo continued to gain users over the Memorial Day weekend, when it typically experiences a dip in traffic1
. The company also noted that its growth in the U.S. was multiple times larger than its international expansion rate, suggesting the surge was directly in response to Google's US-centric announcement5
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Source: Mashable
Users Reject Being 'Force-Fed' AI With No Way to Opt Out
At Google I/O, the tech giant announced that its traditional list of blue links is being replaced by an AI agent that answers queries, executes tasks, and runs background monitoring agents
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. The updates include a reimagined search box, AI agents that can research on users' behalf, and Gemini 3.5 Flash becoming the new default model behind AI Mode2
. Gabriel Weinberg, DuckDuckGo's CEO, directly criticized this approach, stating that "Google is force-feeding AI with no way to opt out. As a result, their results are getting worse, not better"1
.The alternative to Google resonated with users seeking user control over their search experience. Visits to DuckDuckGo's AI-free search page at noai.duckduckgo.com averaged 22.7% week-over-week growth, peaking at 27.7% on May 24
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. This dedicated page turns off every AI feature, including AI-assisted answers and AI-generated images, by default1
. The company also reported a 500% increase in mentions across social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and X3
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Source: TechCrunch
Browser Extensions Make AI-Free Search More Accessible
Recognizing the growing demand for an opt-out option, DuckDuckGo introduced new browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox that allow users to make its anti-AI search experience their default search engine
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. Setup takes just seconds and a few clicks—users can open DuckDuckGo's AI-free search page and click "Add our No-AI Search Extension," which then allows searching the internet without AI-generated answers, chatbots, or AI images2
. For those who already have a DuckDuckGo web browser, AI settings are preserved even after clearing browser history2
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Source: Engadget
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User Choice and Privacy Remain Central to DuckDuckGo's Strategy
While positioning itself as an alternative to Google, DuckDuckGo isn't anti-AI entirely. The company offers its own AI product called Duck.ai, which provides free 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
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. All chats remain private because DuckDuckGo strips users' IP addresses before requests reach model providers, deletes conversations within 30 days, and prevents chats from being used for training1
.DuckDuckGo also offers Search Assist, similar to Google's AI Overviews, and an AI Image Filter that removes AI-created images from search results
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. Kamyl Bazbaz, DuckDuckGo's chief communications and policy officer, noted that both features are among the company's most popular despite their differing approaches, emphasizing that "people just want a choice"1
. Weinberg reinforced this commitment to user choice and privacy, stating that "everything you do in DuckDuckGo is private, we don't collect search histories or chats and nothing is used for AI training"1
.Despite this growth, DuckDuckGo accounts for only around 2% of the U.S. search market and isn't expected to meaningfully challenge Google's dominance
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. However, 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 20253
. During Google's search antitrust trial in 2023, Gabriel Weinberg testified that Google's exclusive default search contracts harmed DuckDuckGo's ability to pitch itself as the default on other browsers1
. The current surge suggests that when given a genuine choice, a meaningful segment of users prefer controlling their AI exposure rather than having it mandated by default.References
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