3 min learnMight 30, 2026 04:20 PM IST
Privateness-focused search engine DuckDuckGo is seeing a pointy rise in app installs and person site visitors as criticism mounts over Google’s increasing AI-powered Search options.
The surge follows Google introducing main updates to Search throughout its Google I/O developer convention. The corporate expanded AI-generated summaries, conversational search instruments, and its new ‘AI Mode’, which permits customers to ask follow-up questions straight inside Search as a substitute of shopping conventional web site hyperlinks.
Whereas Google described the replace as a significant step ahead for on-line search, many customers and publishers raised considerations about inaccurate AI-generated responses, decreased visibility for web sites, and the dearth of a easy possibility to totally disable AI-powered outcomes.
DuckDuckGo says the response has helped enhance curiosity in its platform. In accordance with the corporate, app installs in the USA rose by a median of 18.1 per cent week-over-week between Might 20 and Might 25, with installs peaking at 30.5 per cent on Might 25. On iPhones, installs reportedly rose by a median of 33 per cent.
Third-party analytics agency Apptopia additionally reported that DuckDuckGo’s common every day downloads within the US elevated by 29 per cent throughout the identical interval.
DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg criticised Google’s latest AI push, saying customers are being pressured into AI-powered experiences with out sufficient alternative. “Google is force-feeding AI with no solution to decide out,” Weinberg mentioned. “Consequently, their outcomes are getting worse, not higher.”
DuckDuckGo has more and more positioned itself instead for customers who need extra management over how AI seems in search outcomes. The corporate mentioned site visitors to its AI-free search web page has additionally elevated considerably. This model of the search engine disables AI-generated summaries and AI-created photos by default.
Story continues under this advert
Additionally Learn: DuckDuckGo provides AI picture filter and rip-off blocker to spice up privateness and security
Regardless of selling AI-free search, DuckDuckGo nonetheless provides non-obligatory AI instruments by means of its Duck.ai platform. Nevertheless, the corporate says it focuses closely on privateness and doesn’t gather customers’ search histories or AI chats for coaching functions.
The rising curiosity in DuckDuckGo additionally highlights a wider debate about the way forward for web search. Whereas firms like Google are quickly integrating generative AI into their platforms, some customers seem to want easier search experiences that prioritise conventional internet hyperlinks, privateness, and person management over automated AI solutions.