Google is ditching search as we know it, and not everyone is happy about the impending changes. DuckDuckGo, a privacy-friendly search and browser alternative, reports that installs in the United States climbed sharply in the days after last week’s Google I/O, with app downloads rising by around 30% and traffic to its AI-free search page climbing steadily.
Google I/O introduced the tech giant’s next-generation Google Search, which will replace the traditional search box and link-based results with conversational AI. Later this summer, the service will also incorporate agentic AI that can perform research and web-based tasks on the user’s behalf.
DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg argues that Google is “force-feeding AI with no way to opt out,” explaining that Google’s Gemini-driven Search experience defaults to AI responses that are difficult for users to turn off. He also says this makes results tougher to navigate for users who prefer classic web links and a simpler layout, per a statement sent to Tom’s Guide.
By contrast, DuckDuckGo positions itself as a privacy-focused search engine that lets people decide when to use AI and when to see a traditional results page. DuckDuckGo offers an AI-free mode, in which AI-generated answers and images are disabled by default. These tools rely on models from multiple vendors and sit behind privacy safeguards that DuckDuckGo says strip identifying data and limit retention.
There are clearly many web users who do not want AI-generated responses pushed into every query, even as Google and other platforms bet heavily on AI agents. For now, DuckDuckGo appears to be one of the main destinations for users who want a search engine that keeps AI as an option rather than the default.
