As its traffic continues to rise, alternative search engine DuckDuckGo tilts towards anti-AI sentiment by releasing new browser extensions that allow users to define their AI-free search experience; noai.duckduckgo.comas their default search engine.
Once activated, users will be directed to DuckDuckGo’s AI-free search page, where there are no AI-assisted answers, no chat prompts and fewer AI images in search results, the company claims. Extensions are currently available for Chromium and Firefox users. Meanwhile, people who have switched to the DuckDuckGo web browser already have their AI settings preserved, even if they delete their browser history.
The company says the extensions are meant to help people have a consistent search experience without AI — something that’s harder to come by these days, especially since Google announced its first AI revamp of its search engine at its developer conference earlier in May.
Since then, traffic to DuckDuckGo has boomed. Last week, the company noted that web visits to its non-AI search page were up nearly 30% week-over-week, and its US app installs were also up 18.1% week-over-week, with US iOS app installs peaking at 69.9% week-over-week.
These trends followed news that Google was overhauling its search framework in the biggest change to its search engine in more than 25 years. Now, instead of returning links at the top of the page, Google will favor sending users to AI-generated search overviews, which become more interactive experiences capable of generating visualizations, charts, graphs, or even mini-apps as needed. Follow-up questions from AI Overviews will push users into an AI-enabled conversational experience. The traditional “10 blue links” that defined Google in its earlier days are more of an afterthought, appearing beneath all this AI-powered productivity.
But not everyone agrees with the AI default, which is why some are making the switch to alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo, Kagi and others.
DuckDuckGo says it’s busy search page without AI tripled on Thursday, May 28, 2026 — a new high performance mark since Google’s search announcement — and the numbers are still climbing. Growth isn’t coming quickly either, the company points out. Instead, visits average about 84% above baseline, suggesting a more permanent shift.
In addition to the new “AI-free” Chrome and Firefox search extensions, DuckDuckGo will soon update the original DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera to also offer controls for AI search settings.
It’s worth noting that DuckDuckGo is not an anti-AI company. The company still offers its own AI chatbot with access to many popular models and a subscription program that provides access to the latest models and other tools, such as a VPN service, identity theft recovery and personal information removal services.
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