DuckDuckGo installs are up 30% as users reject being ‘force-fed’ Google’s AI Search

Source: TechCrunch

Google’s AI Search Overhaul

Last week, after Google announced its huge overhaul to Search, a woman I overheard on the phone said she was switching to DuckDuckGo because you can “opt out of using AI.”
“Google just isn’t Google anymore,” she added.

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.

Backlash and Concerns

The reaction has been sharp. Some have argued the change could kill the open web, while others warned that AI‑generated overviews can surface inaccurate responses and take away control from users who might not want AI. It also overcomplicates simple searches—just try to Google the word “disregard”.

DuckDuckGo Gains Momentum

In response to Google’s changes, many users have begun defecting to DuckDuckGo, a privacy‑focused alternative that has historically held about 2% of the U.S. search market (StatCounter).

During Google’s search antitrust trial in 2023, DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg testified that Google’s exclusive default‑search contracts harmed DuckDuckGo’s ability to become the default on other browsers.

“Google is force‑feeding AI with no way to opt out,” Weinberg said, referring to the 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.”

Install Growth

• U.S. app installs rose 18.1% week‑over‑week on average from May 20 – May 25, compared with May 13 – May 18.
• Growth was sustained for six consecutive days, peaking at 30.5% on May 25.
• On iOS, week‑over‑week growth averaged 33%, peaking at 69.9%.

Traffic to AI‑Free Search

Visits to DuckDuckGo’s AI‑free search page, noai.duckduckgo.com, averaged 22.7% WoW growth, peaking at 27.7% on May 24. This page disables every AI feature (AI‑assisted answers, AI‑generated images) by default.

The trend is strongest in the U.S., and DuckDuckGo continued to gain users over the Memorial Day weekend—a period that usually sees a dip in traffic.

DuckDuckGo’s AI Offerings

DuckDuckGo also provides its own AI product, Duck.ai. It’s free, requires no account, and offers access to several models, including:

• Anthropic’s Claude 4.5 Haiku
• Meta’s Llama 4 Scout
• Mistral’s Small 3 24B
• OpenAI’s GPT‑5 mini

All chats are private: 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.”

Additional AI Features

• Search Assist – similar to Google’s AI overviews.
• AI Image Filter – removes AI‑generated images from search results.

Kamyl Bazbaz, DuckDuckGo’s chief communications and policy officer, noted that both features are among the company’s most popular, despite their differing ethos.

“People just want a choice,” Bazbaz said.

Sources

• Google Search overhaul announcement – TechCrunch
• Concerns about open web – The Next Web
• Inaccurate AI responses – X (formerly Twitter)
• DuckDuckGo market share – StatCounter
• Gabriel Weinberg testimony – CNBC
• Install and traffic growth data – DuckDuckGo press release

TechCrunch has reached out to Google for comment.