Millions ditch Google in wake of update that 'force-feeds users with AI features'
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Controversial shake-up to Google search is rolling out across the US
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Privacy-centric search tool DuckDuckGo has reported a "surge" in new users following the unprecedented shake-up to search confirmed by Google at its annual developer conference earlier this month. DuckDuckGo reports that app installs in the United States increased 18.1% for six consecutive days, peaking at 30.5% on May 25.
The Pennsylvania-based company says growth in the US has been multiple times bigger elsewhere in the world, suggesting the recent explosion in popularity was partly caused by changes rolled-out by Google, which are limited to the United States for now.
More evidence that this is all linked to the shake-up from Google, DuckDuckGo says visits to its noai.duckduckgo.com domain grew 22.7% week-on-week, with its peak growth of 27.7% taking place on May 24.
For those who don't know, noai.duckduckgo.com is a standalone version of the privacy-focused engine DuckDuckGo that provides a completely AI-free experience. Using this domain automatically turns off all AI-assisted features and filters out AI-generated images without any changes to your privacy settings.
For those who missed it, Google completely overhauled the product at the core of its $4.7 trillion (£3.5tn) business during the Google I/O developer conference.
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Gone is the uncluttered search box that made the webpage so popular, replaced with a new AI-powered experience.
Head of Search, Elizabeth Reid, said the change represents the "biggest upgrade in over 25 years". Its reworked search box will fundamentally alter how billions of people interact with the web. At the heart of this overhaul sits Gemini 3.5 Flash, now the default model for AI Mode. Google wants users to move beyond simple keywords and ask complex, conversational questions instead — supported by text, images, files, videos, or even Chrome tabs.
Google wants search to feel like an ongoing conversation, with AI-generated layouts, graphs, visuals and even mini apps arriving soon to help illustrate complex ideas.
Reddit is alight with posts from users making the switch to DuckDuckGo after Google decided to go all-in on Artificial intelligence.
We've seen quite a few posts on Reddit from people making the switch to DuckDuckGo after Google's announcements. One shared: "Due to recent change from google, I decide to finally join the Duck."
Another added: "I'm making a change to duckduckgo"
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Weighing in on the debate, DuckDuckGo Chief Executive Gabriel Weinberg said: "Google is force-feeding AI with no way to opt out. 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. That's why we're seeing a spike in people coming to DuckDuckGo this week, it's as simple as that."
Of course, it's worth noting that DuckDuckGo has been experimenting with AI features of its own. The US company says that it believes "the best way to protect your personal information from hackers, scammers, and privacy-invasive companies is to stop it from being collected at all. That's why millions of people choose DuckDuckGo over Chrome and other browsers to search and browse online."
It adds, "Our built-in search engine is like Google but never tracks your searches, and our browser blocks ads, trackers, and cookies that collect your data. It also offers private, useful, and optional AI, including Duck.ai, which lets you chat privately with ChatGPT, Claude, and other AIs, all in one place."
One of the differentiators between DuckDuckGo and Google is the fact that the former lets you switch off all of its Artificial Intelligence features within the settings. You can also bookmark noai.duckduckgo.com, where all AI features are off by default.