DuckDuckGo Enhances Access to Its ‘No-AI’ Search Engine During Traffic Surge

As DuckDuckGo’s traffic continues to rise, the alternative search engine is leveraging increasing anti-AI sentiment with the launch of new browser extensions that allow users to set its AI-free search experience, noai.duckduckgo.com, as their default search engine.

Once activated, users will be taken to DuckDuckGo’s AI-free search page, which guarantees no AI-assisted responses, no chat prompts, and a minimal presence of AI-generated images in the search results, as stated by the company. These extensions are currently available for Chrome and Firefox users. Moreover, those who have switched to the DuckDuckGo web browser will have their AI preferences preserved, even after clearing their browsing history.

The company emphasizes that the extensions are designed to provide a consistent AI-free search experience—a rarity today, especially in light of Google’s recent announcement regarding its AI-first revamp of its search engine during its developer conference earlier this May.

Since then, DuckDuckGo has seen significant growth in its traffic. Last week, the company reported a nearly 30% increase in visits to its AI-free search page week-over-week, while U.S. app installs surged by 18.1% in the same timeframe, peaking at a remarkable 69.9% week-over-week growth in U.S. iOS app installs.

These developments occur alongside Google’s major revamp of its search engine, marking the most substantial change in over 25 years. Rather than simply providing links at the top, Google is increasingly steering users towards AI-generated search overviews, which are transforming into interactive experiences capable of producing visualizations, charts, graphs, and even mini applications. Follow-up queries through AI Overviews will lead users into an AI Mode chat experience, relegating the traditional “10 blue links” that characterized Google’s search results to a secondary position, appearing below all this AI-enhanced functionality.

However, the push for AI as the default option is not universally embraced, prompting some users to look for alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo, Kagi, and others.

DuckDuckGo remarked that traffic to its AI-free search page tripled on Thursday, May 28, 2026—a new record since Google’s search announcement—and the upward trend continues. This surge is consistent, averaging around 84% above the baseline, suggesting a more enduring shift in user preference.

In addition to the new “no AI” search extensions for Chrome and Firefox, DuckDuckGo intends to update its original DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera to incorporate control settings for AI search options as well.

It’s worth mentioning that DuckDuckGo is not completely against AI. The company also offers its own AI chatbot, which utilizes several well-known models, as well as a subscription service for access to the latest models and other features, including a VPN, identity theft recovery, and personal information removal services.