DuckDuckGo makes ‘AI-less’ search engine more accessible as its traffic booms

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

Once enabled, users will be directed to the company’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. The extensions are currently available for Chrome and Firefox users. Meanwhile, people who switched to the DuckDuckGo web browser actually have their AI settings preserved, even if they clear their browser history.

The company says the additions are intended to help people have a consistent, AI-free search experience — something that’s hard to achieve these days, especially after Google announced its first AI revamp for 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 up 18.1% week over week, with US iOS app installs peaking at 69.9% week over week growth.

These trends came on the heels of news that Google was overhauling its search box 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 prefer to send users to AI-generated search overviews, which are becoming more interactive experiences capable of creating visualizations, charts, graphs, or even applets, as needed. Follow-up questions from AI Overviews will prompt users to try chatting in AI mode. The traditional “Blue Ten Links” that defined Google in its earlier days are merely an afterthought, appearing beneath all this AI-fueled productivity.

But not everyone agrees with making AI the default, which is why some are turning to alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo, Kagi, and others.

DuckDuckGo says traffic to its AI-free search page tripled on Thursday, May 28, 2026 — a new high mark since Google Search’s announcement — and the numbers are still rising. The company points out that growth does not come in spurts either. Instead, visits are averaging approximately 84% above baseline, indicating a more sustainable shift.

In addition to the Chrome and Firefox extensions for “non-AI” search, DuckDuckGo will soon update the native DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera to provide controls for AI search settings as well.

It should be noted that DuckDuckGo is not an anti-AI company. The company still offers its AI-powered chatbot with access to many popular templates, and a subscription plan that provides access to the latest templates and other tools, such as a VPN service, identity theft recovery, and personal information removal services.