DuckDuckGo Sees 30% Surge in Installs as Users Reject Google's AI-Powered Search

The tide seems to be turning against Google's AI-powered search. Following the tech giant's announcement of a major overhaul to its search engine, users are flocking to DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused alternative that promises an AI-free experience. The catalyst for this shift was a conversation overheard last week, where a woman expressed her frustration with Google's new AI-driven search, saying, "Google just isn't Google anymore." She was switching to DuckDuckGo because it allows her to "opt out of using AI." Google's revamped search engine, unveiled at its annual developer conference I/O, replaces the traditional list of blue links with an AI agent that answers queries, executes tasks, and runs background monitoring agents.

While some have hailed this change as a revolutionary step forward, others have raised concerns that it may kill the open web, provide inaccurate responses, and strip users of control. The new AI overviews have also been criticized for overcomplicating simple searches, such as looking up the word "disregard." The backlash against Google's AI-powered search has benefited DuckDuckGo, which has long struggled to break past Google's dominance in the search market. According to DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg, Google's "exclusive default search contracts" have hindered the company's ability to compete.

Now, as users seek an alternative to Google's AI-driven search, DuckDuckGo is seeing significant growth. The company's app installs in the US increased by 18.1% week-over-week on average between May 20 and May 25, compared to the previous week. This growth peaked at 30.5% on May 25.

On iOS, the rate of install growth was even higher, averaging 33% week-over-week and peaking at 69.9%. DuckDuckGo's AI-free search page, noai.duckduckgo.com, also saw substantial growth, with visits increasing by 22.7% week-over-week and peaking at 27.7% on May 24. The company attributes this trend to users seeking a more private and user-controlled experience.

DuckDuckGo offers its own AI product, Duck.ai, which provides access to various models, including Anthropic's Claude 4.5 Haiku, Meta's Llama 4 Scout, Mistral's Small 3 24B, and OpenAI's GPT-5 mini. All chats on Duck.ai are private, with user IP addresses stripped before requests reach model providers, conversations deleted within 30 days, and chats not used for training. "People just want a choice," said Kamyl Bazbaz, DuckDuckGo's chief communications and policy officer.

The company also offers Search Assist and an AI Image Filter, which are among its most popular features. As users continue to defect from Google's AI-powered search, DuckDuckGo is poised to gain a larger share of the search market. The company has reached out to Google for comment but has not received a response.