People Flock to Privacy-Focused DuckDuckGo as Google Leans Heavily Into AI

These ducks are looking mighty. Search engine and web browser developer DuckDuckGo said this week that it’s getting a surge of new customers, and the increase just happens to coincide with Google’s I/O developer conference.

User privacy was a major part of how DuckDuckGo marketed itself back when it launched in 2008. The Pennsylvania-based company doesn’t track customer data, record search histories or log IP addresses, allowing customers to avoid being targeted by ads based on their browsing patterns. 

A representative for DuckDuckGo told CNET that, in the US, it saw 21% more installations of its browser from May 20 through May 26 — including a 37% spike on Tuesday — compared with May 13 through May 19. Browser installs on iOS rose 33%, including 69% on Memorial Day.

Why the jump? Google held its I/O conference from May 19 to May 20 and announced several AI initiatives. One of those initiatives was an expanded AI-driven search interface that can deliver expanded answers to longer queries. People can also drop videos, pictures and files into the search box for a multimodal search.

Beyond the installations, the DuckDuckGo representative told CNET there was a 500% increase in mentions of the company across all social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and X, among others.

DuckDuckGo founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg said in a statement that Google is “force-feeding AI with no way to opt out” and pointed to a report that indicated Google searches are getting worse. 

“We want to be the place that puts users in charge and allows them to decide how much or how little AI they want,” Weinberg said.

AI flexibility 

A Google spokesperson said that Google’s AI Mode, the button next to the search bar, now has more than 1 billion monthly users. 

According to Elizabeth Reid, Google vice president and head of search, the number of searches in AI Mode has more than doubled every quarter since it launched a year ago. Reid said that Google search queries reached an all-time high in the first quarter of 2026.

Read more: Google I/O Left Me Confused: Who Benefits From All This AI?

Google Search also offers a web filter that returns only text-based links without AI overviews, as CNET details here.

DuckDuckGo offers customers flexibility regarding how much AI they want in their search experience. The browser has a Search Assist function that uses AI to help answer search queries, and users can designate in its settings how often they want it to appear, including never.

You can also go AI-free by using the noai.duckduckgo.com search, which doesn’t include AI-assisted answers or AI-generated images. This page had a 23% increase in searches during the period May 20 through May 25 compared to the period between May 13 through May 18, the company said.

“People just want a choice,” said Kamyl Bazbaz, DuckDuckGo’s chief communications and policy officer.

DuckDuckGo has a chatbot feature, Duck.ai, that allows people to choose among models from OpenAI, Anthropic and others. The browser also features an Ask AI button to the right of the search bar, which you can use to get AI-generated answers. Weinberg said it doesn’t collect search or chat histories and that “nothing is used for AI training.”

Cloud network and cybersecurity company Cloudflare said DuckDuckGo was the No. 2 most-used search engine on mobile and No. 3 overall in the US in December 2025.