As its web traffic continues to grow, alternative search engine DuckDuckGo is capitalizing on rising anti-AI sentiment by launching new browser extensions. These tools let users set its AI-free search page—noai.duckduckgo.com—as their default search engine. Once enabled, users are directed to a search experience without AI-generated answers, chat prompts, or an abundance of AI images in results, according to the company. The extensions are currently available for Chrome and Firefox. Meanwhile, users of the DuckDuckGo web browser already retain their AI settings even after clearing their browser history. The company states these extensions are designed to offer a consistent, AI-free search experience—something increasingly rare, especially after Google announced its AI-first overhaul of its search engine at its developer conference in May.

Since that announcement, DuckDuckGo's traffic has surged. Last week, the company reported that visits to its no-AI search page rose nearly 30% week-over-week, while U.S. app installs increased 18.1% week-over-week. U.S. iOS app installs hit a peak of 69.9% week-over-week growth. These trends followed Google's decision to revamp its search box in the biggest update to its engine in over 25 years. Now, instead of displaying links at the top of the page, Google prioritizes AI-generated search overviews—interactive experiences that can create visualizations, charts, graphs, or even mini apps on demand. Follow-up questions from AI Overviews lead users into an AI Mode chat experience. The traditional "10 blue links" that defined Google's early days now appear as an afterthought, buried beneath this AI-driven content. However, not everyone welcomes AI as the default, prompting some to switch to alternatives like DuckDuckGo, Kagi, and others. DuckDuckGo notes that traffic to its no-AI search page tripled on Thursday, May 28, 2026—a new record since Google's search announcement—and numbers continue to climb. This growth isn't sporadic either, the company points out; visits are averaging roughly 84% above the baseline, indicating a more sustained shift. In addition to the new "no AI" extensions for Chrome and Firefox, DuckDuckGo will soon update its original Privacy Essentials extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera to include controls for AI search settings. It's worth noting that DuckDuckGo isn't an anti-AI company; it still offers its own AI chatbot with access to popular models, as well as a subscription plan that includes the latest models, a VPN service, identity theft restoration, and personal information removal tools.