DuckDuckGo Gains Momentum as Google Turns Search into AI
In the wake of Google's AI-powered search overhaul announced at I/O 2026, DuckDuckGo saw an 18% week-over-week rise in US installs (peaking around 30%), with Apple-device installs up to 70% on a single day and traffic to its no-AI search page up about 23%. DuckDuckGo emphasizes choice over mandatory AI, offering AI as an option via duck.ai while relying on Bing results and its own crawling, framing itself as a privacy-first alternative. The broader AI-search market continues to expand as users seek control over AI integration rather than forced features.