DuckDuckGo has launched browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox that let users permanently set its AI-free search page as their default engine. The move directly counters Google’s recent integration of AI summaries into Search, which many users have found intrusive.
Traffic to noai.duckduckgo.com—DuckDuckGo’s stripped-down search without AI-generated answers, chat prompts, or images—tripled on May 28 following Google’s I/O announcement and has since hovered 84% above baseline. In the United States, DuckDuckGo app installs spiked 18.1% week-over-week between May 20 and 25, with iOS installs hitting a single-day peak of 69.9% growth, according to TechCrunch and analytics firm Apptopia.
Google’s “biggest upgrade to its Search box in over 25 years” replaced classic blue links with AI agents and conversational summaries. DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg criticized the lack of opt-out: “Google is force-feeding AI… their results are getting worse, not better. We want to be the place that puts users in charge.”
The extension, called DuckDuckGo No-AI Search, redirects all queries to the AI-free subdomain. A companion Privacy Essentials extension lets users toggle individual AI features. DuckDuckGo is not anti-AI: it still operates Duck.ai (a private chatbot with models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Mistral) and an AI-assist feature. Spokesperson Kamyl Bazbaz noted both AI and no-AI products rank among the most popular.
Brave and Mozilla are also capitalizing on AI fatigue. Brave launched Brave Origin, a $59.99 stripped-down browser with no AI assistant, crypto wallet, or VPN. Mozilla’s upcoming Project Nova redesign will include a single toggle to disable all AI features by default.
