Google's AI search feature offers surprising boost to DuckDuckGo

Google’s strength in search is undeniable, and arguably unshakable. However, its years-long push into AI is generating controversy, and in some cases, pushing customers away altogether.

While Google commands over 90% of the search engine market, distrust of AI and complaints of “enshittification” appear to be driving some customers to alternatives like privacy browser DuckDuckGo.

It all comes down to recent announcements made by the tech giant, which appear to be offering a surprising boost to the competition.

Google I/O was the final straw for some

At I/O, Google centered its AI tools in product announcements. Some of the announcements elicited mixed reactions on social media, especially from those who feel as though the search giant has been AI onto users for awhile.

AI Mode as the default experience in search, for example, was one point of contention. For some, it was even the last straw. There’s evidence that some of these users are leaving Google for other companies that give them more optionality.

Last week, the DuckDuckGo Chief Communications and Policy Officer Kamyl Bazbaz told TheStreet that U.S. installs of its mobile browser app had risen considerably since Google’s I/O keynote.

U.S. installs of DuckDuckGo have risen 61% since the week before I/O, and installs are continuing to rise, according to information provided by the company.

Perhaps more impressively, the company shattered its single-day search traffic on Monday, buoyed by the recent installs. The timing is unmistakable for the 17-year-old privacy browser.

AI: Kingmaker or troublemaker?

Google has had misadventures in AI in the past, from a controversial “woke” AI image generator or more recent frustrations about its Gemini AI chatbot suffering “enshittification.”

But as the market leader, the company has felt little pressure to cede to criticism. Instead, it has felt empowered to trudge ahead under the estimation that customers will accept a new AI-powered normal.

There has not been an observable change in usage by available metrics, either.

DuckDuckGo’s recent success, however, shows that offering customers optionality could be a strategy to win over users estranged by Google’s search monopoly.

“We felt like we owed it to our users to give them a choice of how much AI they want and how much they don’t want in search,” Bazbaz said. “The interesting thing about DuckDuckGo right now is we really sit right in the middle of this tension.”

That’s to say, you can still get something resembling AI overview, or even use DuckDuckGo’s own private version of various leading AI models. However, Bazbaz says that users can choose to disable AI entirely if they want from the settings, or by going to noai.duckduckgo.com.

“We’re not trying to be the anti-AI search engine or browser, we’re trying to be the one that lets users choose,” Bazbaz says.

Ultimately, the question is whether the trend away from Google will be material, or whether it’ll last. While Google has faced its fair share of AI-related troubles in the past, those have not shaken its monopoly on search.

#Google039s #search #feature #offers #surprising #boost #DuckDuckGo