DuckDuckGo sees U.S. user surge after Google’s AI search rollout

Image credit: Abondance

WASHINGTON – DuckDuckGo experienced a significant increase in U.S. user growth in late May after Google introduced AI-generated search overviews, as users sought alternative search experiences.

Mobile app installations for DuckDuckGo in the United States rose by an average of 18.1 percent between May 20 and May 25, 2026, peaking at a 30.5 percent increase on May 25 and reaching up to 69.9 percent on iOS devices, according to company data.

Traffic to noai.duckduckgo.com tripled on May 28, 2026, and has remained 84 percent above its usual levels, indicating a sustained shift in user behavior, DuckDuckGo reported.

Google launched its AI Overviews at its annual Google I/O developer conference on May 19-20, 2026, replacing traditional search results with summaries generated by artificial intelligence. This change prompted considerable user backlash.

Kamyl Bazbaz, vice president of communications at DuckDuckGo, stated that the surge in users underscored a desire for choice in how people access information online. He added that while Google’s AI Overviews were intended to be helpful, many users found them to be an unwanted forced integration.

DuckDuckGo responded by introducing new extensions for Chrome and Firefox browsers, which automatically set noai.duckduckgo.com as the default search engine, offering users a direct path to search results without AI summaries.

Gabriel Weinberg, CEO of DuckDuckGo, emphasized that the company’s primary differentiator is user choice, not an anti-AI stance. He highlighted that DuckDuckGo also offers its own AI assistant, Duck.ai, but prioritizes giving users control over their search experience.

The company’s strategy contrasts with Google’s broader integration of AI across its products, which includes partnerships with AI developers such as Anthropic, Meta, Mistral and OpenAI.

Industry analysts suggested that the user migration to DuckDuckGo highlights growing consumer demand for options that allow them to opt out of pervasive AI features in their daily digital interactions.

Source: Abondance