After the new artificial intelligence-supported search features announced by Google at the I/O 2025 event, it seems that some users have turned to alternative search engines. According to data shared by DuckDuckGo, there has been a remarkable increase in the company’s mobile application downloads, especially in the US market. This rise, recorded after Google more visibly integrated artificial intelligence into the search experience, reveals users’ interest in different search experiences. Data shows that the increase is not just limited to app downloads, but also includes interest in DuckDuckGo’s special page where artificial intelligence features are disabled.
According to company data shared with Mashable, DuckDuckGo’s mobile app downloads increased by an average of 18.1 percent on a weekly basis in the US following the Google I/O event. The highest increase was recorded on May 25, and the daily growth rate reached 33 percent. The fact that users started to evaluate alternative options, especially after the new artificial intelligence features announced by Google, is shown as one of the main reasons for this increase. The company also emphasizes that the increase in question occurred mainly in the USA and is not a random trend on a global scale.
Interest in DuckDuckGo’s AI-free search option has increased
The data reveals that Apple device users’ orientation towards DuckDuckGo is more pronounced. The company’s iOS app was downloaded 33 percent more on a weekly basis. In addition, the growth rate on the iOS side reached 69.9 percent on May 25. This table indicates that users, especially in the Apple ecosystem, may be more willing to switch to alternative search engines.
In addition, DuckDuckGo announced that the special search page it offers at “noai.duckduckgo.com”, where all artificial intelligence features are turned off by default, also experienced a significant increase in traffic. According to the company’s data, visitor traffic to this page increased by an average of 22.7 percent on a weekly basis after the Google I/O event. The highest daily increase in traffic was recorded as 27.7 percent on May 24. These results show that some users continue to prefer more traditional search experiences over AI-powered results.
DuckDuckGo founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg claimed in his statement on the subject that Google does not leave artificial intelligence features to the users’ choice. According to Weinberg, users’ inability to completely disable artificial intelligence-supported results leads to increased criticism of the search experience. On the other hand, the company states that it offers an approach where users can determine how much artificial intelligence they want to see.
On the other hand, it should be noted that DuckDuckGo is not completely anti-artificial intelligence. The company’s feature called “Search Assist” can provide summary information similar to Google’s Artificial Intelligence Overviews. In addition, a separate artificial intelligence service called Duck.AI is also offered to users. However, the company emphasizes that these tools are optional and are not made a mandatory part of the default experience.
The privacy-focused approach that DuckDuckGo has maintained for many years continues to have an impact on user preferences. The company states that it does not store search histories, does not transform user behavior into personal profiles, and does not use chat data for training artificial intelligence models. In addition, it also offers tools such as “AI Image Filter” that can filter artificial intelligence-generated images in search results.
Recently, the competition between search engines has focused not only on the accuracy or speed of the results, but also on the role of artificial intelligence in user experience. While Google continues to place artificial intelligence at the center of search, DuckDuckGo is trying to offer an experience where users can decide to what extent they want to see this technology. Recent data reveals that at least a certain number of users are starting to prefer this approach.