Last week, it was reported that popular privacy-focused search engine browser DuckDuckGo saw a surge in installs after Google I/O last month, where the tech giant announced big AI changes to Search. Now, as its traffic continues to rise, DuckDuckGo is launching new browser extensions that set its no-AI search experience as the default search engine.
DuckDuckGo rolls out new browser extensions to make no-AI search easier
The extensions are available for Chrome and Firefox browsers. Once you install and enable them, you will be directed to an AI-free search page (noai.duckduckgo.com). Here, there will be no AI-assisted answers and no chat prompts. Also, there will be fewer AI images in the search results. Meanwhile, users already using the DuckDuckGo browser keep their AI settings saved.
The company notes that the extensions are here to offer a consistent AI-free search experience, which itself is a big deal these days. Especially after Google announced a massive AI-first revamp of its search box in years. Since Google’s announcement, DuckDuckGo’s traffic has been surging. The company, last week, said that web visits to its no-AI search page were up nearly 30% week-over-week. Its US app installs also saw an 18.1% week-over-week jump. The iOS app installs peaked at 69.9% week-over-week growth.
The extensions are available for Chrome and Firefox
All this came after Google made its biggest change to search in over 25 years. In simple terms, instead of showing links first, Google will prioritize sending users to AI-generated overviews that can create visuals, charts, graphs, or even mini apps. Any follow-up questions from AI Overviews will send users into an AI Mode chat experience. Meanwhile, the traditional “blue links” will appear lower on the page, below all this AI space.
While that’s quite innovative from a tech point of view, not everyone is on board with this change. This is why some are moving to alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo. For what it’s worth, the company (DuckDuckGo) says traffic to its no-AI search page tripled on May 28th, 2026, hitting a new high since Google’s search update. The numbers are reportedly still climbing. It says that this growth is steady, with visits averaging about 84% above normal levels, suggesting a sustained shift.
Besides the new extensions, DuckDuckGo says it will update its original DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera to offer controls for AI search settings.
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