GoKawiilFollowing the AI-heavy Search announcements at last week’s Google I/O, DuckDuckGo says it has seen a notable and sustained surge in U.S. users, including a sharp jump in iPhone app installs. Here are the details.
iOS users in the US look for AI-free alternatives to Google
Last week, during the Google I/O keynote, the company announced a series of changes coming to its users over the coming weeks and months, most of which are related to AI being more integrated across its ecosystem.
You can certainly read all about it on 9to5Google’s coverage of the event, but when it comes to search specifically, Google announced an overhaul of the search box, accompanied by a press release calling this “a new ear for AI Search,” and the “biggest upgrade (to Google’s Search box) in over 25 years.”
And while some of the new features, such as custom generative UI, are poised to help users visualize and better understand what they are searching for, Google’s decision to push AI even deeper into Search has also drawn criticism from users who want a more traditional search experience.
In light of that, DuckDuckGo tells 9to5Mac that it has seen a sustained surge in U.S. users since Google I/O, with iOS leading all platforms. The company says iOS installs in the U.S. were up 33% week over week on average, compared with 18.1% growth overall.
DuckDuckGo also says visits to noai.duckduckgo.com, the AI-free version of its search platform, have also surged, with an average week-over-week growth of 22.7%.
Interestingly, DuckDuckGo notes that “US growth ran multiples of the international rate,” adding that these numbers not only held, but accelerated “through Memorial Day weekend, when activity typically dips.”
According to DuckDuckGo, these numbers suggest that, rather than being a global trend, the recent surge could be “a response to Google’s US-centric announcement.”
That said, DuckDuckGo has also been experimenting with AI features, while frequently going out of its way to make sure it communicates that they are optional, and can be avoided altogether via noai.duckduckgo.com.
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