DuckDuckGo Installs Surge 30% as Consumers Reject Google ‘Force-Feeding’ AI with Search Engine

DuckDuckGo, which positions itself as a privacy-focused alternative to Google, has experienced a significant increase in user adoption following the search giant’s announcement of major changes to its search platform that heavily incorporate AI.

TechCrunch reports that DuckDuckGo claims that U.S. app installs increased by an average of 18.1 percent week-over-week during the period from May 20 to May 25, compared to the previous week of May 13 to May 18. The growth was sustained for six consecutive days and reached a peak of 30.5 percent on May 25. On iOS devices specifically, the rate of installation was even more dramatic, with week-over-week growth averaging 33 percent and peaking at 69.9 percent.

The surge in interest comes in direct response to Google’s announcement at its annual I/O developer conference that AI would take over its search engine, as previously reported by Breitbart News:

The redesigned search box expands to