Google’s latest attempt to remake search around artificial intelligence has produced an unexpected winner. In the weeks since the company’s I/O 2026 keynote, DuckDuckGo has recorded its strongest growth in years. Installs climbed. Traffic hit records. And much of the momentum has come from iPhone users who simply want the old web back.
The numbers tell a clear story. U.S. app installs rose an average of 18.1 percent week-over-week in the period from May 20 to May 25 compared with the prior week, according to data DuckDuckGo shared with TechCrunch. Growth held steady for six straight days. It peaked at 30.5 percent on May 25. On iOS the figures ran hotter. Average weekly growth reached 33 percent, with a single-day spike of 69.9 percent.
Those early gains did not fade. A follow-up report on June 2 showed U.S. installs for the most recent week sat 61 percent above pre-announcement levels. The peak day, June 1, came in 76 percent higher. iOS led again. Installs on Apple devices ran 95 percent above the baseline, nearly double the earlier pace. On that Monday DuckDuckGo logged its highest single-day search traffic ever. 9to5Mac first detailed the sustained surge and the app’s new standing as the third-most downloaded utility on the iOS App Store, behind only Chrome.
But downloads form only part of the picture. Visits to noai.duckduckgo.com, the company’s dedicated AI-free search endpoint, jumped sharply too. Early data showed average weekly growth of 22.7 percent, peaking at 27.7 percent on May 24. Then the numbers accelerated. Traffic more than tripled by May 28 and has averaged 84 percent above baseline since Google’s announcements. MacRumors reported the tripling. A day later TechCrunch confirmed the new high-water mark and noted the company’s swift response.
DuckDuckGo moved to meet demand. It released browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox that let users set noai.duckduckgo.com as their default search engine. The extensions preserve the no-AI setting even after clearing history. Plans call for support on Edge and Opera soon. The message is straightforward. Users can choose exactly how much artificial intelligence they want. Or none at all.
Google took the opposite approach. At I/O the company unveiled its biggest search overhaul in more than 25 years. Traditional blue links now sit below AI-generated overviews, conversational agents, visualizations, and follow-up prompts. The new intelligent search box pushes AI suggestions, connects to Gmail and Photos, and funnels users into AI Mode for extended dialogue. There is no clear way to turn it off. “Google is force-feeding AI with no way to opt out,” DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg told reporters. “As a result, their results are getting worse, not better. We want to be the place that puts users in charge and allows them to decide how much or how little AI they want.”
The backlash arrived fast. Some users complained of inaccurate summaries. Others said the changes buried useful links and made simple queries feel like conversations they never asked to join. One woman interviewed by TechCrunch switched because she could “opt out of using AI.” Another simply said Google “just isn’t Google anymore.” Third-party analytics from Apptopia backed the trend. The firm measured a 29 percent rise in average daily U.S. downloads and 12 percent globally during the same late-May window.
And yet DuckDuckGo remains small. It holds roughly 0.7 percent of worldwide search traffic and about 2 percent of the U.S. market, according to StatCounter data cited across reports. That gap explains why even modest percentage gains feel significant. The company has never enjoyed default placement on major platforms the way Google has. Its growth has always depended on word of mouth, privacy concerns, and moments when the dominant player overreaches.
This moment looks different. The reaction is not purely anti-AI. DuckDuckGo itself offers optional AI features and insists it is not opposed to the technology. “People just want a choice,” said Kamyl Bazbaz, a DuckDuckGo executive. The frustration centers on lack of control. Google’s changes arrive without an off switch. Its summaries can hallucinate or oversimplify. They reduce the open web to synthesized answers that sometimes cite sources poorly or not at all.
Privacy adds another layer. DuckDuckGo does not track users or build personal profiles. It serves ads based on the immediate query rather than long-term data. That stance has appealed to a consistent niche for years. Now the niche is expanding. Installs on iPhones have been especially strong, perhaps because Safari users can easily set alternative defaults or because Apple’s own privacy emphasis resonates with the same audience.
The company wasted no time capitalizing. Beyond the extensions it has amplified its “It’s time to Fire Google” messaging on social media. Traffic records on June 1 suggest the wave has not crested. If the new browser tools convert even a fraction of curious visitors into daily users, the gains could compound.
Google, for its part, shows no sign of retreat. Executives have described the AI overhaul as essential for keeping search relevant against chat-based competitors. They point to billions of monthly users already engaging with AI Overviews and doubling query volume in some segments. Yet the early data from DuckDuckGo and independent trackers indicate a measurable segment of users disagrees with the execution.
What happens next will matter. If Google adds a prominent opt-out or tones down the forced AI layer, some defectors may return. If not, DuckDuckGo’s current momentum could harden into something more permanent. Market share that has hovered near 2 percent in the U.S. for years might finally tick higher. Browser rankings on iOS could improve further.
Either way the episode reveals something fundamental. Search remains a deeply personal tool. Users tolerate change when it feels optional. They resist when it feels imposed. Google bet that AI would make search smarter and more engaging. A meaningful slice of the audience has answered by downloading an app that promises the opposite. Less AI. More choice. And for the moment, more traffic than ever before.
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