These Google Search Alternatives Give You Control Over How AI Works.
It’s no secret that Google, like most major tech companies, has fully embraced artificial intelligence. The company believes it’s the future and has therefore integrated this technology into all its products, most noticeably in Google Search. Over the past two years, Google has introduced AI services that aim to answer your questions by extracting information from websites that fewer and fewer users visit and read themselves.
Given this trend, it’s hardly surprising that Google announced a ” new era of AI-powered search” during its I/O 2026 conference. This “era” essentially marks an expansion of its investment in AI in search: in addition to implementing the new Gemini 3.5 Flash model in search , Google is making AI-generated results even easier to consume (or perhaps harder to ignore). You can now expand the AI overview to continue the conversation in AI mode and continue receiving answers without consulting any primary sources yourself. Google will also soon give select users access to search “agents” that can perform actions on your behalf across the web.
Google’s goal is to make search synonymous with artificial intelligence, which will undoubtedly please Google’s investors, but will also alienate some users. Many of us still look to Google for good results for our queries, not AI-generated summaries and chats. Personally, I’m not interested in “continuing a dialogue” with Google’s AI: I want to find relevant websites to read and explore. So, I started looking for Google Search alternatives that either don’t use AI or allow you to disable all AI features entirely. Here are the five best options.
Kagi
Kagi is a popular service among tech enthusiasts who want more control over their search experience. It offers advantages like ad-free search and extensive customization options, but its real value for this discussion lies in its AI features: Kagi has them, and you can use them as you wish, but you can also ignore them entirely—and even use your browser to counteract AI-generated search results online.
By default, Kagi stores the “Quick Reply” setting for AI as a keyboard shortcut. To use it, you’ll need to add a question mark to the end of your query. If you don’t use question marks, you’ll never see Kagi’s AI review, but you can also disable this feature entirely in Kagi’s settings. This way, even if you ask Kagi a more formal question, you’ll get regular website links rather than an AI-generated answer. Kagi also includes a convenient option (called SlopStop) for blocking certain results that the search engine believes are AI-generated. This applies to both images and videos.
Kagi not only allows you to return to the simpler days of endless blue links and AI-generated blanks, but it also actively blocks any known AI-generated content from appearing in your feed. The only drawback is that Kagi isn’t free: while other search engines charge for use by viewing ads, Kagi requires real money. The first 100 searches are free, and paid plans start at $5 per month.
Home page
Startpage’s main feature is user privacy.According to the company , this search engine deletes your personal information every time you search. Instead of submitting your query directly, Startpage anonymously forwards your query to its search engines on your behalf and returns results without sharing your data. The search engine does not store your search history, and its measures are designed to prevent your search queries from being tracked across different websites.
Beyond these privacy benefits, Starpage has few AI features to worry about. By default, you don’t have to deal with them at all in the web app, but you can check in the settings for any features that might appear—Starpage claims to have an optional “Summary” feature that uses AI to generate summaries of results, but I don’t even have that option in Startpage’s settings. (The “Summary” feature appears to be separate from Startpage’s “Instant Reply” feature, which doesn’t appear to use AI, but which can also be disabled in settings.) It’s a similar story on mobile: if you use the iOS app, the company claims to have additional AI features, but I don’t see them in my settings either. The company also offers a private AI app called Vanish , but it’s unrelated to its search engine.
Startpage isn’t as feature-rich as other search engines, but that’s probably to its advantage. In my experience, it offers a standard search out of the box, with virtually no artificial intelligence.
Quantum
As far as I can tell, Qwant only has one AI feature, called Flash Answer. Like other search engines, this feature uses AI to provide a short description of your query. Fortunately, if you want to use a search engine without AI, it’s fairly easy to disable.
When you first use Qwant—at least in my experience—the “Quick Reply” feature will appear if Qwant’s AI deems it necessary. You’ll see this option at the top of the search results window, with stars indicating the AI’s capabilities. Click “Quick Reply,” then select “Deactivated” rather than “Activated by Qwant” (the default) or “Always Activated.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like you can remove the option itself, so you’ll always have to keep your eye on the “Quick Reply” button, but at least you can quickly scroll down to find easy links.
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo has long been a popular choice for users seeking a privacy-focused search engine. However, in recent years, the company has taken a somewhat reckless approach to implementing artificial intelligence, adding new features and chatbot integration to keep up with competitors. If you use DuckDuckGo’s default settings, you’ll actually see “Search Assistance”—an AI version of reviews—and you’ll be encouraged to try Duck.ai, the company’s original chatbot. Fortunately, as with other items on this list, you can mostly disable these options and focus on links.
In the DuckDuckGo search engine, click the three bars to find the site settings. Here, select “AI Features,” where you’ll see all of DuckDuckGo’s AI options. Disable Duck.ai, then set “Search Assistance” to “Never.” Finally, you can hide AI-generated images if you really want an AI-free search.
Ecosia
Ecosia has long been a choice for eco-conscious internet users. The company uses advertising revenue to plant trees around the world, making its offering quite appealing: if you’re not going to use Google anyway, maybe you should choose a search engine that makes the world a better place (or at least greener).
While Ecosia’s core mission remains unchanged, it has added new AI features. Specifically, it now features “Reviews”—summaries generated by Ecosia’s AI—as well as “Chat with AI,” which uses OpenAI models. While “Reviews” are enabled by default, you can disable them at any time in Ecosia’s settings (which you’ll find at the bottom of your search results). However, Ecosia doesn’t allow you to disable the “Chat with AI” button, even if you don’t use it. This may not be a dealbreaker for you, as the feature isn’t activated until you click the button, but it’s a bit frustrating that Ecosia forces you to see a prompt to use “Chat with AI” every time you search.