It’s no secret that Google, like most big tech companies, has gone all-in on AI. The company believes it’s the future, and, as such, has infused the technology into each of its products, none more obviously than Google Search. In the last two yearsGoogle has introduced AI summaries that want to answer your questions, pulling information from websites that fewer and fewer users actually visit and read themselves.
Given this trend, it should hardly come as a surprise that during I/O 2026, Google announced “A new era for AI discoveryThis “era” essentially marks the expansion of its investment in AI in search: beyond the roll out Its new Gemini 3.5 flash model for searchGoogle is making it easier to use its AI-generated results (or, perhaps, harder to avoid them). You can now expand the AI overview to continue the conversation in AI mode and continue to receive responses without manually connecting to any primary source. Google will also soon give select users access to search “agents,” which can take actions on your behalf on the web.
Google’s goal is to make search synonymous with AI, which will undoubtedly please Google’s investors, but also alienate some users. Many people still search Google to get good results for our queries, and not for AI-generated summaries and chats. Personally, I’m not interested in “carrying on a conversation” with Google’s AI: I want to find relevant websites to read and explore. As such, I’m looking for Google search options that either don’t use AI or let you disable all AI features entirely. Here are your top five options.
move on
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Kagi is a favorite Among tech fans who want more control over their search experience. That includes benefits like ad-free search and a high level of customization, but the real benefit of this discussion concerns its AI features: Kagi has them, and you can use them if you want, but you can avoid them entirely—and even use the browser to fight AI results on the web.
By default, Kagi puts its AI “quick answer” setting behind a keyboard shortcut. If you want to use it, you’ll need to insert a question mark at the end of your query. If you don’t use question marks, you’ll never see Kagi’s version of AI overviews, but you can also disable this feature entirely from Kagi’s settings. That way, even if you ask Kagi a more formal question, you’ll get generic website links — not an AI-generated answer. Kagi also includes an option (aptly called SlopeStop) to block certain results that search engines believe are AI-generated. It also applies to both image and video results.
Not only does Kagi allow you to return to a simpler time of endless blue links and zero AI-generated replies, but it actively works to prevent any known AI content from entering your feed. The only downside is that Kagi isn’t free: with other search engines, you pay for your usage by showing ads, but with Kagi, you pay with real money. Your first 100 searches are free and paid plans start at $5 per month.
startpage
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startpage The shtick is about user privacy. According to the companyThese search engines remove your personally identifiable information every time you search. Instead of sending your request directly from you, StartPage will anonymously send the query on your behalf to its search providers and return the results to you without sharing your data. The search engine does not save your search history, and its measures prevent your searches from being tracked across sites.
Aside from these privacy benefits, StarPage has few AI features to worry about. By default, you don’t have to deal with them at all on the web app, but you can check under Settings for any that show up – StartPage says it has an optional summaries feature that uses AI to generate result summaries, but I don’t even have an option in my StartPage settings. (Summary appears to be different from StartPage’s Instant Reply feature, which doesn’t use AI, but can also be turned off in Settings.) It’s the same story on mobile: If you’re using the iOS app, the company says it offers optional AI features, but I don’t see them in my settings either. The company also offers A private AI app called VanishBut it is unrelated to its search engine.
StartPage isn’t as feature-packed as other search engines, but that can be to its advantage. In my experience, it provides a standard search experience out of the box, without much (if any) AI.
quant
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quantAs far as I can tell, it only has one AI feature, called Flash Reply. Like other search engines, this feature uses AI to provide a summary of what you’re asking. Fortunately, if you want to use an AI-free search engine, it’s quite easy to disable it.
What do you think so far?
The first time you use Qwant – at least, in my experience – a flash answer will appear if Qwant’s AI deems it appropriate. You’ll see the option at the top of the search results window, complete with stars indicating its AI capabilities. Click “Flash Reply”, then select “Disabled” instead of “Activate by Quant” (default) or “Always Active”. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you can remove the option itself, so you’ll always have to look at the “Flash Reply” button, but at least you can quickly scroll down to see your direct links.
Dakdakgo
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Dakdakgo It has long been a go-to option for users looking for a privacy-focused search engine. However, in recent years, the company has taken a slightly more mainstream approach to AI, adding new features and chatbot integration to keep up with the rest of the industry. If you use DuckDuckGo’s defaults, you’ll actually see “Search Assist,” its version of AI overviews, and you’ll be invited to try out the company’s native chatbot Duck.ai. Fortunately, like the other entries on this list, you can disable these options for the most part, and focus on links.
In DuckDuckGo’s search engine, click the three lines to find the site’s settings. Here, select “AI Features,” where you’ll see all of DuckDuckGo’s AI options. Disable Duck.ai, then set Search Help to “Never”. Finally, you can choose to hide AI-generated images if you really want a search engine experience without AI.
Ecosia
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Ecosia A long-standing choice for eco-conscious web surfers. The company uses its ad revenue to plant trees around the world, making a compelling pitch: If you’re not going to use Google anyway, maybe you should use a search engine that makes the world a better (or at least greener) place.
While Ecosia’s core mission hasn’t changed, it has has Added new AI features to the mix. Notably, there are now Overviews, which are AI-generated summaries of Ecosia, as well as AI Chat, which uses OpenAI’s model to run. While overviews are enabled by default, you can disable them at any time from Ecosia’s settings (which you’ll find at the bottom of any search results). However, Ecosia does not allow you to disable its AI chat button, even if you are not using this feature. It might not be a dealbreaker for you, since the feature isn’t engaged until you click the button, but it’s a bit frustrating that Ecosia forces you to see an invitation to use AI chat every time you search.
