DuckDuckGo U.S. App Installs Surge 18.1% as Users Flee Google's AI-Focused Search

According to DuckDuckGo's data released on May 26, the app's weekly average installations in the U.S. surged 18.1% for the week ending May 25, with six consecutive days of growth and a single-day peak of 30.5%. On Apple's iOS platform, the increase was even more pronounced at 33%, reaching a peak of 69.9%. The company attributed the growth to user dissatisfaction with Google's mandatory AI integration in search results.

DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg stated: "Google is forcing users to accept AI with no way to opt out. Their search results are getting worse, not better. We want to be a platform where users have real control and can decide how much AI they want." DuckDuckGo offers an AI-disabled search version by default, which saw average traffic growth of 22.7% during the same period.