Overview
- Google announced at its I/O developer conference on May 19 that Search would shift to an AI‑first model, introducing an “intelligent search box,” AI Mode and Gemini 3.5 Flash as the default model.
- In the week after that announcement DuckDuckGo reported U.S. app installs rose about 18.1% on average and peaked near 30.5%, with iOS installs jumping as much as about 70% at peak days.
- Visits to DuckDuckGo’s No‑AI page more than tripled and have averaged roughly 84% above baseline since May 19, as the company promotes an AI‑opt‑out experience that disables its own optional AI tools.
- Users and publishers have complained that Google’s AI overviews can be inaccurate and that AI summaries reduce visibility for websites, raising questions about how referral traffic and ad monetization will change.
- Despite the spikes, Google still controls roughly 90% of global search, so current shifts represent a measurable but small dislocation and leave the long‑term market and regulatory effects uncertain.