Bored with AI Overviews? I discovered 9 Google Search alternate options that confirmed me hyperlinks once more

If my downside is not simply AI, however how a lot information Google collects, Startpage is an fascinating different.

Launched round 20 years in the past, Startpage mainly submits my queries to Google and Bing anonymously on my behalf, so I can get plain previous Google-style outcomes with out truly looking out Google immediately.

It doesn’t retailer my IP tackle, use monitoring cookies, or retailer user-agent information. Its Anonymous View function also can masks my IP tackle from any web site I go to. “It primarily acts like a VPN,” Startpage mentioned.

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Startpage stands by “AI is a alternative,” not the default expertise, and has promised to make “all AI options optionally available.” In settings, I might disable search ideas, on the spot solutions, and promotional messaging.

Startpage does have Vanisha separate AI product, however even there, the pitch is privateness. Vanish gives “personal entry” to fashions comparable to GPT-5 and Claude, and conversations are by no means tracked and keep native on system.

In case you’re in search of the best solution to substitute Google, I might begin with DuckDuckGo.

DuckDuckGo has been round since 2008 and does not save or share my search or shopping historical past. It additionally by no means logs IP addresses or “any distinctive identifiers to disk” that could possibly be tied again to me or to my shopping historical past.

The factor is, DuckDuckGo does have AI options, together with Search Assist and Duck.ai.

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Nevertheless it additionally provides me an escape hatch: noai.duckduckgo.com. There, DuckDuckGo robotically disables Search Help, Duck.ai, and even AI-generated pictures by default. That is what makes DuckDuckGo really feel like the best choice once I wish to keep away from digging by settings, search one thing quick, and simply get to the hyperlinks.

Need search outcomes that are not repackaged Google or Bing? Attempt Mojeek.

Its founder first began constructing search expertise in 2004, and Mojeek now indexes greater than 9 billion pages. I point out that as a result of, in contrast to some Google alternate options, Mojeek crawls and indexes the online itself.

Mojeek does appear and feel much less polished than Google. Nevertheless it additionally has a strict no-tracking coverage, units no cookies until I decide in, and replaces IP addresses in logs with two-letter nation codes. Higher but, Mojeek is adamant that it “is not going to substitute search outcomes with AI-generated solutions.”

That mentioned, Mojeek is just not utterly anti-AI.

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It does use LLMs, comparable to Mixtral, to supply optional AI-generated summaries of search outcomes on desktop. I can disable or allow the function in settings. If enabled, summaries nonetheless don’t seem robotically after each question. I’ve to click on the “Summarize these outcomes” button that seems in the appropriate rail of the search web page.

Talking of Ecosiait is one I noticed advisable rather a lot whereas in search of Google alternate options. It has a feel-good pitch: Search the online, and Ecosia makes use of its earnings to assist local weather tasks, together with tree planting.

Proper now, it isn’t an impartial search index in the identical manner Mojeek is. Ecosia mentioned its search outcomes come from companions together with Google and Bing, although it doesn’t create private profiles based mostly on search historical past.

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The AI half is the difficulty. Ecosia has generative AI options, together with AI Overviews and AI Chat. Ecosia mentioned AI Overviews are a beta function and might be switched off in search settings the place obtainable. That makes it price attempting, particularly if the local weather mission can be a giant issue, but it surely’s not nice for avoiding AI fully.

Dogpile is the OG.

Launched in 1996, Dogpile is a metasearch engine. As a substitute of crawling and indexing the online itself, it pulls outcomes from different search engines like google and combines them into one web page. Which means Dogpile doesn’t have its personal impartial net index like Mojeek. It’s extra of a outcome aggregator.

Privateness is the place Dogpile will get tougher to suggest. Its Google Play itemizing mentioned it affords “no monitoring of your search historical past.” However its broader privateness coverage is extra ad-tech-heavy than the cleaner privateness guarantees from Startpage or DuckDuckGo. So, I might not deal with Dogpile as one of many strongest privateness choices right here.

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As for AI, Dogpile is fairly bare-bones. There are not any AI Overviews, AI chat home windows, or answer-engine options. It simply provides me a standard checklist of hyperlinks as a substitute of producing summaries or solutions.

Metacrawler is one other throwback.

Launched in 1994, when it was developed on the University of Washington, Metacrawler is much like Dogpile: It is a metasearch engine that pulls outcomes from different search engines like google. Metacrawler and Dogpile are additionally each InfoSpace Holdings providers, and InfoSpace Holdings is a System1 firm.

Sadly, privateness is the place Metacrawler will get tougher to counsel. System1’s privacy policy signifies it could acquire info by automated information assortment or monitoring applied sciences, together with IP addresses, search historical past, shopping historical past, cookies, and different utilization information.

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However this is not a roundup of Google alternate options targeted solely on privateness. It is about AI, and whether or not I can get an AI-free expertise or at the very least flip these options off. With Metacrawler, I didn’t discover AI Overviews, AI chat, or an answer-engine mode in its present search expertise. I can simply kind a question, get my hyperlinks, and be carried out.

Go ahead is an odd one.

Would I pay to look the online? Most likely not. However for individuals who do not thoughts paying $10 a month for limitless searches, Go ahead might provide a greater expertise. Its mannequin is straightforward: Pay for search, so Kagi does not must fund itself with surveillance adverts. Kagi mentioned it has no adverts, no monitoring, and no search historical past tied to accounts.

However Kagi is just not AI-free. In no way. It has Assistant, summarization, translation, research agentsand extra.

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So why point out it right here? As a result of Kagi makes its AI options decide in. In contrast to Google, it doesn’t make AI the default search expertise. Though, in settings, I solely noticed choices to disable “Auto Fast Reply” and search ideas. I might additionally allow “SlopStop” filters to suppress AI pictures, movies, and net search outcomes.

At this level, it is getting difficult to search out Google alternate options with no AI in any respect. Most appear to have some AI options now, and in lots of instances, these options are optionally available.

Anyway, whereas I used to be wanting up search engines like google, I stored seeing one title pop up: Brave Search. Launched in 2021, Courageous Search has a privateness focus, its personal impartial search index, and tight integration with the Courageous browser. It additionally markets itself round personal outcomes, no profiling, and no Massive Tech.

To be clear, Courageous Search is loaded with AI options. Courageous’s principal search web page promotes “AI-powered solutions,” with options like AI Answers and Ask Brave. I discovered in settings that I might flip off “Reply with AI,” which Courageous describes as making AI-powered solutions seem robotically for some searches.

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That helps, but when my principal purpose is to get away from AI-riddled search, Courageous doesn’t appear to be one of the best choose.