Sick of AI in Search? These 7 Google alternatives still put links first

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Sick of AI in your search results? Try these 8 Google alternatives

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I don't know about you, but I'm tired of seeing AI used in place of actual search results in my web browser or used to summarize whatever I'm looking for. Google has become useless because of this, and other popular search engines are following close behind.

With more search tools turning to AI, what can you do? Are there alternatives that don't push AI front and center? Why yes, there are.

Also: How to get rid of AI Overviews in Google Search: 4 easy ways

Here's a short list of search engines that do not push AI in your face and instead go the old-school route with actual website results.

A warning: Two of these search engines (Brave and DuckDuckGo) offer AI features that can be disabled. In Brave's case, it's the Answer With AI feature that can be disabled in Settings. With DuckDuckGo, there's a button at the top right for Duck AI, which you can disable in Settings. Once you've disabled those, they won't appear in your search results or on the main page of the engine.

1. DuckDuckGo

Best for anyone wanting to ditch Google for a familiar, established service.

DuckDuckGo has been my default search engine for some time now, for several reasons -- one of which is that it doesn't force AI into the results. It's also one of the more private search engines available. AI features are available but disabled by default. To enable or disable Duck AI, use the button in the top right or toggle it in Settings.

Also: Want free and anonymous access to AI chatbots? DuckDuckGo's new tool is for you

You can use DuckDuckGo in conjunction with the DuckDuckGo browser for extra security -- blocking, no cookie pop-ups, and the Leave No Trace feature. Another really great feature found in DuckDuckGo is the ability to hide all AI-generated images. Bravo to the company for that.

You can easily set DuckDuckGo as your default search engine in most web browsers.

2. Brave

Best for those who want total control over their search results, refuse to be bombarded with spam, and want to ensure no data is collected.

Go to search.brave.com, disable the Answer With AI feature in Settings first, and you won't find AI at the center of this privacy-focused search engine. On top of changing that setting, you also have to run your search without asking a question.

For example, after disabling the Answer With AI feature, I ran two searches: "What is Linux?" and "Linux."

What was really fascinating about this is that the question resulted in a summary (taken from Reddit), and the second just presented links. What that means is you can run a search for only link results, depending on your query.

Also: I've used nearly every browser out there, and these are my top 4 (spoiler: Chrome is out)

In 2021, Brave's search engine became the default for the Brave browser. I've used it, and it's quite good. With no data collected, you can bet I use it regularly. Brave's search engine is free to use.

You can disable the Answer With AI feature (in Settings), but the AI search options are still there on the search page. If you don't use those features, your search results will not include AI.

Keep in mind that the Brave index is intentionally smaller than Google's or Bing's to avoid spam and low-quality content.

3. Metacrawler

Best for those who want basic, no-nonsense results.

Metacrawler is a metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple search engines, including Google and Bing. By being an aggregator, you get a broader perspective on any subject and might come across results you wouldn't find elsewhere. Of course, results may vary.

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Metacrawler was the first meta search engine -- so it's trusted to stick around. It's been bought and sold several times, but it's still kicking.

What I like about Metacrawler is that it is as no-nonsense as you can get. You run a search query, and it gives you the results; nothing more, nothing less. It might seem very basic, but in this case, that's a good thing.

4. Dogpile

Best Metacrawler alternative - it's no-nonsense but with more features.

Dogpile actually fetches results from Google, Yahoo!, Yandex, and Bing, but it presents the results totally AI-free. By aggregating results from the bigger sites, you can be sure you'll find what you're looking for (without having to deal with AI summaries).

Dogpile has been around since 1996 and shows no sign of going away. It also includes features such as category links, Yellow Pages, White Pages, spelling correction, filters, statistics, recent searches, favorite fetches, and more.

Also: Use Google AI Overview for health advice? It's 'really dangerous,' investigation finds

I like to think of Dogpile as existing somewhere between Google and Metacrawler. It gives you an easy-to-view list of results, but also allows you to select from web, images, videos, and news.

5. Ecosia

Best for users wanting to help the environment.

Ecosia is touted as a "green search engine." The company behind Ecosia plants trees in more than 35 countries and restores biodiversity. Ecosia is transparent -- you can even view its current revenue. This search engine is all about helping the planet with green initiatives, all while giving you a search engine with optional AI features. If you simply run a normal search, you get normal results. If, on the other hand, you type your search query and click AI Search, you get AI results. The default, however, is a traditional search.

If you sign up for an Ecosia account, you can "level up" your browsing by giving you insights into your impact. You can see your long-term progress, earn a virtual currency you can spend, and view approximate climate outcomes connected to your level.

The company also offers a web browser that sets Ecosia as its default.

6. Mojeek

Best for those who prefer their results to come from smaller, less corporate sites.

Not only does Mojeek not include an AI feature, but it also doesn't track you, and it tends to prioritize smaller websites. Mojeek's web search results are 100% independent and come from its MojeekBot crawler.

One aspect that I really appreciate about Mojeek is that the results are ranked by the company's own algorithm. This is important because it highlights why so many search engines produce similar results to Google or Bing. It's because those search engines are using Google's or Microsoft's ranking algorithm. At the same time, you can select which search engines you want Mojeek to pull from, with options like Google, Bing, Brave, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, and more.

Also: Are AI browsers worth the security risk? Why experts are worried

Because Mojeek does not use tracking in any way, the results come by way of objective factors to always provide information neutrality.

7. Lilo

Another strong Earth-friendly alternative.

Lilo is unique: You can save sites directly on the page to shrink your carbon footprint, since you won't always need to search for the same sites. You'll notice the Lilo logo is a water drop. There's a reason for that -- for each search you perform, you earn a drop of water. That drop can then be donated to the association or project of your choice.

Also: How to turn off Gemini in your Gmail, Photos, Chrome, and more - it's easy to opt out of AI

Lilo also includes a news feed, though I've often found the results are typically in French (because most of the news feed options are French-based). I highly recommend using a web browser that includes a built-in translator, because there's some pretty good news to be found here.

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