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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Google alternatives with little to no AI still exist.
- Startpage and DuckDuckGo are the top options.
- Mojeek is best for an independent search index.
I’m not the biggest AI critic in the world, but even I’ll admit it: I don’t always want Google summarizing the internet for me.
Honestly, I wish I could turn off AI Overviews. I also don’t want to be nudged into AI Mode with every query. Sometimes, I just want to type a few words, get a wall of blue links, and decide what to open myself. Yes, I know there are ways to make Google feel a little more like old Google, but they’re clunky. And, sure, I could switch to a different search engine, but that’s weird, right?
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I’ve been Googling for 20 years.
Still, it got me wondering: Are Google’s competitors going all in on AI, too? So, I went hunting for alternatives — ones that use little to no AI and still feel like a classic search engine. Apparently, that version of the internet is getting harder to find.
If my problem isn’t just AI, but how much data Google collects, Startpage is an interesting alternative.
Launched around 20 years ago, Startpage basically submits my queries to Google and Bing anonymously on my behalf, so I can get plain old Google-style results without actually searching Google directly.
It does not store my IP address, use tracking cookies, or store user-agent data. Its Anonymous View feature can also mask my IP address from any site I visit. “It essentially acts like a VPN,” Startpage said.
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Startpage stands by “AI is a choice,” not the default experience, and has promised to make “all AI features optional.” In settings, I could disable search suggestions, instant answers, and promotional messaging.
Startpage does have Vanish, a separate AI product, but even there, the pitch is privacy. Vanish provides “private access” to models such as GPT-5 and Claude, and conversations are never tracked and stay local on device.
If you’re looking for the easiest way to replace Google, I’d start with DuckDuckGo.
DuckDuckGo has been around since 2008 and doesn’t save or share my search or browsing history. It also never logs IP addresses or “any unique identifiers to disk” that could be tied back to me or to my browsing history.
The thing is, DuckDuckGo does have AI features, including Search Assist and Duck.ai.
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But it also gives me an escape hatch: noai.duckduckgo.com. There, DuckDuckGo automatically disables Search Assist, Duck.ai, and even AI-generated images by default. That’s what makes DuckDuckGo feel like the easiest option when I want to avoid digging through settings, search something fast, and just get to the links.
Want search results that aren’t repackaged Google or Bing? Try Mojeek.
Its founder first started building search technology in 2004, and Mojeek now indexes more than 9 billion pages. I mention that because, unlike some Google alternatives, Mojeek crawls and indexes the web itself.
Mojeek does look and feel less polished than Google. But it also has a strict no-tracking policy, sets no cookies unless I opt in, and replaces IP addresses in logs with two-letter country codes. Better yet, Mojeek is adamant that it “will not replace search results with AI-generated answers.”
That said, Mojeek is not completely anti-AI.
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It does use LLMs, such as Mixtral, to offer optional AI-generated summaries of search results on desktop. I can disable or enable the feature in settings. If enabled, summaries still do not appear automatically after every query. I have to click the “Summarize these results” button that appears in the right rail of the search page.
Speaking of Ecosia, it’s one I saw recommended a lot while looking for Google alternatives. It has a feel-good pitch: Search the web, and Ecosia uses its profits to support climate projects, including tree planting.
Right now, it’s not an independent search index in the same way Mojeek is. Ecosia said its search results come from partners including Google and Bing, though it does not create personal profiles based on search history.
The AI part is the issue. Ecosia has generative AI features, including AI Overviews and AI Chat. Ecosia said AI Overviews are a beta feature and can be switched off in search settings where available. That makes it worth trying, especially if the climate mission is also a big factor, but it’s not great for avoiding AI entirely.
Dogpile is the OG.
Launched in 1996, Dogpile is a metasearch engine. Instead of crawling and indexing the web itself, it pulls results from other search engines and combines them into one page. That means Dogpile does not have its own independent web index like Mojeek. It is more of a result aggregator.
Privacy is where Dogpile gets harder to recommend. Its Google Play listing said it offers “no tracking of your search history.” But its broader privacy policy is more ad-tech-heavy than the cleaner privacy promises from Startpage or DuckDuckGo. So, I would not treat Dogpile as one of the strongest privacy options here.
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As for AI, Dogpile is pretty bare-bones. There are no AI Overviews, AI chat windows, or answer-engine features. It just gives me a traditional list of links instead of generating summaries or answers.
Metacrawler is another throwback.
Launched in 1994, when it was developed at the University of Washington, Metacrawler is similar to Dogpile: It’s a metasearch engine that pulls results from other search engines. Metacrawler and Dogpile are also both InfoSpace Holdings services, and InfoSpace Holdings is a System1 company.
Unfortunately, privacy is where Metacrawler gets harder to suggest. System1’s privacy policy indicates it may collect information through automated data collection or tracking technologies, including IP addresses, search history, browsing history, cookies, and other usage data.
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But this isn’t a roundup of Google alternatives focused only on privacy. It’s about AI, and whether I can get an AI-free experience or at least turn those features off. With Metacrawler, I did not find AI Overviews, AI chat, or an answer-engine mode in its current search experience. I can just type a query, get my links, and be done.
Kagi is a strange one.
Would I pay to search the web? Probably not. But for people who don’t mind paying $10 a month for unlimited searches, Kagi could offer a better experience. Its model is simple: Pay for search, so Kagi doesn’t have to fund itself with surveillance ads. Kagi said it has no ads, no tracking, and no search history tied to accounts.
But Kagi is not AI-free. Not at all. It has Assistant, summarization, translation, research agents, and more.
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So why mention it here? Because Kagi makes its AI features opt in. Unlike Google, it does not make AI the default search experience. Although, in settings, I only saw options to disable “Auto Quick Answer” and search suggestions. I could also enable “SlopStop” filters to suppress AI images, videos, and web search results.
At this point, it’s getting tricky to find Google alternatives with no AI at all. Most seem to have some AI features now, and in many cases, those features are optional.
Anyway, while I was looking up search engines, I kept seeing one name pop up: Brave Search. Launched in 2021, Brave Search has a privacy focus, its own independent search index, and tight integration with the Brave browser. It also markets itself around private results, no profiling, and no Big Tech.
To be clear, Brave Search is loaded with AI features. Brave’s main search page promotes “AI-powered answers,” with features like AI Answers and Ask Brave. I found in settings that I could turn off “Answer with AI,” which Brave describes as making AI-powered answers appear automatically for some searches.
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That helps, but if my main goal is to get away from AI-riddled search, Brave does not seem like the best pick.
Which Google alternative is best?
For most people, I would start with Startpage or DuckDuckGo’s no-AI page.
Startpage is best if I want Google-like results without using Google directly. DuckDuckGo is best if I want the quickest no-AI option. But if I want independence from big search indexes, I would try Mojeek. Dogpile and Metacrawler are also metasearch engines offering a more traditional links-first experience without any AI Overview-like summaries or an AI Mode.
The point is there are still choices.
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Google may be turning Search into AI Search by default, but the classic search engine experience still exists. I can still find search engines that give me links, with little to no AI getting in the way. There are not many left, and plenty of them are slowly moving in the same direction as Google. But for now, at least, the old way of searching the web has not disappeared.
You just have to know where to look and where to turn off certain settings. Luckily, I already did that part.
Can I fully turn off AI Overviews in Google Search?
Google does not offer a simple switch to permanently disable AI Overviews. But I found four workarounds.
Why is Mojeek different from most Google alternatives?Â
Mojeek crawls and indexes the web itself. Many alternatives rely on Google, Bing, or other search providers for results.
