6 Search Engines to Try as Google Changes

Google is about to look radically different, and if AI Overviews aren’t your thing, the upcoming changes might feel like a step too far. During this week’s Google I/O 2026 keynote, the company revealed a major overhaul of Search, shifting toward a conversational, AI-driven experience. Users will even be able to enlist AI agents to automatically notify them about events, like when a favorite band announces a tour.

“This is the biggest upgrade to our iconic search box since its debut over 25 years ago,” said Elizabeth Reid, who leads Google’s Search organization.

Now, when you open Google, you’ll see an option to use AI mode from the start. Even if you skip it, your results may include an AI Overview with a chat box for follow-up questions. Once you engage with that chat, Google starts to feel more like ChatGPT than the familiar search engine we’ve relied on for decades.

The announcement didn’t land the way Google likely hoped. Many users see it as yet another example of a tech company forcing AI agents and chatbots into every corner of the internet, making it impossible to browse without bumping into a bot. Given the rocky debut of Google’s AI Overviews,remember when it told people to stare into the sun?,users aren’t eager for another adjustment.

On Google’s promotional video for the Search updates, one commenter wrote, “this is the best advertisement for letting people know it’s time to get a different search engine.”

They have a point. The new Google Search, which Reid describes as “AI search through and through,” is bound to push some users away. Beyond generative AI, some people are also tired of Google’s sheer dominance,a U. S. District Court ruled in 2024 that the company had acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search.

If you’re curious about alternative search engines, here are several worth trying (or, if you’re feeling adventurous, see where Open Web Engine takes you).

Kagi

Before AI Overviews annoyed us, ads were the problem. Ads are non-negotiable for Google,that’s how it makes money. But what if a search engine could operate without ads and still turn a profit?

That’s exactly what Kagi aims to do. For $5 per month,or $10 for unlimited searches,you get an ad-free search engine with no AI overviews. Kagi isn’t just Google without ads, though. It lets you customize your experience by filtering certain websites and refining results with “lenses.” If you’re a student, for example, you can use the academic lens to find journal articles instead of blog posts.

If you occasionally find Google’s AI Overviews useful, Kagi offers an AI-powered “Quick Answer” feature that summarizes answers with source links. But if you’d rather skip those summaries, you don’t have to generate them. Simple.

DuckDuckGo

Maybe you don’t want to pay to search online. Fair enough. DuckDuckGo offers a free search engine that makes money through ads, but unlike Google, it doesn’t collect your search, browsing, or purchase history. Instead, it serves ads based on the topic of your current query,so if you search for concert tickets, you might see an ad for SeatGeek.

Like many alternative search engines, DuckDuckGo has a Google-like interface and can display an AI-generated answer in your results. But if that bothers you, you can completely opt out of AI features in the settings menu.

Startpage

While DuckDuckGo has its own search index, Startpage acts as a proxy for Google. It strips personal data like your IP address from your query, sends it to Google via the cloud, and returns the results to you. In other words, you get Google’s results without Google knowing who you are. The downside? It’s still Google. At least Startpage lets you turn off AI features.

&udm=14

What if you took Startpage and made it even simpler? The search engine &udm=14 is named for the string of characters it appends to every Google search you make. Adding &udm=14 to a Google search gives you the same results, minus the AI overview. Doing that manually every time is tedious, so &udm=14 automates it for you.

The developer has even put the code on GitHub, so you can run your own version if you’re so inclined. If privacy is a concern, you’d probably prefer Startpage, but both deliver AI-free Google results.

Brave

Brave offers both a browser and a search engine. The browser is built on Chromium, the same open-source base as Google Chrome, so you can use Chrome extensions within Brave. If you want to ditch Google Chrome but can’t live without your LastPass plug-in, Brave is a solid option.

For search, Brave lets you apply third-party “Goggles” (not Googles!) to curate results. Options include “News from the Right,” “News from the Left,” “Tech Blogs,” and niche choices like “Hacker News/1k short,” which prioritizes domains from Y-Combinator’s Hacker News forum but excludes the top 1,000 most popular sites. There’s also “No Pinterest,” which is self-explanatory and a bit funny.

And yes, Brave lets you toggle AI features on and off. There’s no reason you can’t have that choice, Google.

Ecosia

Like Brave, Ecosia offers a browser and a search engine built on Chromium, so your Chrome plug-ins should work. As its name suggests, Ecosia’s main draw is its eco-friendly focus. It makes money from ads but donates about 80% of its income to tree-planting initiatives worldwide.

Tree-planting can sometimes signal greenwashing, but Ecosia works with local communities on reforestation, publishes monthly financial reports for transparency, and blogs about the actual impact of its efforts.