DuckDuckGo moved in November 2026 to recruit schools frustrated with Google, after Google announced that disabling its AI features in Search would also remove access to Google Search itself for educational users.
The conflict began when Google told schools on November 3, 2026, that they could turn off Gemini, but that switching off its other AI features would cost them Google Search as well. Because Google Search now incorporates AI heavily — through AI Overviews and a conversational AI Mode — educators seeking an AI-free search experience found themselves with limited options.
DuckDuckGo’s founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg responded on X by pointing schools to documentation explaining how to switch their default search engine to DuckDuckGo, adding an offer to help. The company’s chief public affairs officer, Kamyl Bazbaz, issued a sharper statement: “Forcing AI on school children: how a monopolist behaves when they think people are powerless. Prove Google wrong.” In an email to TechCrunch, DuckDuckGo also argued that Google could easily turn off Search’s AI features for schools if it chose to.
Google defended its decision, saying it was responding to schools’ feedback and that Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Search would be off by default, with schools able to enable each individually. Google had also developed a feature called “Guided Learning,” designed to walk students through problem-solving steps rather than simply providing answers. Educators, however, have continued to ask for tools that remove AI from the learning process entirely.
DuckDuckGo, which focuses on limiting data collection, says it offers options to disable AI features in both its search and browser settings, along with a dedicated website — noai.duckduckgo.com — where AI-assisted answers and AI-generated images are turned off. The company reported earlier in 2026 that its app installs were up 30% as users sought alternatives to Google’s AI-integrated search.
Google’s reach in education is significant: the company has previously reported around 50 million Chromebooks in schools and over 150 million users on its Google Classroom platform globally, underscoring the scale of the audience DuckDuckGo is now targeting.
Source: TechCrunch