If You’re Sick of AI-Generated Search Results, Try Some Alternatives to Google

For decades, Google was synonymous with online search, so much so that it became the accepted verb for that very activity. Modern search engine optimization practices are—for the most part—intended to rank you higher on Google’s results page, simply because it holds such a high market share amongst search engines.

However, the advent of AI has changed things. Your results page is now populated by AI-produced overviews of your search results, blended with advertisements and links to other services Google owns. In short, Google is changing, potentially enough for you to consider an alternative search engine as your go-to resource.

While the ubiquity of Google’s branding might suggest otherwise, there are quite a few search engines out there for you to consider, and many of them don’t use AI. Let’s review some of your options.

What’s Happened to Google Search?

Google’s biggest issue right now isn’t so much the quality of its search results as it is how its SERPs (search engine results pages) are prioritized. The results—the thing the vast majority of Google searches are and always have been for—are frequently pushed further and further down from the top of the page.

Instead, you’ll frequently see sponsored posts (a fancy word for advertisements) or links to some of Google’s other services. Nowadays, however, AI Overviews seem to be prioritized above all else.

Can I Remove AI Overviews from My Results?

The short answer is no. There is no way to permanently remove AI Overviews from your results page because—according to Google’s documentation—they have become a built-in feature. However, there is (at the time of this writing) a workaround you can use. After you’ve searched for something, you can filter your results to Web. This limits the results to text-based links alone, omitting the Overview.

To do so, do a Google search and hover over the More option towards the top and select Web.

This, however, not only limits how helpful your searches can potentially be, but it is simply a nuisance to have to do each and every time. At that point, you may be better served by taking your query elsewhere.

As you do so, you should know that—unfortunately—even this isn’t enough to avoid AI entirely.

Alternative Search Engines for the AI-Frustrated

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused search engine that primarily relies on Bing results to serve users. If you’re familiar with how Google Search is set up (and who isn’t), switching to DuckDuckGo will be a simple prospect.

While the base version does feature some AI-fueled capabilities, there is a dedicated version that features no artificial intelligence features. This version can be found, appropriately enough, at noai.duckduckgo.com. 

That said, the search is far from perfect. While the first few results are generally pretty in line with the query you provide (and are primarily ads), they can get less relevant the further you go down the page. Regardless, DuckDuckGo is a functionally sound option for those seeking to avoid the influence of AI.

Brave

Brave Search, from the same team that developed the Brave browser, is an engine that utilizes its own index to sort its results pages. It even allows technologically adept users to design and share search filters (called Goggles) so that searchers can focus their efforts on specific content types.

While search.brave.com does feature AI-powered responses and other AI-driven features, they can easily be turned off via the Quick Settings.

Overall, Brave offers a healthy mix of results, including relevant pages, videos, and forums. If it has any faults, it may simply be that the forum results are particularly well-ranked (thereby increasing the chance that misinformation may be highlighted). If that doesn’t bother you, Brave Search could be an option.

Startpage

Rather than serving as a standalone search engine, Startpage acts as a curator of other search engine results pages. By taking a query from the user and running it through Google and Bing on their behalf, the user gets the benefits of using these search engines without the tradeoff of having their data farmed and mined.

While www.startpage.com does feature some AI functionality, it has publicly committed to keeping these features strictly optional. Users can go into the settings to disable instant answers, promotions, and search suggestions.

In short, Startpage allows users to still use leading search engines without exposing their identities to those engines. As a result, this may be the best (or at least most private) compromise available to you.

Metacrawler

Developed at the University of Washington back in 1994, this option curates results from the other search engines and aggregates them into a unified, bare-bones list… no images outside of Sponsored shopping results pulled from Google, no maps, no news, and no search tools to cherry-pick results from certain time spans. All you get is the basic metadata.

In light of this, it makes sense that there are no apparent AI-fueled capabilities for the user. Metacrawler is what it is: a search engine aggregator that helps you find things, found at https://www.metacrawler.com. 

That being said, it is also important that we acknowledge that the privacy offered by Metacrawler in its owner’s (Infospace Holdings, a System1 company) privacy policy is less than ideal. Basically, it allows System1 to automatically collect extensive information through automated collection and tracking technology—things like IP addresses, search and browsing history, cookies, and other usage data. This means that using Metacrawler is tantamount to sacrificing some private information in the name of avoiding AI, and you’d have to judge if you’re comfortable with that. 

Dogpile

Similarly, Dogpile is another search engine aggregator that offers a very similar experience to Metacrawler, albeit with a few additional options, namely videos, images, maps, and news. The homepage also offers what may be sponsored links to Amazon, Walmart, and Lowe’s, along with a “coupons” link that directs to Cently, a checkout discount code tool. This is where the utility of the classic option ends, while the “explore” option provides a joke, a link to follow Arfie (the dog in “Dogpile”) on Facebook, and a list of articles from HowStuffWorks.

Also like Metacrawler, www.dogpile.com has no AI built into its functionality… but it is also owned by Infospace Holdings and System1. As a result, the same data collection concerns still apply to Dogpile. Plus, there’s the question of privacy that also appeared in our consideration of Metacrawler to contend with.

Because this search engine is effectively a more dressed-up version of Metacrawler, using Dogpile comes with the same compromise: sacrificing privacy in the effort to avoid AI. Similarly, you need to decide whether this is acceptable to you.

Ecosia

Many people are giving more weight to personal values and beliefs when selecting goods and services, even going so far as to avoid and select brands to be loyal to based on how well their personal philosophies line up with a business’ stated mission and values. Ecosia is a browser that many environmentally conscious people may want to support, as all profits generated from its searches go toward tree planting and other climate initiatives. By relying on Google and Bing for its results, Ecosia can provide answers without creating user profiles based on a user’s search history.

That all said, www.ecosia.com is not free of the influence of artificial intelligence. While users can turn these tools off, Ecosia has introduced beta versions of AI to its primary functions, generating overviews and chat responses. 

This may be a dealbreaker for some people; despite the search engine’s mission and purported green-energy surplus, the latter of which reportedly outweighs its power demands. You need to decide if you are amongst them.

Mojeek

For another custom-built search index, you may consider giving Mojeek a try. First built in 2004, the independent engine has crawled and indexed over 9 billion web pages to date. Returning websites, images, and news, Mojeek also offers a customizable search experience through its Focus function. Similar to Brave Search’s Goggles, Mojeek allows users to access templates created via GitHub or craft their own by amplifying some sites and disregarding others. These homemade templates can also be submitted for consideration via GitHub.

While it is very privacy-focused and committed to “not replace search results with AI-generated answers,” www.mojeek.com does have some optional AI features. Users can enable AI-generated summaries of their search results, and even then, it needs to be prompted to provide them via a “Summarize these results” button.

All in all, if you’re okay with AI being an option and not a hard requirement to use a search engine, Mojeek could be one to investigate.

Kagi

Here’s a question: would you be open to using a paid search engine, as compared to a free option, if it allowed you to avoid advertisements that tracked your search history? That’s the selling point to Kagi. It’s a search engine that, in exchange for $10 a month, gives users unlimited ad-free search results. An account’s search history isn’t even recorded. Plus, users can create their own search parameter profiles, a la Brave’s Goggles and Mojeek’s Focus, called Lenses. 

As for AI, kagi.com is stuffed to the gills with features that a user can leverage to summarize and translate search results, research more effectively, and use as an assistant that pulls from all the major AI/LLM providers to boost search efficacy. So, why is it on this list? All of its AI features seem to require prompting. You can access generative AI tools, but you don’t have to do so. There is also a flag that users can place to activate Kagi’s “StopSlop” feature that is meant to fight back against search engine optimization spam by downranking websites with lots of trackers and ads. They also don’t use customer data to train their models, and don’t retain search history longer than 24 hours.

Again, Kagi isn’t free, save for a 100-search trial account, with their “Professional” plan coming in at $10 plus tax per month (which is prorated if the user doesn’t search at all that month). It also isn’t inherently free of AI; it’s another opt-in situation. That said, this may be a valid option for someone who is okay with paying for this kind of experience.

In Short, You Have Options

While Google may be synonymous with online searches, it is by no means the only provider to consider… especially if the prevalence of AI and tracking bothers you. Your technology shouldn’t make you uncomfortable using it because it is meant to be a tool that makes your life easier, more efficient, and more productive.

We’re here to help Upstate New York businesses use technology to this end, providing comprehensive IT services and solutions while also guiding strategy. Learn more about what we could do for your business by reaching out to 607-433-2200 today.