DuckDuckGo courts schools after Google changes AI controls

DuckDuckGo is seeking to attract schools after Google said educational institutions could disable Gemini but would lose access to Google Search if they turned off the search engine’s other AI functions. The privacy-focused company sees an opportunity in a sector where Google has a major presence. Google has previously reported about 50 million school Chromebooks and more than 150 million Google Classroom users worldwide.

DuckDuckGo founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg directed schools to documentation explaining how to make DuckDuckGo the default search engine and invited them to request assistance. Chief public affairs officer Kamyl Bazbaz separately criticized Google’s policy. In an email, the company said Google could disable Search’s AI features for schools if it chose to do so.

Google said its education tools, including Gemini, Gemini Notebook and Search, would be disabled by default and could be activated separately by schools. The company described the change as giving institutions more control. DuckDuckGo also offers AI products, including Duck.ai and an AI search assistant, but says users can turn them off. Its noai.duckduckgo.com site disables AI-generated answers, images and suggestions. The company said app installations rose 30% earlier this year.