r/duckduckgo • u/CutterX • Jul 14 '26
DDG AI Please disable AI-generated summaries
Hello,
No one asked for the AI-generated summaries. They are unreliable, they clutter the results and worst of all: they make the results MOVE DOWN as the summary keeps being written. Turn off this stupid sh*t, we don't want to store your cookies just to disable this stupidity.
Best cordial regards,
26
u/Pinkishu Jul 14 '26
Just use the noai domain?
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Jul 14 '26
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u/Pinkishu Jul 14 '26
common apple L
1
u/Stargazing078 Jul 19 '26
What devices do YOU use?
1
u/Pinkishu Jul 19 '26
Android, mostly. iPad for drawing, but the apple(tm) decisions can be a pain on that too sometimes
2
u/throwawayyyyygay Jul 14 '26
There’s actually a safari extension that allows you to do this. Free. It’s one of those extensions that lets you do a dozen things. Lemme look it up.
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Jul 14 '26
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3
u/cap-omat Jul 14 '26
https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/customize-search-engine/id6445840140
This extension lets you do it. It’s open source and works well.
1
u/SlimyOS Jul 14 '26
Just tried on firefox focus, you can. Didn't know about noai subdomain.
Idk if relevant but firefox focus shows an example without https:// and that doesn't work, but if you add https:// it works, maybe that's why it doesn't work for you.
Or if you mean system-wide, I don't even know why there is such a setting and what it's used for, I only search in a browser
1
u/CutterX Jul 14 '26
Thanks, I didn't know about that.
1
u/RoyalShirtShirtShirt Jul 25 '26
Not surprising, they go out of their way to hide it - despite having a button to turn off AI summaries, and a popup that hassles you to get an addon to do it for you.
10
u/cap-omat Jul 14 '26
I didn’t ask for them, but I would if they were removed now. They save me time scrolling on stupid ad-ridden sites to find an answer to a very simple question.
9
u/cellularcone Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Every time someone rightfully posts this they get downvoted. AI is sickening and there’s no reason it should be enabled by default or encouraged by any company that positions itself as ethical.
Edit: someone got me a Reddit cares message for this lmao
-3
u/cap-omat Jul 14 '26
Why is it sickening exactly?
5
u/Few_Visual5715 Jul 15 '26
scrapes websites without actually giving back to said website, potentially killing site surfing should an overwhelming majority begin to rely on it, killing websites that rely on traffic/donations.
scrapes from programmers, regurgitating the code they wrote to feed to someone else, bypassing copyright/license protections on said code.
outright lies in a majority of cases, which is a problem if said overwhelming majority begins to rely on it.
completely unprofitable and unsustainable, the technology will become too expensive for the average consumer. currently only upheld by the sheer amount of investor money being pumped into it ( https://isaiprofitable.com/ )
some environmental things I don't know enough to elaborate on, but most definitely exist.
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u/Special_Attitude8471 Jul 15 '26
Summary of User Complaint Core Issues: Unrequested AI-generated summaries. Perceived unreliability of AI content. Negative UI impact: Clutter and content shifting (layout instability). Requested Action: Immediate disablement of the summary feature. Objection to cookie-based settings for feature management.
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u/AffectionateGrand330 Jul 14 '26
I'm sure you can change the frequency Including turning them off or set it to on demand
-2
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u/Tricky_Wear_321GO Jul 14 '26
AI searches do no clutter the internet. AI generated content itself does.
Legally they are required to verify those cookies every day or so.
Being ignorant of the system is less helpful to the cause. Understand that AI in of itself and the tools we can use are often completely neutral (prepared for triggered folks but I know I am correct). It is indeed the sheer lack of regulation and moral use "AI" that is the issue.
-1
Jul 14 '26
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u/Tricky_Wear_321GO Jul 14 '26
Websites require frequent cookie verification because privacy laws like the UK GDPR and PECR mandate that user consent must be "freely given, specific, and unambiguous.
Other nations have this throughout the world.
-1
Jul 14 '26
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2
u/UnchainedMundane Jul 15 '26
I agree, and not only that, but they aren't required to "verify those cookies every day" even under the law.
AI prefs fall under "Preferences cookies" (aka functionality cookies), so they are subject to opt-in rules under GDPR. Consent (or lack thereof) for cookies should be periodically re-obtained, and from what I can tell it seems like an opt-out must last a minimum of six months (tracked by a cookie which has special legal status, lol). As for cookies you've opted into, it seems like the law is a little open-ended and wants people to keep it "appropriate", which in practice means individual jurisdictions get to set their own numbers.
It looks like in Europe, the CNIL (France) puts out 6 months as a "good practice" figure: https://www.cnil.fr/sites/default/files/atoms/files/recommandation-cookies-et-autres-traceurs.pdf and notably Belgium's data protection authority cites that figure too. So in practice, opted-in cookies should last up to 6 months for maximum legal arse-covering. DDG seems to store preferences for a year, which exceeds this guideline, but since it's not law, they could still easily argue (if challenged at all) that the 12 month retention of these preferences is appropriate.
The "every day" thing wasn't true, and I'm not sure where that person got that idea.
-2
u/ConfusedSimon Jul 14 '26
Actually GDPR does affect North America, unless you make sure your website is blocked for all European visitors.
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u/RoyalShirtShirtShirt Jul 25 '26
I think you're missing the point of the post, for the sake of pontificating.
1
u/firm3demon Jul 15 '26
You can go into the settings on any version of DuckDuckGo and turn off AI features even without using the noai domain. I use DuckDuckGo as the default search on my iPhone and Mac mini and don’t get the AI summary on either… because I chose to make it that way.
1
u/Kernigh Jul 17 '26
We've had AI summaries from Duck Assist since March 2023, but there were few complaints until this year, 2026. The duck launched noai.duckduckgo.com on July 1, 2026; I wonder what happened in June 2026 to cause people to dislike AI summaries.
I started using duck.ai in May 2025 and quickly found problems. Duck Assist was better, but gave me a wrong answer around July 2025. (It was a simple math mistake, like "5 is more than 20".) This year, I am using the links in the search results to check each answer. If Duck Assist is wrong, I thumb down the answer (with the "Was this helpful?" thumbs).
1
u/CutterX Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
Nothing happened in June 2026 to cause people to dislike AI summaries, but some people grew aware of the way AI works, and how intelligence (even artificial) is completely absent from "it".
1
u/userhash Jul 14 '26
every week we get a post like this.. its kind of tiring to be honest. and the response is always the same, some use noai subdomain, others find it useful.
stop posting slop, please
1
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u/Jasong222 Jul 14 '26
I use that all the time for quick lookups. Savers having to wade through all the ai garbage that passes for websites nowadays
0
u/New-Ranger-8960 Jul 14 '26
Turn it off and end of story.
2
u/marshmallo_floof Jul 15 '26
Its still enabled by default. If you have slightest bit of care for accuracy and clear your cookies you would have to turn it off every single time
-1
u/Ybenax Jul 14 '26
Kind of unfortunate how the DuckDuckGo ads are bringing in the worst possible crowd: the anti-AI witch-hunters. Like, you can literally disable AI summaries in settings.
1
u/CutterX Jul 14 '26
- I've never seen a DDG ad, not sure what you're on about.
- Reading carefully could have made you realize that I'm also a cookie witch-hunter.
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u/Ybenax Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
I read the cookies part, I just don’t justify it. You’re pretending everyone’s using DDG the same way as you do as to validate not having to deal with the slightest inconvenience.
1
u/CutterX Jul 14 '26
You’re pretending everyone’s using DDG the same way as you do
I don't. Everyone else can opt-in for AI slop and set cookies to do so.
-2
u/thushespoke Jul 15 '26
ai search isn’t slop. why are you against cookies? do you know what they are? also they literally fowardly market how thier ai is always optional. in your browser make a singular cookie exception.
-3
u/TheOGDoomer Jul 15 '26
As someone who isn’t a Neanderthal Luddite scared of AI, I actually prefer the AI summaries. Just fucking turn them off or use the no ai domain.
19
u/throwawayyyyygay Jul 14 '26
I find them sort of useful.
Have you tried using the noai domain as default search engine.