Tired of AI-generated images flooding your search results? If you’re looking for a cleaner, more traditional browsing experience, DuckDuckGo might be the escape you’ve been waiting for.
The privacy-first search engine and web browser has introduced a new feature that lets users filter out AI-generated images from their search results. To try it, head to the DuckDuckGo search engine, run a query, and click on the Images tab. There, you’ll find a new dropdown menu labeled “AI Images,” which allows you to toggle AI-generated content on or off.
“We want to help you find exactly what you’re looking for. Whether or not you include AI in that is your choice,” DuckDuckGo said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The new filter uses open-source blocklists to identify and screen out AI-generated visuals. While the system may not catch every synthetic image, it’s designed to reduce their appearance significantly. The feature comes at a time when AI-generated content is rapidly multiplying online. Beyond the aesthetic concerns, there’s growing unease about how realistic and misleading these images can be. Some experts have even called for default watermarks on AI images to help users distinguish real from fake. However, critics argue that easily removable watermarks could end up doing more harm than good, creating a false sense of authenticity.
Last week, Android Authority reported that OpenAI is testing a watermarking feature in the beta version of its ChatGPT Android app. The site also speculated that paid users might eventually be allowed to save images without watermarks, though nothing has been officially confirmed and the final version of the feature could still change.
DuckDuckGo, which launched in 2008, now offers browsers for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. These browsers are equipped with a suite of privacy tools, including tracker blocking, ad suppression (even on YouTube), and a strict no-tracking policy on search queries. The company funds itself through non-tracking, keyword-based ads rather than user profiling. While it maintains a strong stance on privacy, DuckDuckGo says it isn’t opposed to AI. Instead, it believes AI features should always be private, helpful, and optional.
In keeping with that philosophy, the company has rolled out its own AI offerings, including a service called Duck.ai. This tool lets users interact with customized versions of leading AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Mistral, all without storing or tracking conversations.
As of today, DuckDuckGo has added even more flexibility to these tools. Users can now personalize how the AI models respond—adjusting everything from tone and length to the “role” the assistant plays in its replies.
