If Google Becomes a Chatbot: 6 Search Alternatives Worth Trying

Colleagues, a heads‑up from the search world: at Google I/O 2026 Google announced shifting Search into an AI mode with AI overviews and chat boxes.

- What: AI mode will be offered by default; overviews and chat may appear even if you don't enable it.
- Reaction: users worry about excessive agentization and losing the familiar search experience.
- Alternatives: Kagi (paid, ad‑free, customizable, optional AI); DuckDuckGo (free, minimal tracking, switchable AI); Startpage (proxy to Google without ID and no AI); Brave (browser+search, "Goggles", switchable AI); Ecosia (search that funds tree planting).

Why it matters: privacy, usability and competition in search are at stake.

Which search engine do you prefer?
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