Are you looking for a search engine that doesn't integrate AI within the search results? In this piece I will share my recommended search engines to use, as well as naming those which do currently use AI.

As you probably know, AI powered search results use more energy and more water, resulting in a worse environmental impact than standard search results. Not many people seem to be talking about the huge amount of energy that these AI and LLM crawlers are burning through when they crawl the web; it will be huge, and completely unnecessary at a time when energy usage should be kept to an absolute minimum.

To make matters worse, most Big Tech firms (Google, Microsoft) don't disclose information that would help experts (and the public) understand the true energy, carbon and environmental costs of their search engines and data centres, often hiding behind "trade secrets" and other such corporate speak.

If AI is powered by 100% renewable Energy - how is that bad?

Big Tech companies like Google distract and deflect with promises that their AI search results come via data centers powered by 100% renewable energy (strongly implying that this is good, green, clean energy). You should know that this is corporate greenwashing.

Data centers require huge amounts of cement as part of their construction, they take up space that would be better suited for literally anything else, they require huge amounts of water to maintain, and of course they require more mining of critical materials like Lithium, Copper, Silicon and many Rare Earth Elements.

Renewable energy might sound nice and green, but if you read up about the damage being done in mining the minerals required for these data centers - you will soon change your mind.

I write the below as an SEO consultant who has been optimising websites for over 15 years, usually focusing on Google, as that is (still) the most popular search engine for users in the west.

It's worth pointing out at this point that even if a search engine doesn't use AI - that doesn't necessarily mean it is ethical or good - it just means they are giving their consumers a choice, which (to me) is a positive thing.

Search engines that use AI - which you should try to avoid using

There are lots of search engines that are incorporating AI within search results. I include a few of the main ones below, and ones I figured would be worth including in case you weren't aware that they also use AI.

1 - Google

Google is one of the biggest adopters of AI within their search results, with this turned on by default with no apparent way to disable it (although some people have recommended that if you add "-ai" to the end of your search query this should disable the AI overview).

Since the last few weeks Google switched to a fully AI powered search algorithm - but you can still scroll past these AI overviews to see the "traditional" search results below. But frustratingly for users who care about people and the planet, you can't disable these AI overviews.

2 - Bing (owned by Microsoft)

Not wanting to be left out, Bing also incorporated AI overviews into their search results. Being owned by another Big Tech company, Microsoft, Bing also doesn't seem to allow you to disable these AI summaries within search results.

If you fancy a laugh, read the intro paragraph from Microsoft's Corporate Vice President & Consumer Chief Marketing Officer when announcing AI powered Bing and Edge browser:

To empower people to unlock the joy of discovery, feel the wonder of creation and better harness the world’s knowledge, today we’re improving how the world benefits from the web by reinventing the tools billions of people use every day, the search engine and the browser.

Today, we’re launching an all new, AI-powered Bing search engine and Edge browser, available in preview now at Bing.com, to deliver better search, more complete answers, a new chat experience and the ability to generate content. We think of these tools as an AI copilot for the web.



3 - Ecosia (Independently owned)

Ecosia are a strange one - they claim to care about the environment (many people use them because they plant trees when users search) and yet they also jumped on the AI bandwagon by including AI overviews within their search results by default.

This is what Ecosia say about their AI Overviews feature:
AI Overviews use generative AI to summarize the most relevant information from search results and link reliable sources above the Ecosia search results. The feature is powered by Staan through EUSP. It uses a Mistral small 3.2 model.
Source: https://support.ecosia.org/article/1006-ai-search

But one positive is that you can disable the AI Overviews from the settings menu. Many search engines don't allow users to do this - which is a common complaint across users (and this applies outside the world of search engines too; AI isn't an optional extra, it is forced upon customers).


4 - DuckDuckGo (Independently owned)

So DuckDuckGo are actually a funny inclusion on this list because whilst they do include AI overviews if you go to their main website DuckDuckGo.com they have also recently launched an AI free version at No AI DuckDuckGo.

For that reason I list them here as using AI by default at their main site, but also include them below. You could well argue that by offering both options they aren't really taking some kind of strong ethical or environmental stance; clearly they are just providing choice for their consumers, which should really be the default here.

So - I don't think of them as being ethically or morally superior here - they are just being smart!



Of course there are many other search engines that do use AI - I may try to add more to this list, but you should assume they do use it unless they clearly state otherwise.

Search engines that don't use AI

1 - Duck Duck Go - No AI (Independently owned)

As mentioned earlier, Duck Duck Go launched their No AI search engine alternative just a few days ago in early June.

Popularity is apparently through the roof, and really for anyone who is keeping tabs on what users feel about AI it's hardly surprising news.

Consumers want to be at least given the option to use an AI free product - not for it to be forced upon them. And if someone provides that option elsewhere (for free) clearly they are going to start using it.

No AI Duck Duck Go

2 - StartPage.com (Independently owned)

StartPage are a search engine based in the Netherlands that prioritises privacy of users and seems to be quite similar in appearance and function to DuckDuckGo.

They don't appear to utilise AI overviews within the search results - so will be worth checking out.


3 - Mojeek.com (Independently owned)

Mojeek are another independent search engine, this time based in the UK, who also appear not to be making use of AI within their search results.

They also talk about privacy and not tracking their users, unlike the major search engines, and have even built their own independent web crawler to index over 9 billion pages on the web.

This list is correct at time of writing (03/06/2026) but effort will be made to keep this up to date.

If you wish to flag any inaccuracies with this piece or to make additional suggestions, please reach out to me via email.

Final word on search engines without AI

It's worth noting that although some search engines might be without AI powered search results, it doesn't mean that they haven't utilised AI and Machine Learning within the process of building up their search index, or creating and maintaining their search engine.

This isn't to say it's not good that people are looking for alternative AI-free search engines like these - just that we need to be mindful of the other issues at play here.

Beyond the issue of AI (which for many people they wish to avoid for environmental and ethical reasons) we should also question, who is the company behind this software? What are their intentions? Are they exclusively a profit-driven search engine (eg they aim to generate funds for their owners and shareholders, like Google does, via parent company Alphabet), or do they also aim to benefit society in some other form (without clearly doing this as a form of corporate greenwashing)?

Usually company structure can help to detect this; a more ethical company may be structured as a not-for-profit, or like Ecosia they might be a Steward-Owned company. Their structure "prevents the company from ever being sold or paying dividends to its founder more than planting trees" - see here for more.

But also with Ecosia, personally I don't think of them as a very ethical option because their search engine is powered by Bing (Microsoft) but also crucially, adverts power their tree planting mission, so again they are reliant upon advertising which is clearly linked to a consumption culture. They are still better than Google - but for me - clearly there are still issues for those who like to dig a little deeper.

My point here is that it's not always black and white when it comes to choosing a search engine, browser, or any other piece of software (which ultimately are all tools many of us use regularly).

Instead of focusing entirely on the environmental cost of using a search engine as an individual user, I believe we should instead be asking; who benefits from this search engine? Who owns it? How are they benefiting from this - not just financially but also from the power (and data) they have? How does this service benefit all of society? Who is paying the true costs here - do we know?

I think only then do we begin to see things with a more appropriate systems level approach vs focusing on the very micro individual level.