DuckDuckGo tells schools they can switch search engines after Google tied Search to its AI tools

TechCrunch reports that DuckDuckGo is pitching itself to schools after Google told them they could turn off Gemini, but that shutting off its other AI features would cost them Google Search. DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg pointed to documentation on how schools can switch their default search engine and wrote "get in touch for help". The company's chief public affairs officer Kamyl Bazbaz wrote that this is how a monopolist behaves when they think people are powerless.

• If you are a parent or teacher, ask your school which search engine students use and who decided whether AI answers are switched on.
• If you manage a school's devices, read the vendor's documentation on changing the default search engine before the policy changes, and test it on a few accounts first.

Source: TechCrunch. This is our short summary of their reporting. The paragraphs marked "Our read" and the things to do are SeedFoundry's opinion. The summary is drafted with AI tools. Image: DuckDuckGo, from its own announcement. How we source and credit