@aral @Karen5Lund A subscription model as opposed to an advertising model is still based on a profit motive, so even if it's better it has to inevitably go to shit unless a different incentive takes over. I think the ultimate solution is distributed search, which would be run on a social incentive by communities, but a more private alternative like DDG is great for until we get there. If Kagi is the temporary alternative that works for you, great, but I'm perfectly happy using and, more importantly, recommending DDG.

(I was also very pissed at the AI feature when it first popped up, but I immediately disabled it and have been pretending it never existed to begin with)