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DuckDuckGo experienced a surge in app downloads in the United States following Google's I/O event on May 19, 2026, where the company announced the further integration of AI overviews and Gemini into its search engine. During the week of May 20 through 25, 2026, the privacy-focused search engine saw average app install growth of **** percent in the United States compared to the previous week. iOS app installs increased at an even higher rate, with average growth reaching ** percent during the same period. Peak week-over-week growth hit **** percent overall and **** percent for iOS specifically.

Growing presence of AI in search results

The timing of DuckDuckGo's download spike aligns with increasing AI presence across search platforms. By December 2025, nearly ** percent of Google searches displayed an AI overview, representing a ***-percentage point increase from the previous month. Health-related queries showed particularly high AI overview visibility at **** percent between September and October 2025, while finance searches followed at **** percent. Across various industries, the average percentage of AI summaries in search engine result pages reached **** percent by March 2025, with science, health, and society sectors experiencing the highest growth rates. 

Market share remains modest despite growth

Despite periodic surges in interest, DuckDuckGo maintains a relatively small share in the search engine market, though it performs slightly better in its home United States market. The search engine has demonstrated growth in recent years, with the most significant uptick occurring in the United States during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.