Which search engine do you use for what? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 3 days ago by FreddiesLantern@leminal.space to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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Someone (average smartphone user) complained to me the other day that there isn't a clear solution to navigating the web because it's either ai slop or the results are poor.

And I kinda agree, nowadays you do have to put in some more effort to get what you're looking for.

And so I told them I'd compile a list of which search engines are best for what purpose.

So far I have:

Startpage: works, but does a poor job of finding product codes and whatnot.

Duckduckgo: gives more general results afaik

Ecosia: works great but relies on bing

I have tried things like qwant ect but haven't really settled on those.

Any other suggestions?

I'd tell em to use udm14 but it's still google so I'd rather keep that as a plan B.

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[-] ApplyingAutomation@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

In my experience, Kagi doesn't force AI down your throat. It only triggers an AI summary if you end your query with a "?", and it does seem to be summarization of the search results.

Also, as per Kagi's pricing page, there is a higher tier for people who want more AI features as you are suggesting.

All that being said, I use a Searxng instance 😅

[-] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

I don't even want the fucking AI summaries. I don't get how that's so hard to understand.

The fact the AI is in even the basic plan means you're paying for it, regardless of whether you use it. I don't want AI, and I especially don't want to give money to one.

this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2026

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