Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence has quickly become a part of our lives. While the technology powers many helpful features, it has also filled our timelines with AI-generated images and videos. This is where DuckDuckGo’s new feature comes in. The privacy-focused search engine now lets users choose how much AI they want in their lives by offering the option to hide AI-generated images in search results.
However, the feature isn’t enabled by default. Users will need to manually go into the search menu to change the filters if they want to reduce the number of AI-generated images they see. On the DuckDuckGo website, a new “AI Images” option now appears in the search menu. By default, it is set to ‘Show’, but users can manually click on the menu and set it to ‘Hide’ to significantly reduce AI-generated images in search results.
DuckDuckGo admits the feature won’t catch every AI-generated image, but it says their frequency should drop significantly. To power the feature, DuckDuckGo relies on open-source blocklists like the ‘nuclear’ list from uBlockOrigin and the uBlacklist Huge AI Blacklist.
Interestingly, DuckDuckGo used the search term ‘baby peacock’ to illustrate how well its no-AI image filter works. For context, Google had faced criticism after users noticed that searching for ‘baby peacock’ mostly surfaced AI-generated images alongside real artwork, leading to concerns about the dilution of real information. While Google has since worked to improve transparency around AI-generated images, it still doesn’t provide an option to hide them entirely.
Search for your desired image
Head to the Images tab and click on the AI Images menu, then tap on ‘Hide’
You should now see fewer AI-generated images in your search results
If you don’t want to go through the whole process, DuckDuckGo has also created a separate space for users who want to avoid AI in their search results. Heading over to https://noai.duckduckgo.com will automatically enable the AI image filter while also switching off AI-assisted summaries and hiding Duck AI chat icons.