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Which search engine do you use for what? (thelemmy.club)
submitted 2 months ago by 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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[–] 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (11 children)

and you can downrank/ban websites.

Holy shit, I've been wanting that for years. I'll have to check them out.

Edit: Aaaand they have a built in AI despite calling themselves "human-focussed". That's a turnoff. If I'm paying for a search engine, I'd prefer to have a subscription option with the AI stripped out so I'm not subsidizing it for others.

Plus, I'm thinking about it I'm not exactly on board with needing an account with a search engine. That makes it super easy to track you. Meanwhile, using noai.duckduckgo anonymously via a VPN is way more private

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  • [–] 6 points 2 months ago* (6 children)

    I’m not exactly on board with needing an account with a search engine. That makes it super easy to track you.

    https://help.kagi.com/kagi/privacy/privacy-pass.html

    they have a built in AI despite calling themselves “human-focussed”

    Because it's a tool that can serve humans. Not strictly search-related, but their AI-based translation tool is genuinely great and very useful to me.

    https://help.kagi.com/kagi/why-kagi/ai-philosophy.html

    You don't have to use built-in AI, it only triggers when you explicitly ask for it and you can completely disable it in the settings.

    They also have anti-slop filters, BTW: https://help.kagi.com/kagi/features/slopstop.html

    Finally, not sure what models the search summarizer and the translation tool use, but the assistant lets you use open weights model like Kimi, GLM, DeepSeek et al.

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  • [+] -6 points 2 months ago (5 children)

    You don't have to use built-in AI

    I don't care. It's bundled in with even the basic plan, which means you're paying for it, even if you don't use it. And no, it's not magically better to use open models.

    I don't get how this concept is so hard to understand.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago (4 children)
    1. No need to be combative.
    2. It is better to use open models.
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  • [+] -7 points 2 months ago* (3 children)

    1: I clearly established a boundary and you insisted on pushing it. Learn to take a fucking hint.

    2: You know what's even better? Not using AI at all.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)
    1. I see, sorry for mistaking you for a reasonable person.
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  • [–] -2 points 2 months ago* (1 child)

    I feel bad for anyone you've ever had a relationship with. You act like an abuser.

    Edit: Seriously? You downvoted all of my comments? You just keep getting more petty

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    Not all, only those where you behave like a rude comment gremlin. But looking over your comment history I see that you consider it normal to call other people morons off hand, so you likely fall into the terminally online category with whom it's impossible to have a conversation. So uhhh get ratioed, seek grass etc etc, I am not feeding you further.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    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 😅

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  • [+] -7 points 2 months 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.

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