The search engine that treats you like a human (not a data point)

If you'd rather listen to this article, click here!

The day my search engine betrayed me (and how I found something better)

There’s a special kind of frustration that comes with typing a question into a search bar and drowning in a flood of ads, SEO-optimized listicles, and obscure Reddit threads from 2015. For years, I tolerated it—until I didn’t. My breaking point arrived when Neeva, the plucky ad-free search engine I’d trusted to sidestep Big Tech’s noise, announced it was shutting down. Its parent company, Snowflake, had absorbed it into its enterprise AI ambitions, leaving loyal users like me stranded in a suddenly cluttered digital wilderness.

I wasn’t just losing a tool; I was losing a worldview. Neeva had proven that search could be clean, private, and human-first. Now, I faced a grim choice: crawl back to Google’s data-hungry embrace or venture into the unknown. On Reddit and Hacker News, displaced Neeva refugees debated alternatives. Two names rose to the top: You.com, with its ChatGPT-like flair, and Kagi, a lesser-known contender promising “search for humans, by humans.”

I tried both. I’ll admit—I wanted to love You.com. Its flashy AI chatbot and sleek interface felt like the future. But something about Kagi—its unapologetic subscription model, its granular control over results, its refusal to apologize for not being free—hooked me. Within days, I realized I wasn’t just adopting a new search engine. I was joining a quiet rebellion against the surveillance capitalism that poisoned the internet I loved.

Introducing Kagi: the search engine that puts you (not advertisers) in control

If Google is a crowded shopping mall plastered with neon ads, Kagi is a private library run by a curmudgeonly librarian who knows your taste in books—and won’t let anyone bribe them. Founded in 2022 by Vladimir Prelovac and a team of self-described “search idealists,” Kagi rejects the status quo of surveillance-driven search. Instead, it asks a radical question: What if a search engine treated its users as customers, not products?

Kagi’s value proposition rests on three pillars that turned this skeptic into a devotee:

---

1. A Search Engine That Works For You, Not On You

Kagi eliminates the two worst parts of modern search:

• No Ads. Ever. Unlike Google (or even DuckDuckGo, which shows non-targeted ads), Kagi’s results are pristine. You’re not seeing promoted products—you’re seeing answers.

• Privacy as Default: No tracking. No profiling. Kagi doesn’t log your IP address, and its anonymous accounts require nothing more than an email.

Why it matters: When your search engine isn’t financially incentivized to manipulate you, results feel... honest. I stopped second-guessing whether a product review was secretly an ad.

---

2. Your search, Your rules

Here’s where Kagi diverges from even well-meaning competitors like Brave Search. It doesn’t just remove annoyances—it hands you a toolkit to rebuild search in your image:

• Domain Controls: Block spammy sites (goodbye, content farms!) or boost trusted sources (hello, niche forums!).

• Personalized Ranking: Downvote a site once, and Kagi remembers. Reddit threads dominating your coding queries? Set them to “Block”

• AI Superpowers: The Universal Summarizer distills articles into bullet points, while Lens acts as a research co-pilot, parsing PDFs and cross-referencing data on the fly.

My “Aha!” Moment: When I blocked Pinterest from image searches forever, Kagi didn’t just comply—it thanked me.

---

3. A sustainable alternative to the "free" internet

Kagi’s $10/month Starter plan (or $108/year) isn’t cheap, but it’s purposeful. This isn’t a VC-funded moonshot begging for ad dollars later. It’s a straightforward pact:

• You fund the service.

• Kagi protects your experience. No compromises.

Compare this to You.com, which offers a free tier subsidized by ads and venture capital—a model that burned Neeva users when priorities shifted. Kagi’s transparency feels like armor against betrayal.

---

The trade-offs (and why I'm okay with them)

Kagi isn’t perfect. The paid model won’t sway casual users. But for those of us who spend hours daily in search bars, it’s a revelation. Think of it as a premium productivity tool, like a better Wi-Fi router or ergonomic chair—except this one quietly rewires how you think.

In a world where even “private” search engines flirt with ads or AI hype cycles, Kagi doubles down on something radical: consistency. As Prelovac writes in one blog post, “We’re not here to disrupt. We’re here to outlast.” After my Neeva heartbreak, that steadiness became my lifeline.

Deep dive: Kagi’s features, trade-offs, and why it’s worth your money

Kagi isn’t just another search engine—it’s a toolkit for reclaiming the internet. After 18 months of daily use, here’s my unfiltered breakdown of what works, what doesn’t, and why it’s become my digital Swiss Army knife.

---

Core features that redefine search

1. Privacy that actually means something

• No tracking, period: Unlike DuckDuckGo (which uses Microsoft’s ad network) or Brave (which has its own ad ecosystem), Kagi’s servers don’t log your IP, queries, or clicks. Even your account is pseudonymous—just an email.

• End-to-end encryption: Opt-in privacy pass for search history means even Kagi’s team can’t see what you’re looking up.

My Take: After Neeva’s shutdown left me paranoid about corporate pivots, Kagi’s Illumant audit certificate (publicly available) became my comfort blanket.

---

2. Customization that feels like superpowers

• Domain weighting: Want to nuke Pinterest from image searches forever? Done. Need Stack Overflow to dominate coding queries? Set it to “Always #1.” I’ve blocked 27 content farms—my results feel 10 years younger.

• Lenses: These context filters are game-changers. The “Academic” lens surfaces .edu and arXiv papers; “Programming” prioritizes GitHub and official docs. I use “Small Web” daily to find indie blogs Google buried.

Pro Tip: Combine Lenses with !bang shortcuts like @r (Reddit) or @hn (Hacker News) to laser-focus results.

---

3. Speed & reliability you can feel

• 412ms Average Response Time: Noticeably faster than Google. Even image/video searches (powered by Bing’s index) load instantly.

• 99.98% Uptime: In 18 months, I’ve never seen the “down for maintenance” screen that haunted Neeva’s final days.

---

AI-powered productivity: meet the Assistant by Kagi

If Kagi’s search engine is your digital librarian, The Assistant is your genius research partner—one who reads faster, codes better, and never judges your 2 AM “how to replace a dishwasher float switch” queries. Exclusively available on the Ultimate plan ($25/month), this AI toolkit isn’t just another ChatGPT clone. It’s where Kagi’s philosophy of user control collides with cutting-edge AI, creating something… revolutionary.

---

Why this feels different from ChatGPT

I’ve used them all—GPT-4, Claude, Gemini—but Kagi’s Assistant flips the script:

1. No AI Training, No BS

   • ChatGPT trains on your data. The Assistant doesn’t—your code snippets, PDFs, and existential crises stay private.

   • Even third-party models (like GPT-4o or Claude 3.5) get scrubbed of metadata. Kagi acts as a privacy firewall.

2. Search Engine Superpowers

   • Turn web access on/off mid-conversation. Need recent info? It routes through Kagi’s ad-free, domain-filtered search.

   • Apply Lenses to AI responses. Example: Ask coding questions under the Programming lens to prioritize GitHub and Stack Overflow.

3. The “Choose Your Own LLM” Buffet

---

Features that made my jaw drop

File uploads that actually work

Upload a PDF, spreadsheet, or even a blurry screenshot, and The Assistant:

• Summarizes 50-page contracts into bullet points

• OCR’s meme-worthy meeting notes from your phone

• Analyzes CSV data like a grumpy data scientist (but faster)

Pro Tip: Combine PDF uploads with Custom Instructions (“Write this in the style of The Guardian”) for instant drafts.

Real-world magic

• Code workflow: Upload an error log → The Assistant (Claude 3.5 + Programming lens) finds GitHub solutions blocked by Google’s SEO spam.

• Research hack: Ask for sources → web access fetches peer-reviewed papers via Kagi’s Academic lens.

---

Privacy you can taste

While others treat AI chats as training data buffets, The Assistant:

• Expires threads after 24 hours (adjustable)

• Never shares your name/email with OpenAI/Anthropic

---

Who it's for (and who should skip)

✅ Ultimate plan converts if you**…**

• Need privacy-first AI for sensitive work (legal/medical)

• Juggle research + coding daily

• Hate app-hopping between Obsidian/ChatGPT/Google

❌ Stick with pro if**…**

• You rarely use AI beyond casual queries

• $270/year feels steep for “sometimes” tools

---

The bottom line

The Assistant isn’t perfect—but it’s the first AI that doesn’t treat me like a product. When I ping Claude 3.5 with web access off, it’s like having a genius programmer roommate. Toggle web/Kagi Search on, and suddenly, I’m collaborating with someone who’s memorized all of GitHub.

For $25, I’m not just buying AI—I’m buying back my time. And in a world where “free” means “we own your data,” that’s a bargain.

---

Pricing: is it worth $10/month?

Kagi’s 2025 tiers force a reckoning:

Why I chose Ultimate:

• Support the project

• AI Service that uses my preferred sources

But Here’s the Catch:

• Casual users might balk at paying for search. But for researchers, writers, or devs? It’s cheaper than ChatGPT Plus.

• The $25 Ultimate tier splits opinions. While coding with Claude 3.5 Sonnet feels magical, it’s pricey compared to standalone AI tools.

---

The trade-offs: where Kagi stumbles

1. Missing pieces

• Maps: No real-time traffic data. I still begrudgingly use Apple Maps for road trips.

2. Learning curve

Mastering Lenses and domain controls takes time. My first week involved tweaking weights like a mad scientist—but now, my search engine feels mine.

3. The “small web” paradox

While prioritizing indie sites is noble, sometimes I want mainstream news. Toggling between modes helps, but it’s an extra step.

---

The verdict: who should switch**?**

Kagi shines for:
✅ Researchers drowning in PDFs (Summarizer + citation tracking = lifesaver).
✅ Developers tired of appending “site:stackoverflow.com” to every query.
✅ Privacy nuts who’d rather pay cash than be tracked.

---

Conclusion: reclaiming the web—one search at a time

The internet isn’t broken. It’s been hijacked.

For decades, we’ve surrendered our curiosity to algorithms designed to addict, manipulate, and monetize. We’ve whispered our questions into systems that sell our intentions to the highest bidder. Google didn’t organize the world’s information—it weaponized it.

But tools like Kagi prove there’s another way. Not through utopian idealism, but through something utterly radical: respect.

---

Privacy isn’t a feature—it’s a right

Kagi’s insistence on paid subscriptions over surveillance capitalism matters because it realigns incentives. When your search engine’s survival depends on delighting you, not advertisers, every decision changes:

• No tracking means no temptation to leak data during an “AI innovation” pivot.

• Blocking Pinterest stays permanent because shareholders aren’t demanding “engagement metrics.”

This isn’t just better tech—it’s a rejection of exploitation. As Kagi’s team bluntly states: “We don’t serve two masters.”

---

Humanizing the web starts with agency

What shocked me most about Kagi wasn’t speed or AI tools. It was how quickly my habits changed:

• I stopped Googling and started searching, curiosity unshackled from SEO’s shadow.

• I rewired results to favor indie bloggers over mega-corporations, discovering voices Google buried.

• I asked The Assistant for help with zero fear that my unfinished novel draft would train their models.

The web began to feel… human again. Less like a Kafkaesque mall, more like a library where I belonged.

---

The stakes are bigger than search

Every Kagi subscription is a vote:

• For web literacy over algorithmic hypnosis.

• For small creators over surveillance empires.

• For tools that serve humans, not extract from them.

Does Kagi have flaws? Absolutely. Its AI is pricey. Local searches lag. But perfection isn’t the goal—integrity is.

---

An invitation to opt out

To readers still clinging to “free” search engines: I get it. Convenience is seductive. But ask yourself:

• What’s the real cost of “free”?

• Who profits when your health queries, career anxieties, and late-night curiosities become ad auctions?

• What could we collectively build if we funded technology that respected us?

Switching to Kagi isn’t just about better results. It’s about rewriting the social contract of the internet.

Join the quiet rebellion. Pay for your tools. Block the content farms. Hoard your data like the treasure it is.

The future of the web isn’t in Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse or Sundar Pichai’s AI labs - it’s here, in a search engine that dares to treat you like a person, not a product.

---

Final Thought:
Years from now, when my kids ask how the internet survived its dark age of surveillance, I’ll show them Kagi. Not as a relic, but as proof that when we demand humanity from technology, technology rises to meet us.

(Mic drop.)