DuckDuckGo has introduced AI Chat, a service that allows users to access popular chatbots like GPT-3.5 and Claude 3 Haiku anonymously. This new feature prevents companies from tracking user data and training their AIs on user conversations. AI Chat acts as an intermediary between the user and the chosen AI model, similar to a high-tech game of telephone.
Users can choose their preferred chatbot from the AI Chat home screen. Options include Meta’s Llama 3 70B, Mixtral 8x7B, GPT-3.5, and Claude. The interaction with the selected AI is seamless and similar to typical chatbot usage. DuckDuckGo connects to the chosen model, masking the user’s IP address with its own. This ensures that the requests appear to originate from DuckDuckGo, protecting user privacy.
Mirroring DuckDuckGo’s anonymized search functionality, all metadata from user queries is removed. While the underlying AI model providers might temporarily store chats, personal identification of users based on these chats is impossible. DuckDuckGo also has agreements with the AI companies to prevent the use of chat prompts and outputs for training their models. Furthermore, these agreements mandate the deletion of any stored chat data within 30 days.
DuckDuckGo AI Chat
Data privacy is a growing concern within the AI community, especially with the increasing number of individuals using AI both personally and professionally. A Pew Research study highlighted that a significant majority of those familiar with AI express concerns about companies using it in ways that compromise personal information. While most chatbots offer opt-out options for data collection, these are often difficult to find, placing the burden on the user.
AI Chat is accessible via duck.ai and duckduckgo.com/chat. It’s currently free to use within a daily limit. DuckDuckGo is exploring a paid option with higher usage limits and access to more advanced models. This new service follows the launch of DuckAssist, which provides anonymous, AI-generated summaries of search results, similar to Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE).
