Date:
March 09, 2023
DuckDuckGo, the privacy-focused search engine, has launched an AI-powered summarization feature called DuckAssist
DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine, has announced the launch of DuckAssist, a new AI-powered summarization feature in beta.
DuckAssist is designed to help users find factual information more quickly and can answer straightforward search queries directly. The feature uses natural language technology from OpenAI and Anthropic, combined with active indexing of Wikipedia and other reference sites to source answers.
Founder Gabe Weinberg notes that DuckAssist is currently using "99%+ Wikipedia" but is experimenting with other sources to adapt to the context of the query. DuckAssist is only available in English for now and will be rolled out to all search users in the coming weeks.
While DDG's search engine already has an Instant Answers feature, adding generative AI summarization has allowed the search engine to expand how many queries can be directly answered. DuckAssist can be more directly responsive to the query, quickly surface information buried in articles, and synthesize information from multiple Wikipedia snippets.
The feature works by using AI to generate new natural language responses "based on specific/relevant sections of Wikipedia articles". Weinberg says DuckAssist has been designed to boost the probability that it will give a correct answer while also providing users with information that the answer is automated, pointing them to the reference sources where they can do their own fact-check.
DuckAssist is a free-to-use beta feature that does not require the user to be logged in to access it.
