In December, when Mozilla announced it would finally add AI to Firefox, the reaction from users wasn't exactly welcoming. What Mozilla failed to realize is that the majority of Firefox users don't want AI. Many Linux users, who make up a large share of Firefox's fan base, don't want AI in their OS, either.
The backlash against AI invading almost every aspect of the computing experience is growing by the day. Particularly as an onslaught of lazy AI slop subsuming news feeds, the tech is starting to feel like a massive distraction - and huge parts of the internet are disillusioned or even fuming in anger.
I tend to use different search engines for different purposes. For example, when I want better privacy, I use DuckDuckGo. When shopping, I might use Amazon, and if I need AI, I might opt for Perplexity. In other words, multiple configured search engines are necessary. For most browsers, you configure individual search engines. Some browsers even allow you to configure a search engine such that it'll be used by first typing a keyword in the address bar (such as duck for DuckDuckGo).
While AI companies, startups, and others are rolling out their own web browsers that embed AI services deep into the web surfing experience, Mozilla's Firefox is instead allowing its customers to swap out their default search engine for an AI-powered search option in the browser they already use. The company on Tuesday announced that it's bringing AI answer engine Perplexity to Firefox, letting customers decide whether they want to use AI to search the web and find new information.
