DuckDuckGo is taking a bigger step into the AI arena by expanding its paid Duck.ai subscription service with access to some of the industry’s most advanced models. Subscribers can now chat with OpenAI’s GPT-4o and GPT-5, Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4, and Meta’s Llama Maverick. By bringing these models together under one subscription, DuckDuckGo is positioning itself as a strong competitor in the privacy-first AI space, offering choice and variety without the usual trade-off in personal data.
The company is also doubling down on its core identity: privacy protection. With Duck.ai, user IP addresses are hidden from AI providers, meaning interactions remain anonymous. Chat logs aren’t shared back with the model developers or used for training purposes. To give users even more control, there’s the so-called “Fire Button,” a one-tap option to instantly wipe entire conversation histories. This feature aligns with DuckDuckGo’s long-standing philosophy of minimizing data collection and giving users a clear, transparent way to protect their information.
Despite the addition of multiple cutting-edge AI models, DuckDuckGo isn’t raising the cost of entry. The subscription remains priced at $9.99 per month or $99 per year. On top of the new AI perks, subscribers still receive access to a bundled VPN, automated tools to help remove personal information from data broker sites, and identity theft assistance. That makes the plan competitive not just in terms of AI access but also as a broader digital security and privacy package.
Importantly, the company hasn’t changed the availability of its free version. Users can still access Duck.ai in its basic form without logging in or paying, keeping a no-cost, privacy-friendly AI option on the table for casual users. The new subscription tier is simply an expansion for those who want the most powerful AI models while retaining the data protection DuckDuckGo is known for.
