I don’t want AI in my online search. What options do I have?

The Conversation's article “I don’t want AI in my online search. What options do I have?” outlines that users can still rely on non‑AI‑enhanced search engines such as DuckDuckGo, Startpage, and the privacy‑focused mode of Bing, while also employing browser extensions that block AI‑generated result overlays. For website owners, this shift means a measurable portion of traffic may bypass AI‑driven SERP features (e.g., ChatGPT snippets, AI answer boxes) and instead arrive via classic organic listings. Sites that depend on AI‑generated snippets for visibility could see a dip in click‑through rates, while those with strong SEO fundamentals—clear metadata, structured data, and high‑quality content—stand to capture the “AI‑free” audience. Moreover, the rise of AI‑blocking extensions can reduce bot‑like crawling from AI aggregators, potentially lowering server load but also limiting indexing by emerging AI search crawlers. **Actionable tips:** 1. **Update your llms.txt** to explicitly allow reputable non‑AI crawlers (e.g., DuckDuckGoBot, StartpageBot) while disallowing known AI‑search bots such as “ChatGPT‑Crawler” or “BingChatBot” to preserve privacy‑focused traffic. 2. **Monitor AI‑free referral sources** using llmscentral’s traffic dashboard; set alerts for spikes from domains like duckduckgo.com or startpage.com to gauge the impact of AI‑free search on your site. 3. **Implement schema markup for FAQs and product details** so that even if AI answer boxes are disabled, search engines can still surface rich snippets in traditional results, maintaining visibility for the AI‑averse segment.