Google has been nothing more than a search engine for years. It's an endless maze of ads, SEO-optimized content, and generic answers, probably composed by artificial intelligence that you've never asked for help. But what if there was a better way to find information? Kagi, a search engine with no ads, no tracking, and the promise of better quality results, is already proving that it's possible. The only problem? You have to pay 10 euros a month.
And if Kagi succeeds, does this mean that Google will also start charging for a “real” search engine?
Google – a search engine we no longer trust
Remember how you used to use GoogleYou typed in a question and got useful results. Now? You get ads, SEO content of questionable quality and so-called “AI Overviews”, which are often full of incorrect or even bizarre information. Google is becoming increasingly chaotic, which is no coincidence – its business model is based on showing as many ads as possible and maximizing traffic.
The result? People are looking for alternatives. DuckDuckGo, Brave Search, Neeva (which has already failed), and now Kagi – all claim to offer better results, without endless sponsored links.
But unlike Google, which sells you to advertisers, Kagi sells only one thing: a better search experience. And it's not free.
Paid search – the future or an exclusive niche?
For 10 euros per month, Kagi offers:
- Better results – less clutter, fewer content farms, more quality sources.
- No ads – complete freedom from the invasion of advertisers.
- No tracking – no one profiles your searches and serves you personalized advertisements.
- Advanced features – the ability to exclude certain domains (goodbye, Reddit SEO spam!) and even customize search results.
This all sounds like an ideal solution – but the question is how many people are really willing to pay for something that has always been free.
Google's strength is not just in technology, but in user habits. Who will abandon something en masse that "works", even if it's bad? Similar to social media - we all complain about Facebook and Instagram, but we still use them.
Will Google start charging too?
If the concept of paid search is successful, we can expect Google to follow the same model. Google is already experimenting with paid subscriptions (YouTube Premium, Google One), so it is not inconceivable that it would one day offer “Google Search Premium” – a version without ads, with better results and maybe even without unnecessary AI responses.
Here's the catch: Google would still make billions from ads, since most people would never pay for a subscription. Paid search would be a premium feature for the elite—much like YouTube Premium, which removes ads while billions of users still watch commercials.
Will Kagi change the rules of the game?
Kagi is proof that there is a market for a better search experience, but the question remains: will people wean themselves off of “free” search? The internet is already moving towards subscription services – we pay for Netflix, Spotify, YouTube Premium – why not for a better search engine?
Google may never fully transition to a paid model, but if the quality of its results continues to deteriorate, more users will start looking for alternatives. And if the trend is strong enough, we may all pay for search someday—just as we pay for better movies, music, and apps today.
The only question is: are you willing to pay 10 euros a month for “real” internet?
