I’ve been using Brave Search supplemented by Startpage for the past 2+ years. When I search for something, I want to get results for credible webpages, not a summary of unknown quality. I liked the previous AI inclusion because it was instant, didn’t take up much space, and I could quickly navigate to the websites referenced in it, but with the new feature it takes up more space, is slower, and not really what I want out of a search engine.
As soon as the feature was rolled out I disabled it in settings, but the AI button stays visible, I get autocomplete specifically for Answer with AI and I get frequent notifications to try out the new AI feature. An opt-out toggle should not mean that I still am pestered to use the feature I opted out of.
This is really annoying, and I’m probably going to end up switching to Startpage or SearXNG or something.
Some images (opted out of AI features):
Hot take I like it a bit, but it is pushed hard. It is nice to have an option for AI not through MS. It is not great for privacy but I far far trust them than MS. It is the lesser of two evils. Sometimes you just want an answer instead of clicking one thousand links. I think the first time you use it they should you give the option to have it on and off isntead of forcing it.