Non-profit & eco-friendly search engine Ecosia brings AI‑powered overviews and chat search
Ecosia, the search engine funding global reforestation, is rolling out two new features along with a refreshed visual design. These additions aim to strengthen its mission-driven approach while enhancing user experience.
At the top of search results, users will now see Overviews, which are short summaries that include citations to original sources. This feature streamlines research and maintains transparency, and users can disable it with a single click if they prefer direct search results.
For more in-depth questions or ongoing exploration, AI search introduces an interactive chat mode. Users can ask about topics such as recipes or travel tips, and can opt to receive eco advice rooted in current environmental science. These enhancements expand search flexibility and incorporate environmental awareness for those interested.
Building on its environmental commitments, Ecosia’s AI features rely on smaller, more efficient AI models and intentionally avoid energy-intensive technologies like video generation. The company generates more renewable energy than its AI features require, using 100% clean sources like solar and wind. Tools such as the AI Energy Score and Ecologits help Ecosia track and report energy use, maintaining transparency and accountability. Privacy remains a priority; only essential data is collected to power these new features.
- Web Search Engine
- Free
- Proprietary
Related news
External links
- Is there a green AI alternative?Ecosia • Official source
Comments
Ai doesn't waste a lot of energy per request It requires a ton of energy for its training but ones a model is released the energy output is minimal People here probably complain about its water usage too but eat vastly more water intense products like meat or avocados
how is this supposed to work ? you support nature and help restore ressources and simultaneously suggest ai search in the browser knowing there is not much on this planet, consuming more energy than AI currently does ? An you DO know people ask search engines and AI the stupidest, most essential crap - just because they can and it's easier then using their brain ? So... I just give up at this point. this is beyond madness. PRO-Environment tools adding AI as a "feature" is sheer madness, unless they are fully solar powered and absorbing their own CO emissions somehow ..... so there goes ecosia off the list of the good guys. Sad evolution, happy to see 2025 end soon. Looking forward for some new players coming 2026 beeing considerable as REAL alternatives that won't burn the globe entirely.... sigh
if you were to Actually read the source article you would see that solar power (and more) is indeed the case here
I think they should've went with the Kagi approach where it's opt-in and overviews only appear if you append a question mark at the end of a query.
P.S.: "AI uses obscene amounts of water for power" is this decade's biggest piece of misinfo that will probably take decades to dissipate
"P.S.: "AI uses obscene amounts of water for power" is this decade's biggest piece of misinfo that will probably take decades to dissipate"
You're just objectively wrong, which is fascinating. We're on a post about a search engine update and yet you're too naive to use any search engine of your choosing to correct your own ignorance. AI fundamentally does use and pollute water, and does so even in regions where access to clean water is a struggle in the first place. This has been well studied and verified, and yet you actively CHOOSE to be uneducated. Interesting.
its not using any more water/energy than a lot of activities people do regularly and daily like streaming, my guy one chatGPT query is equivalent to like. a few seconds of netflix you can be educated without the doomposting and fearmongering
I wonder what we should call the opposite of green-washing... perhaps, tar-washing? Apocalypse-washing? What do you call it when an eco-friendly company decides to throw sludge in your face and tells you it's actually just compost?
Honestly, what's the point of reforestation, meadow restoration or anything else when you support AI data centers like this? It's disgusting.
Right??? I just groaned out loud. Yes, let's add the water-wasting slop machine in my eco-conscious search engine that I was sticking to because it was free from the aforementioned slop machine, that is CLEARLY what I want! Argh! I hate it. I will look for a feedback form or something to let them know, and find yet another AI-free engine I can switch to.
Not to discredit your outrage, but you should probably read the article (and not just the headlines) to see exactly just how they're approaching this in a way that doesn't go against what they stand for (...completely anyway. I mean the search engine by itself already consumes energy, y'know). I don't like AI overviews myself personally, but I know some people do, and the very widespread claim that AI wastes huge amounts of water is simply not true.
I read that AI text search, even on the lower side, uses 5-10 times more energy than regular search. From personal experience, I tried to run few low nodes AIs downloaded to my PC just for writing a story. Test results were obvious. On my lower powered PC, CPU level and hard drive usage level would spike to 85-100% from normal 10% levels. And as measured by power device, the PC was running on maximum power for the duration of AI work. Yes, it is unscientific, but even a blind person could see even lower level AIs are power hungry beasts.
I presume that lower level AIs use less power than higher level AIs. But it is like "holistic doctor" giving you 200mg pill instead of 500mg pill.
Lu9 is some kinda shill that doesn't actually understand the scope of water usage and impact that generative AI usage has. Weird to be so confident yet so misinformed.