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I switched to Kagi in June last year. I just realized I tried it initially because I wanted to try out blocking sites in search results, and I have only ever ne

I switched to Kagi in June last year. I just realized I tried it initially because I wanted to try out blocking sites in search results, and I have only ever needed to block three domains.

eitland 2y ago
Thats exactly what I am talking about. Kagi is kind of like Google in 2009, seriously good coverage, good ranking ... but also: - more modern - more features (summarizer, bangs like in DDG, FastGPT and probably a few I forgot) - blocklists for websites (and also options to pin, raise and lower) - with actual support: report a bug and you get an answer from a real engineer, a follow up when it is fixed and a shout out in the relevant release notes - no tracking
- nolist_policy 2y ago
  Is it only me or do these constant Kagi ads on HN sound fishy?
  - ysavir 2y ago
    I wouldn't necessarily call them fishy, but I am very tired of them. They have a very evangelizing tone. But I think they're ultimately just people excited about the tool they're using and wanting to share it with others.
  - drpossum 2y ago
    Maybe they're not ads but people who genuinely like the service?
  - mannycalavera42 2y ago
    kagi is the new crossfit
  - epr 2y ago
    Did we not all evangelize Google in it's early days? Also, none of these accounts saying nice things appear to be bots or kagi-focused in any way, so I think it's safe to assume they do actually just like it.
    - orangevelcro 2y ago
      I don't know...my spidey sense has been going off a bit. Kagi has a free trial, but you have to pay, which is the difference between it and early Google. Of course, now we have Google ads instead, so who knows, maybe not bots.
      - eitland 2y ago
        Go check my history. Send me a mail and I'll send a photo of the fields and the wind breaks here that you can geolocate. I am definitely not a bot. I am however extremely fed up with Google. And equally thankful that I have found something that works as well as old Google (or better).
  - breakfastduck 2y ago
    Google Search being a bit rubbish has been in the zeitgeist for a while, it's not surprising that people then talk about an alternative they've found that is much better in their experience
  - tomrod 2y ago
    I took a screenshot years ago where 10/14 of the viewable top headlines on my screen where positive Google discussion. From an advertising perspective it was all earned marketing (satisfied customers speaking highly). While these situations could be a pg-style astroturf submarine, or they could be satisfied customers (the best kind of advertising), I wouldn't necessarily say fishy (you can look at the satisfied users' previous contributions to make that judgment yourself! :)). Personally, I've not used Kagi, but I hear positive things from people I trust that use it. So I'll likely try it in the future.
  - danielheath 2y ago
    It’s not surprising that folks who pay for a service when there’s a free alternative are pretty serious fans.
  - JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B 2y ago
    I never say it but here it is: for the price of 2 packs of cookies, I went from being a 1x programmer to a 1.5x programmer without doing anything. If the results are good, it’s good for me and my job which brings me way more money and satisfaction than $10. The alternative is Searx and I may try it sometimes, but so far Kagi is cheap and very efficient for me (C++ coding and other languages).
- dustincoates 2y ago
  I like Kagi a lot (just look at my comment history), but I'm letting my subscription lapse when it comes time to renew. I've found myself going to Google a lot more often, and I'm finding more and more transparently spammy sites in the Kagin index. Some, for example, are clearly Gen AI created. If I were a rich man, I would probably keep my subscription just to support a Google competitor. Alas, I'm not, and so I'll be going back to Google.
  - eitland 2y ago
    I see your point. I was not always this well paid. Did you try blocking the problematic sites and if it didn't work, did you file support requests?
    - dustincoates 2y ago
      I didn't block them, because they were rarely the same site repeatedly, so I'm not sure it would help. I didn't on support requests, either, perhaps I should. I have before, and the team did a great job at addressing what wasn't working.
  - freediver 2y ago
    Have you reported any of this to Kagi? (things that are reported usually get fixed)
- elorant 2y ago
  I use FastGPT quite often although I’m not a subscriber to Kagi itself. For me it’s everything an AI search engine should be. Here is your answer, and here are a bunch of links to research further. Something that works without making the web obsolete. Not like the walled off garden of OpenAi which often hallucinates links, or Google’s “I through everything at the wall to find what sticks” effort.

I switched to Kagi in June last year. I just realized I tried it initially because I wanted to try out blocking sites in search results, and I have only ever needed to block three domains.

eitland 2y ago

Thats exactly what I am talking about. Kagi is kind of like Google in 2009, seriously good coverage, good ranking ... but also: - more modern - more features (summarizer, bangs like in DDG, FastGPT and probably a few I forgot) - blocklists for websites (and also options to pin, raise and lower) - with actual support: report a bug and you get an answer from a real engineer, a follow up when it is fixed and a shout out in the relevant release notes - no tracking

nolist_policy 2y ago
Is it only me or do these constant Kagi ads on HN sound fishy?
- ysavir 2y ago
  I wouldn't necessarily call them fishy, but I am very tired of them. They have a very evangelizing tone. But I think they're ultimately just people excited about the tool they're using and wanting to share it with others.
- drpossum 2y ago
  Maybe they're not ads but people who genuinely like the service?
- mannycalavera42 2y ago
  kagi is the new crossfit
- epr 2y ago
  Did we not all evangelize Google in it's early days? Also, none of these accounts saying nice things appear to be bots or kagi-focused in any way, so I think it's safe to assume they do actually just like it.
  - orangevelcro 2y ago
    I don't know...my spidey sense has been going off a bit. Kagi has a free trial, but you have to pay, which is the difference between it and early Google. Of course, now we have Google ads instead, so who knows, maybe not bots.
    - eitland 2y ago
      Go check my history. Send me a mail and I'll send a photo of the fields and the wind breaks here that you can geolocate. I am definitely not a bot. I am however extremely fed up with Google. And equally thankful that I have found something that works as well as old Google (or better).
- breakfastduck 2y ago
  Google Search being a bit rubbish has been in the zeitgeist for a while, it's not surprising that people then talk about an alternative they've found that is much better in their experience
- tomrod 2y ago
  I took a screenshot years ago where 10/14 of the viewable top headlines on my screen where positive Google discussion. From an advertising perspective it was all earned marketing (satisfied customers speaking highly). While these situations could be a pg-style astroturf submarine, or they could be satisfied customers (the best kind of advertising), I wouldn't necessarily say fishy (you can look at the satisfied users' previous contributions to make that judgment yourself! :)). Personally, I've not used Kagi, but I hear positive things from people I trust that use it. So I'll likely try it in the future.
- danielheath 2y ago
  It’s not surprising that folks who pay for a service when there’s a free alternative are pretty serious fans.
- JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B 2y ago
  I never say it but here it is: for the price of 2 packs of cookies, I went from being a 1x programmer to a 1.5x programmer without doing anything. If the results are good, it’s good for me and my job which brings me way more money and satisfaction than $10. The alternative is Searx and I may try it sometimes, but so far Kagi is cheap and very efficient for me (C++ coding and other languages).
dustincoates 2y ago
I like Kagi a lot (just look at my comment history), but I'm letting my subscription lapse when it comes time to renew. I've found myself going to Google a lot more often, and I'm finding more and more transparently spammy sites in the Kagin index. Some, for example, are clearly Gen AI created. If I were a rich man, I would probably keep my subscription just to support a Google competitor. Alas, I'm not, and so I'll be going back to Google.
- eitland 2y ago
  I see your point. I was not always this well paid. Did you try blocking the problematic sites and if it didn't work, did you file support requests?
  - dustincoates 2y ago
    I didn't block them, because they were rarely the same site repeatedly, so I'm not sure it would help. I didn't on support requests, either, perhaps I should. I have before, and the team did a great job at addressing what wasn't working.
- freediver 2y ago
  Have you reported any of this to Kagi? (things that are reported usually get fixed)
elorant 2y ago
I use FastGPT quite often although I’m not a subscriber to Kagi itself. For me it’s everything an AI search engine should be. Here is your answer, and here are a bunch of links to research further. Something that works without making the web obsolete. Not like the walled off garden of OpenAi which often hallucinates links, or Google’s “I through everything at the wall to find what sticks” effort.