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AI engines

How DuckDuckGo AI decides which brands to recommend

Not tracked

Attensira does not track DuckDuckGo AI. DuckDuckGo's Search Assist writes a brief answer from the web and links one or two sources, as often as each user allows. With so few slots, it pays to be the clearest answer to the question. This guide covers how it works and how to write that page.

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Answer · ChatGPTasked

Question: list of AI crawler user agents

ChatGPT answered: Common AI crawler user-agent tokens include: … DuckAssistBot · DuckDuckGo · AI answer crawler

Sources cited

  1. 1github.com
  2. 2clickfrom.ai
  3. 3primores.org
  4. 4quanticdata.io
  5. 5crawlable.synthworx.com
  6. 6presenc.ai
Researcher agentResearcher · watches the sources answers citeattensira.com workspace · Attensira MCP · · excerpt of 1 of 3 samples

How does DuckDuckGo describe Search Assist?

The answer at the top is ChatGPT's list of AI crawlers, on 3 October 2026, which names DuckAssistBot as DuckDuckGo's. DuckDuckGo's help page, beside this, describes how Search Assist answers, not a crawler. Treat the token as the answer's claim and check your own logs for it before you write a rule.

How DuckDuckGo describes Search Assist
Sources per answer
One or two, linked directly
How often it shows
Often, sometimes (the default), on demand or never
Who chooses
Each user, in settings
DuckDuckGo Help: about Search Assist (read 4 Oct 2026)

How do you get cited by DuckDuckGo AI?

Four things to check on your own pages, from how DuckDuckGo AI picks sources above. None of them is a measured result.

Checklist4 steps
  1. 01

    Write the single clearest answer to each question your buyers ask, near the top of the page.

  2. 02

    Keep it short and factual; the answer it builds is brief.

  3. 03

    Make sure the page is crawlable and fast for search engines in general.

  4. 04

    Put the specific fact a buyer wants (the price, the limit, the yes or no) in that first paragraph.

Example · a checklist from the facts on this page; Attensira does not measure DuckDuckGo AI

What does DuckDuckGo AI draw on when it answers?

DuckDuckGo's AI answer in search is called Search Assist. It writes a brief answer at the top of the results and credits one or two pages, and each user chooses how often it appears.

For a brand, that means the source list is tiny. DuckDuckGo does not say how it picks the one or two pages, so our advice is to be the clearest answer to the question rather than one of many.

In short

  • Web pages it finds for the query
  • One or two linked sources per answer
  • Shown only as often as the user allows

What makes a page the one that gets credited?

With one or two sources per answer, the credited page is usually the one whose wording is closest to a complete, short answer. A test you can run on your own page: read only its first paragraph. Does it answer the question in the heading, in two or three sentences, with the specific fact a buyer wants (the price, the limit, the yes or no)? If the answer is buried under an introduction, a summary engine has to work harder to find it, and a competitor's plainer page is the easier pick.

The same paragraph is what ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews lift when they quote a page, so this is one fix that helps on every engine at once.

How do you see which page Search Assist credits?

Ask it, with the setting turned up. Search Assist shows only as often as each user allows, so set it to Often in your own search settings before you check. Each answer links one or two sources, which keeps the record short: which page was credited, and whether it was yours.

Check in DuckDuckGo4 steps
  1. 01

    Setting

    Set Search Assist to Often in your search settings, so it shows on more questions.

  2. 02

    Ask

    Your buyers' questions, worded as they type them.

  3. 03

    Record

    The one or two pages each answer links, and whether one is yours.

  4. 04

    Compare

    Read the credited page's first paragraph beside yours: which answers the question sooner?

Example · a check you run by hand; Attensira does not read DuckDuckGo

Questions about DuckDuckGo AI

Does Attensira track DuckDuckGo AI?
No. Attensira reads ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, and nothing else. This page explains how DuckDuckGo AI chooses what to recommend so you can act on it yourself; Attensira does not measure your mention rate or citations there.
How many sources does a Search Assist answer cite?
DuckDuckGo says Search Assist responses always link directly to one or two sources.
Can users turn Search Assist off?
Yes. In Search Settings they can choose often, sometimes (the default), on demand or never.

Whatever it takes to win the answer.

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