For enterprise technology leaders accustomed to algorithm-driven search and AI-generated content, a small startup is offering a different path. Kagi, a search engine built on privacy and security, is expanding its efforts to curate a 'small web' of sites driven and written by humans, according to a report by David Nield for WIRED. The company's approach revisits the early days of the web, when directories like AltaVista and Yahoo listed sites by category, and pages were built by hobbyists, academics, and tech nerds.
The Kagi Search Engine
Kagi's main business is its search engine, which charges a fee instead of monetizing user data. According to the report, searching with Kagi starts at $5 a month (plus sales tax) for 300 searches, which includes a standard-level AI assistant. For $10 a month, users get unlimited searches and more AI assistant tokens. A free trial offers 100 searches without commitment.
The company argues that searching the web always costs something — either paid directly, by giving up data about online activity, or by sifting through ads and sponsored links. Kagi aims to provide results free from paid promotions and Google's changing business practices. The search engine maintains its own indexes for web and news, and is built to promote "relevant, high quality results" and noncommercial sites.
| Feature | Free Trial | Starter Plan | Unlimited Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $0 | $5/month + tax | $10/month |
| Searches | 100 | 300 | Unlimited |
| AI Assistant | No | Standard | More tokens |
To get started, users need only an email address and password. The search options panel allows filtering results by images, videos, podcasts, maps, or news, and by time or language. According to the report, a search for a band brings up its official website, Wikipedia page, social media accounts, and YouTube channel — all without promoted results, related searches, or sponsored content. "It feels a little bit like stepping back in time," Nield writes.
The Small Web Project
Beyond search, Kagi is building its Small Web project, which aims to highlight the best of the human-made and human-curated internet. The project, the company says, avoids a web "dominated by algorithms, ads, and AI-generated noise." It functions like the old StumbleUpon, with a Next Post button for jumping to random content, along with favorite and search options, and a Share button.
The content consists largely of blog posts written by real people about niche topics. In a few minutes of browsing, Nield discovered posts that debated the nuances of Python and dove into particle physics. The experience is not guaranteed to turn up treasure with every click, but that is part of the fun, according to the report.
Kagi also offers access to a multitude of AI models and recently launched apps for Android and iOS. The company has been running its privacy-focused search engine for several years.
Implications for Enterprise Decision-Makers
While Kagi's offerings are consumer-oriented, the underlying philosophy — human curation, privacy, and ad-free search — resonates with enterprise concerns about data sovereignty, content quality, and algorithmic bias. For technology procurement leaders evaluating search tools for internal knowledge bases or external research, Kagi's model presents an alternative to the major platforms. The Small Web project, in particular, could serve as a source of vetted, human-authored content in specialized fields, though it remains a small-scale initiative. As AI-generated content proliferates, Kagi's emphasis on human-made websites may become increasingly valuable for organizations seeking trustworthy information.
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