After a hiatus of a couple of months, the author has re-subscribed to Kagi, a search engine they've used since 2021. Previously, they alternated between Google and Duck Duck Go before finding Kagi's privacy-focused approach and high-quality results appealing.

During their time away, the author explored alternatives, including Google again, which proved to be a "disaster" with a focus on AI, videos, and images over text. A custom Searx NG instance also presented issues with rate-limiting and result quality. Other engines like Duck Duck Go, Brave Search, and Qwant failed to match Kagi's relevance. The author particularly missed Kagi's summarization and translation features, as well as their custom CSS configurations, which couldn't be replicated elsewhere.

Returning to Kagi has brought relief, reinforcing the author's appreciation for its unique features and commitment to user privacy. The superior quality of Kagi's results, compared to all other tested engines, was a primary driver for their return. The author feels unable to revert to search engines like Google that prioritize intrusive features over user privacy and straightforward text-based results.