Kagi Adds AI Kill Switch, Ships Orion 1.1 for macOS in Latest Update
Kagi has introduced new controls that let users completely disable AI-based features in its search product, alongside a substantial update to its Orion browser for macOS. The changes appear in changelog entry #11296, published August 21, 2026. Kagi Changelog
The AI controls are available under kagi.com/settings/ai, where users can toggle off access to AI features in search entirely. Kagi also plans to add the same option to its onboarding flow for new users, though that integration has not yet shipped as an announced plan rather than a completed feature.
The decision to offer a full AI opt-out is notable in the current search landscape. Most major search engines have spent the last two years weaving AI-generated summaries and conversational assistants into their core results pages, with varying degrees of user control and no universal option to remove them wholesale. Kagi's move gives users an explicit binary choice: AI features on or AI features off, at the product level rather than through workarounds or third-party extensions.
Worth flagging is the philosophical position this implies. Kagi operates on a paid subscription model rather than advertising, which removes the incentive to maximize engagement with AI features for their own sake. A full opt-out is commercially viable when the user is the customer, not the product. Whether other search providers with ad-supported models could offer the same without undermining their own metrics is a separate question, but the structural difference is clear.
The same changelog entry also covers changes to Kagi's search widgets. The dice widget now supports rolling dice with any number of sides, not just standard polyhedral sets. Coin flipping has been added as a widget as well. More substantively, Kagi added per-widget toggles under kagi.com/settings/more_search, letting users disable any individual widget they do not want to see in their search results. That gives users granular control over the utility features that surface alongside standard search results.
On the browser side, Kagi launched Orion 1.1 for macOS, described in the changelog as one of its most significant updates. The release introduces a redesigned interface, containers (isolated tabs that enable multiple logins to the same site simultaneously), and a personalized browser border. The border customization is exclusive to Orion+ subscribers, Kagi's paid support plan for the otherwise free browser. Kagi Changelog
Orion itself occupies an unusual niche. It is a free browser, distributed without advertising, with Kagi selling an optional support subscription to fund development and maintain that ad-free posture. The browser is available across multiple platforms: macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, and Linux can all download currently supported versions from a dedicated site at orionbrowser.com. Kagi Changelog
The container feature in Orion 1.1 mirrors functionality that has existed in Firefox for years and is available in Chrome through profiles and extensions. Isolated tabs that maintain separate cookie jars and session states are a practical need for anyone managing multiple accounts on the same service, from developers juggling staging and production credentials to ordinary users separating work and personal logins. Bringing this into Orion natively reduces the friction of relying on add-ons for what is, for many users, a core workflow requirement.
The personalized browser border is a lighter feature, clearly positioned as a subscriber perk rather than a functional upgrade. Tying a cosmetic customization to the paid tier is a straightforward value-add strategy that costs little to implement while giving subscribers something visible for their commitment.
Taken together, the changelog reflects a product team iterating on two fronts simultaneously. On the search side, Kagi is giving users more control over what appears in their results, from AI features down to individual widgets. On the browser side, Orion is adding infrastructure features like containers that bring it closer to parity with established competitors, while a cosmetic subscriber benefit rounds out the release. The AI opt-out is the headline item, but the widget toggles and the container support are the changes most likely to affect day-to-day workflow for the technical users who make up Kagi's audience.
