Kagi Search's Accessibility Features Offer Relief for Users with Low Vision

For users with visual impairments, search engines can present significant challenges. The cluttered interfaces filled with ads, AI summaries, auto-playing media, and condensed layouts often lead to increased visual fatigue and difficulty finding relevant information. One user's experience with Kagi Search highlights how a different approach to search engine design can make a substantial difference for those with low vision needs.

The Problem with Traditional Search Engines for Low Vision Users

Veronica, a user with low vision, noticed significant increases in visual fatigue when using traditional search engines. The visually cluttered results pages filled with AI summaries, low-quality content, ads, and auto-play content that ignored device settings made it challenging to focus on relevant information. While text-to-speech tools helped with reading, browsing search results remained problematic.

"I was using so much of my energy to look at useless content that it made it challenging to focus on the things that I actually needed," Veronica explained.

Kagi Search: An Alternative Approach

Kagi Search is a paid, ad-free search engine funded entirely by user subscriptions rather than advertisers. This business model means results are ranked on quality rather than SEO keywords or paid placements. The absence of ads and tracking-based monetization results in dramatically less cluttered results pages compared to free search engines.

Kagi offers several subscription tiers:

• Trial (free): 100 total searches and standard AI access
• Starter ($5/month): 300 searches per month and Kagi Assistant with Quick mode
• Professional ($10/month): Unlimited searches and a larger monthly Kagi Assistant allowance
• Ultimate ($25/month): Everything in Professional, plus Kagi Assistant with Research mode and access to flagship AI models

The service also includes a "Fair Pricing" policy where users are credited for months when they don't use the service and can downgrade plans with account credits for the price difference.

Customization Options for Low Vision Users

What sets Kagi apart for low vision users is its extensive customization options:

Lenses

Lenses are saved filters that narrow results to specific types of sources. Built-in lenses include Forums, Academic, and Programming results. Users can create custom lenses with specific websites, regions, and parameters. Veronica created lenses for topics related to low vision and assistive technology.

Domain Controls

Each result has a shield icon that allows users to block a site entirely, lower its ranking, raise it, or pin it to future searches. These personalization choices are stored in the user's account and not shared across the web.

Bangs

Kagi supports Bangs for quick searches on specific sites. For example, typing !w redirects to Wikipedia. Users can create custom Bangs for frequently visited sites.

Visual Customizations

The Appearance section offers several options for configuring Kagi for low vision:

• Theme: System Default, Light, or Dark (separate settings for mobile and desktop)
• Font sizes: Small, Medium, Normal, Large, or Larger
• Result alignment: Left or center
• URL display options: Show full URL or breadcrumb view
• URL placement: Above or below result titles

Custom CSS

Perhaps the most powerful feature for low vision users is the Custom CSS editor, available across all Kagi plans. This allows full visual customization of Kagi's search and landing pages (within a 40,000 character limit). Users can hide elements, adjust spacing, increase contrast, and modify virtually any visual aspect of the interface.

Veronica shared her custom CSS configuration for low vision users, which creates a high-contrast interface that works well with screen magnification or browser zoom. The configuration avoids fixed font sizes to accommodate different default browser zooms across devices.

Setting Kagi as Default Search Engine

Kagi can be set as the default search engine in all major browsers, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Brave, on desktop and mobile devices. The process typically involves either installing the official browser extension or manually configuring the search engine using specific URLs provided in Kagi's documentation.

For private/incognito browsing, Kagi requires a private session link that embeds an authentication token in the search URL, which can be found in the Account settings.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Kagi offers several keyboard shortcuts to navigate search results efficiently:

• J or Down Arrow: Move highlight down
• K or Up Arrow: Move highlight up
• Enter: Go to highlighted result
• /: Focus search bar
• ?: Toggle keyboard shortcut help
• S: Open site info modal
• W/I/V/M/N: Open web/images/videos/maps/news tabs

Practical Benefits

Beyond the technical features, users report practical benefits. Veronica noted that her professors were impressed with how quickly she could find relevant search results using Kagi. The "Share this Search" feature allows users to share entire pages of search results without copying individual links.

Kagi's integration of blogs and non-commercial "small web" results is particularly helpful when researching specialized topics like accessibility and assistive technology. Instead of multiple low-quality AI-generated posts, users find a mix of developer documentation, user perspectives, and forum discussions.

Limitations

While Kagi offers significant advantages for low vision users, it's not without limitations. The service requires a subscription, which may be a barrier for some users. Additionally, while the interface is cleaner than traditional search engines, it still requires users to process and evaluate search results, which can be fatiguing for those with severe visual impairments.

The Custom CSS feature, while powerful, requires some technical knowledge to use effectively. Users without CSS experience may need to rely on pre-configured themes or seek help from others to create customizations.

Conclusion

Kagi Search demonstrates that search engine design can be intentionally accessibility-focused. By removing clutter, providing extensive customization options, and prioritizing quality over advertising revenue, Kagi offers a more usable experience for users with low vision. The combination of visual customizations, filtering options, and keyboard shortcuts creates a search experience that reduces visual fatigue while maintaining functionality.

As Veronica noted, "I hadn't realized how much the visual clutter from search engine pages was weighing on me until it was eliminated." This experience highlights the importance of considering accessibility in all aspects of web design and the potential for alternative business models to create more user-focused services.

For more information about Kagi Search and its accessibility features, visit the official Kagi website or explore the Kagi documentation.