I requested access to the NT backend and did not notice much of an improvement with it turned on, so I had AI test all of the issues linked in the original post. The results are below. Overall: some improvement, but not enough to make me confident in search functionality again.
Not sure why some issues can't be reproduced, but perhaps this means the issue has already been fixed since it was originally reported.
| Reported issue and test | NT off | NT on | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
Verbatim ignores -site: —springfield school ransomware -site:facebook.com , personalization off |
Facebook ranked #2 twice. With Verbatim off, the exclusion worked. | No Facebook results appeared in either Verbatim run. The exclusion also worked with Verbatim off. | Fixed with NT |
Multiple quotes miss a known PDF —"useful" "Apple" "It is crucial that the system tailors" "ireland" filetype:pdf |
Zero results twice. Searching for just the long phrase plus filetype:pdf found the target. |
Three Kagi Feedback pages twice, all non-PDFs. The shorter query also missed the target. | Still fails with NT |
Quoted PDF coverage —filetype:pdf "curriculum vitae" "ireland" |
20 reported results. One visible link had neither a .pdf URL nor a PDF badge. |
15 reported results. All 11 visible web results had a .pdf URL or PDF badge. |
Mixed |
Wildcards with quotes — a follow-up test using"It is crucial that the * tailors" filetype:pdf and"It is crucial" * tailors filetype:pdf |
Zero with * inside quotes. Five with it outside, without the target PDF. |
Zero with * inside quotes. Nine with it outside, without the target PDF. |
Still fails with NT |
| Long quoted passage — the 694-characterAGI Discourse as Kayfabe query | 34 results with the source #1 , including when submitted through Kagi’s search box. | Zero on repeat and through the search box. Kagi displayed only the first 255 characters even though the URL contained all 694. | Regressed with NT |
GaggiMate forum results —"gaggimate" with the Forums lens, thensite:reddit.com |
The lens reported 9 results, including an unrelated r/LibreNMS thread. Adding site:reddit.com within the lens gave0 . |
Same 9 results and the same 0 with the site filter inside the lens. | Still fails with NT |
Programming lens adds results to Verbatim —azurerm andterraform azurerm resource group as test queries |
azurerm went from20 to 29 with the lens. The longer query went from26 to 19 . |
azurerm went from44 to 29 . The longer query went from36 to 19 . |
Mixed |
Exact-match searches return nothing —"JD-3" and"welcome the chance to be relocated" , International |
9 each. The ABC transcript ranked#4 . | 18 for"JD-3" and9 for the phrase. The ABC transcript ranked#1 . |
Not reproduced |
Inch marks interpreted as quotes —1.5" PVC tee with 1/2" NPT |
42 , led by a Home Depot PVC fittings page. | 47 , led by a PVC tee listing with the requested sizes in its title. | Improved with NT |
Intermittent empty results — nuzlocke ,azurerm , and thequoted AV CREATOR PIONEER image search |
37 ,24 , and279 respectively. | 37 ,42 , and279 respectively. | Not reproduced |
| Irrelevant UK rankings — KRunner, Kagi index sources, woodworking tape, Kagi performance, Victorian curtains, apple juice, and Hannah Arendt | Relevant first results for all seven. KRunner also returned relevant results in International. | Relevant first results for all seven. KRunner also returned relevant results in International. | Not reproduced |
Loose ranking —privateer angle andastronomy |
The Slovenian translation of “privateer” was #19 . Astronomy results led with Wikipedia. | The same translation was #23 . Astronomy results led withAstronomy magazine. | Mixed |
Missing South African domains — ZA region, includingsite:co.za ,site:gov.za ,site:org.za , and searches for SARS, FNB, News24, Home Affairs and Cape Town e-services |
All tested domain filters returned results. The ordinary searches surfaced the expected sites at #1 . | All tested domain filters returned results. The ordinary searches surfaced the expected sites at #1 . | Not reproduced |
source & further reading
kagifeedback.org — original article
Reddit blocks Kagi Extract Api
Gemini: use document processing for much better PDF handling
Search API / MCP appears to ignore account personalization (blocked domains still returned)