We don’t know how to monetize. Ads are the only option that we know of, donations do not work at all, as proven by my previous projects.
A subscription-based model might be the only viable one, since ads will inevitably lead to a conflict of interest and voluntary donations are mostly a no-go. The problem is that people are so used to the notion that everything is “free” that many are convinced that online services should always be free and balk at the idea of paying for anything.
Personally I pay for Kagi which has been decent enough
The fact that dumb twats just expect to get everything for free is the reason why everything turned to ad-funded shit