How to Set ChatGPT Search as Your Default Search Engine

Nov. 11, 2024

OpenAI releasedChatGPT Searchrecently which uses AI to curate and summarize the latest and relevant information from the web. With the announcement, OpenAI also unveiled a Chrome extension that changes the default search engine to ChatGPT Search. The best part is that it works not just on Chrome, but on any Chromium-based browsers including Edge, Brave, Opera, and more.

I installed the ChatGPT Search extension on my Chrome browser and here is how you can do it too.

I tested ChatGPT Search over the weekend and replaced Google Search entirely. Frankly, I wanted to switch back to traditional Google Search by the end of the week. While ChatGPT Search is good for queries where you wish to ask follow-up questions and gain more knowledge, I generally use Google Search to look up information quickly. I don’t want a long passage on what the weather is going to look like over the coming days.

Apart from that, Google’s rich knowledge graph and infographics integrated into search let me glance over key details within seconds. ChatGPT Search takes some time to generate answers using an LLM which adds to an ineffective search experience.

Next, most users perform navigational searches on Google where they simply type “Facebook login” or “YouTube” to open specific websites. In these types of queries, ChatGPT Search feels like a letdown. Also, local searches like “pharmacy near me” or “cafe near me” don’t work as well as Google Search.

Google has a massive index of data from Google Maps, Flights, Hotels, e-commerce websites, and more. This allows Google to offer a rich search experience. It also has to do with user behavior that Google has shaped over many years. Anyway, what do you think about ChatGPT Search? Let us know in the comments below.

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