- You can install the official ChatGPT Search extension to make it your default search engine.
- ChatGPT Search is free for all users, but you must be logged in to fetch current information from the web.
- You can set ChatGPT Search as your default search engine on all Chromium-based browsers including Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, and more.
OpenAI released ChatGPT Search recently 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.
- Head over to the Chrome Web Store and install the ChatGPT Search extension (Download).
- On Edge and other browsers, you may have to grant additional permissions.
- Once you have installed the extension, go ahead and perform a search. To find the latest information, make sure you are logged into your free or paid ChatGPT account.
- Now, ChatGPT will browse the web for you and fetch relevant information from multiple sources.
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.
