OpenAI released ChatGPT search a few days ago, and you can now use the Google Search option in the ChatGPT apps on desktop and mobile as long as you have a qualified ChatGPT subscription. ChatGPT Plus, Teams and SearchGPT waitlist users get access first, with Enterprise, Edu and Free users to follow.

Using ChatGPT Search is also incredibly easy. Just load ChatGPT on your computer or phone and hit the new search button above. Even if you don’t, ChatGPT will search the web on its own to find answers to your prompts – that’s how it’s been for a long time now.

But if ChatGPT works as an online search engine, shouldn’t you be able to set it as your default search engine? It turns out the answer is yes, you should. You can replace Google Search (and other online search options) with ChatGPT Search with a simple tool OpenAI available from day one: the ChatGPT Search extension from Chrome, Edge and other compatible browsers.

If your browser can install Chrome extensions, you need to go to this link to get the official ChatGPT Search extension. It is the same link that OpenAI offers on its website, on this link. I’m giving you the two options so you can verify for yourself that you’re getting the real deal. The last thing you want is some kind of malicious version of it.

As soon as you install the ChatGPT Search extension, the Chrome Web Store will inform you that this extension may change your default search engine to ChatGPT Search.

Browsers can even turn it off automatically. This is what happens in Microsoft Edge, the default browser on my Mac. I know it’s a strange choice of browser for a Mac, but it works great for me. It’s my best replacement for Chrome and Safari, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else right now.

But even Edge is afraid of the ChatGPT Search extension. Once you install it, it will turn it off and warn you that ChatGPT Search wants to change your default search engine setting. Sneaky extension!

As you can see, you can turn on the extension or just press the “Got it” button. Then head over to the add-on page to understand the warning.

You will quickly see that the extension tells you what it will do. There is nothing shady about it. Enabling it will make ChatGPT Search your default search engine. I activated it to see what would happen. Unsurprisingly, my internet searches now go via ChatGPT search:

The results are then loaded on ChatGPT.com. That’s all there is.

I went to the Settings app in Edge to see how the browser lists the default search engine. It tells me that ChatGPT Search handles the default search engine. A button lets me turn off the feature.

Disabling the ChatGPT Search add-on will revert to the previous default. In my case, it’s DuckDuckGo, the default search engine on Edge.

It’s that easy to make ChatGPT Search your default search engine in Chrome and Edge. The process is identical in Chrome. Unlike Edge, Google’s browser is not afraid of the ChatGPT Search extension.

As soon as you install it, the extension is ready to work. On the first search, Google warns you that you are using ChatGPT Search to search the web and tries to get you to switch back to the previous default setting.

Also, as you can see above, ChatGPT Search worked for me in a browser where I wasn’t logged into my ChatGPT Plus account. ChatGPT 4o mini handled the search.

You cannot currently set ChatGPT Search as your default search engine on mobile. You can use ChatGPT Search in the mobile app if you need.

Why won’t I use it

I’m not ready to let ChatGPT Search replace my default internet search. The most important thing I did to my internet search experience was to remove Google Search. It happened a long time ago, and I did it first on mobile before repeating the move on desktop.

I find that DuckDuckGo is sufficient for most searches. I don’t need to let everything go through ChatGPT Search, at least for now. Also, I don’t want my ChatGPT history to be cluttered with internet searches. And I know I won’t delete the chats that are only searchable, so they will pile up. Again, there it is the handy ChatGPT chat history search feature comes in handy.

I also want to test ChatGPT Search gradually and make sure it gets correct results.