OpenAI released Search ChatGPT a few days ago, and you can now use the Google search alternative in the ChatGPT apps on desktop and mobile as long as you have an eligible degree. ChatGPT subscription. ChatGPT Plus, Teams, and SearchGPT waitlist users have access first, followed by Enterprise, Edu, and Free users.

Using ChatGPT Search is also incredibly simple. Simply load ChatGPT onto your computer or phone and press the new search button seen above. Even if you don’t do this, ChatGPT will search the web itself for answers to your prompts: this is how it has behaved for a long time now.

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

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

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

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

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

As you can see, you can enable the extension or simply press the “Got it” button. Then go to the extensions page to understand the warning.

You will quickly see that the extension tells you what it is going to do. There’s nothing fishy about it. If you enable it, ChatGPT Search will be your default search engine. I allowed him to see what would happen. Unsurprisingly, my Internet searches now go through ChatGPT Search:

The results then load on ChatGPT.com. That’s all there is to say.

I went to the Settings app in Edge to see how the browser lists the default search engine. This tells me that ChatGPT Search is handling the default search engine. A button allows me to deactivate the functionality.

Disabling the ChatGPT Search extension reverts 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. When you first search, Google warns you that you are using ChatGPT Search to search the web, trying to get you to revert to the previous default.

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

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

Why I won’t use it

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

I find DuckDuckGo sufficient for most searches. I don’t need everything to go through ChatGPT Search, at least for now. Plus, I don’t want my ChatGPT history cluttered with internet searches. And I know I won’t delete these search-only threads, so they’ll pile up. Again, it’s there the convenient chat history search function ChatGPT will be useful.

Additionally, I want to test ChatGPT Search gradually and make sure it gets accurate results.