How to make ChatGPT your default search engine for Edge and Chrome on Windows 11, 10

On Windows 11, you can now set ChatGPT Search as your new default search engine on the most popular browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and other Chromium-based apps like ARC and Brave. In this guide, I will outline steps to complete this configuration.

If you have had enough of the low-quality search results from Google, and if Bing isn’t an option for you, it’s now possible to change the default search engine on your browser to ChatGPT Search. You can do this in two ways. The first option involves installing the “ChatGPT Search” extension from OpenAI to help you replace Google search on your Chromium-based web browser, including Edge, Chrome, ARC, and Brave. The second option involves manually making changes to the web browser to set the new default search engine.

I have tried to install the extension in the Opera browser, but it didn’t work. However, you can still access ChatGPT with the dedicated shortcut on the left pane.

In this guide, I’ll explain the steps to replace Google with ChatGPT as your default search engine on most common browsers available for Windows 11 as well as for Windows 10.

Set ChatGPT as default search engine on Edge and Chrome with extension

To replace Google for ChatGPT Search on Edge, Chrome, ARC, and Brave, use these steps:

1. Open the ChatGPT Search extension page.

2. Click the Add to Chrome (or Get) button.

3. Click the Add extension button.

Once you complete the steps, you can perform a query from the address bar like you would normally do on Bing or Google, but this time ChatGPT will perform the search.

If you are a Microsoft Edge user, the browser may disable the extension automatically upon installation because it’s trying to change the app settings. If you receive a notification to enable it, make sure to turn it on. Otherwise, open the edge://extensions page and manually turn on the “ChatGPT Search” extension.

Optionally, you can also click on the puzzle-piece icon in the top right corner and click on the “pin” next to ChatGPT Search to access the extension settings more quickly.

ChatGPT Search is only available for users with an account. Also, the search functionality is available for both free and paid users, but when using the free tier, you will have more limitations on the number of searches you can perform during a specific period. Usually, every three hours.

If you have a paid ChatGPT Plus account (which costs $20/month), you can perform searches more freely, but you will still have some limitations on the number of searches. However, it’s less restrictive than the free tier.

It’s important to note that this extension is for the desktop version of the web browser, not for mobile devices.

Uninstall ChatGPT Search extension

If the AI search engine isn’t for you, it’s possible to remove the extension to undo the changes:

1. Open the web browser.

2. Go to the chrome://extensions page on Chrome, Edge, Brave, or ARC.

   Quick note: Since all these browsers are based on Chromium, you can use the URL to access the extensions page.

3. Click the Remove button.

   

4. Click the Remove Extension button.

After you complete the steps, the extension to change the default search engine to ChatGPT will be removed from the browser.

Set ChatGPT as default search engine on Edge and Chrome from settings

Alternatively, if you don’t want to install an extension, you can still integrate ChatGPT Search into Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. However, this will require creating a shortcut using the Site search feature and then making the shortcut the default for the browser.

To add ChatGPT to site search on Edge and Chrome, use these steps:

1. Open your web browser.

2. Go to the chrome://settings/searchEngines page on Chrome or Edge.

3. Click the Add button in the “Site search” section.

   

4. Confirm the ChatGPT name.

5. Confirm the @ChatGPT shortcut name.

   Quick note: You can technically use any name for the shortcut, but I’m choosing this one because it’s easy to remember and makes more sense.

6. Type the following link in the URL field and click the Add button:

   https://chatgpt.com/?q=%s&hints=search

   

   Quick note: At the point in the address bar, you can type @ChatGPT, press the Tab key, confirm your search query, and press Enter to process the search. However, you can also make ChatGPT the default engine when typing a query in the address bar without having to invoke the shortcut.

7. Click the menu (three dots button) for the ChatGPT item and choose the Make default option.

   

Once you complete the steps, you can type your search query using natural language in the address bar, and the browser will then redirect the query to ChatGPT, which will answer the search.

Undo ChatGPT as search engine

To undo the change and set Google or Bing as your default search engine, use these steps:

1. Open the web browser.

2. Go to the chrome://settings/searchEngines page on Chrome, Edge, Brave, or ARC.

3. Click the menu (three dots button) for Google or Microsoft Bing and choose the Make default option.

   

After you complete the steps, you can start using your web browser with your previous preferred web browser.

If you don’t want to change the default search engine, remember that you can access the search capability through the ChatGPT dedicated app for Windows 11 (and 10).