How to Make Perplexity AI Default Search Engine in Chrome

In a world where the internet is our go-to for everything from daily news to complex research, having a search engine that aligns with our needs is crucial. Perplexity AI, with its advanced AI-driven search capabilities, has emerged as a compelling alternative for those seeking nuanced and in-depth answers.

In fact, for some users, their love for Perplexity AI has reached a point where they are ready to adopt it as their default search engine. While Google Chrome does not have a direct option that lets you do it, you can still make it happen.

Add Perplexity AI as Search Engine from Chrome Settings

To make Perplexity AI your default search engine in Chrome, follow these steps:

Start by launching the Chrome browser on your computer.
Click on the three dots in the upper right corner to open the menu.

Then, select 'Settings' from the menu.

Settings will open in a separate tab. Go to the 'Search engine' section from the navigation menu on the left. You can manage your search engine preferences from here.

Then click the 'Manage search engines and site search' option. Here, you'll see a list of all the search engines currently available in your Chrome browser.

Now, you'll see that in the 'Search Engine' section, there's no option to "add" another one to the list. But that doesn't mean that you can't.

Go to the 'Site Search' section and click the 'Add' button there.

You'll get the dialog box to add a search engine. Enter Perplexity AI in the field for the search engine name. Then, enter your preferred shortcut for the search engine that lets you use it directly from the address bar when it is not set as your default, for example perplexity.ai/search.

Next, in the 'URL with %s in place of query' field, enter this URL: https://www.perplexity.ai/search?focus=internet&q=%s. This is the most important part, as you cannot simply enter the link to the home page for Perplexity AI.

Then, click the 'Add' button.

The search engine will appear in the Site search list. Click on the 'More actions' (three-dot menu) on its right. Then, select 'Make default' from the context menu.

It would move to the search engine list and will be set as your default search engine.

Go to the address bar and try searching for a query. It will go directly to Perplexity AI and the search engine will return an answer for your query like it does. You can ask follow-up questions to your query on the search engine page.

Alternatively, you can also use the Perplexity AI Chrome extension to search directly from the address bar.

If you want to set up Perplexity AI as your go-to search engine within Chrome for a more intuitive and intelligent browsing experience with AI, it's easy.