The search engine has been a key Internet tool since the early days. Before the Web was a thing, I fondly remember Archie<\/a> (from \u201carchive\u201d without the \u201cv\u201d), which indexed filenames on FTP servers, followed by Jughead<\/a> and Veronica<\/a> (Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives), which extended the index-and-search concept to Gopher menu titles. Web search emerged through two distinct approaches: AltaVista<\/a> pioneered automated full-text indexing that could rapidly crawl millions of Web pages, while Yahoo<\/a> began as a human-curated directory that organized websites into categories. Google later took search to the next level by combining automated indexing with PageRank, an algorithm that determined a page\u2019s importance based on how many other sites linked to it. Despite occasional challenges from competitors like Bing, Google has remained the dominant search engine for decades, to the point where the company name has become synonymous with search.<\/p>\n Although complaints about Google\u2019s search quality decline<\/a> are more recent, my disillusionment began a few years ago when I grew tired of the extent to which Google tracked and monetized everything I did. (I understand the tradeoff; I just hit a tipping point with everything else that was happening during the pandemic.) I tried the Ecosia<\/a> search engine that Apple added to Safari\u2019s search bar in 2020, but perhaps because it was based on Bing, I found its results lacking, just as I had with DuckDuckGo<\/a>. Shortly thereafter, however, another new kid on the block, Brave Search<\/a>, performed well for me and remained my go-to until early 2024 (see \u201cBrave Search Public Beta Offers Alternative to Google<\/a>,\u201d 8 July 2021).<\/p>\n Although I wasn\u2019t unhappy with Brave Search itself, over my last few years with it, I felt that the pages it was finding were of lower and lower quality. Many of my searches involve looking for confirmatory details about Apple-related topics I am at least roughly familiar with, so I can\u2019t help but judge the results. I would often find myself reading more of the linked pages to find one whose information I trusted. Too many of them repeated what was written elsewhere or contained easily identified errors.<\/p>\n Looking for better results, I decided to try Perplexity<\/a>. Unlike Brave Search\u2019s limited AI summaries, Perplexity offers comprehensive AI-powered answers. It performs a search and then uses generative AI to respond to the query in narrative form, incorporating information from multiple sources. Perplexity also cites sources for each statement of fact, enabling you to confirm its claims and get more details if desired.<\/p>\n When OpenAI enabled ChatGPT<\/a> to search the Web, I switched to using it on one of my machines, and it has performed similarly well. Then I came across\u00a0You.com<\/a>, which initially started as a search engine but has since evolved into a more comprehensive general AI assistant with search capabilities. Claude<\/a> added Web search to its Pro accounts. And Google opened limited testing of its AI Mode<\/a>, which replaces the list of links with AI-generated answers like the others. So many possibilities!<\/p>\n To distinguish these tools from traditional search engines like Google and Bing, I\u2019m calling them \u201canswer engines.\u201d Although they are performing live Web searches for you, the focus is on answering your question rather than displaying the results of the search. I see answer engines as the next step in networked knowledge acquisition because they fundamentally change how we find and absorb information online:<\/p>\n To understand why answer engines represent such an improvement, let\u2019s examine how their process differs from traditional search.<\/p>\n Since the rise of Google, we have become accustomed to searches returning a list of links that we hope will provide the information we want, but that experience is far from ideal. For every question you have, you must:<\/p>\n The process is different for answer engines:<\/p>\n The key benefit of answer engines is that they typically provide you with exactly the information you want, with no additional effort required. They\u2019re a bit like Wikipedia in this way\u2014you could fact-check statements with the listed sources in a Wikipedia article, and you can often learn more by following links to related topics, but most of the time, you\u2019re happy to read the article and move on.<\/p>\n Of course, that\u2019s only true if the answer engine actually answers your question. I\u2019ve been using Perplexity or ChatGPT for about a year now, and I have been happy with the quality of the responses.<\/p>\n To quantify that opinion and compare against the others, I built a Keyboard Maestro macro that sends my questions to four answer engines simultaneously, opening each in a Split View pane in Arc for side-by-side comparison. I evaluate all the answers and then give each a score from 0 to 3 in a Google Sheet<\/a>. (0 means the answer is completely wrong, 3 means it\u2019s completely right, and I assign 1 or 2 for partial credit.) The ratings are still subjective and specific to my searches, not yours. However, ChatGPT and Perplexity are currently neck-and-neck with average scores of 2.63 and 2.61, respectively. Google AI Mode is third with 2.24, and You.com brings up the rear with 2.06. I don\u2019t yet have enough data for Claude to feel confident in my results, but at 1.89, its early results are not promising.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to realize that answer engines aren\u2019t superior to traditional search engines in all situations. In particular, they struggle with navigational searches\u2014when you know where you want to go but not the exact URL. In such cases, there\u2019s no question for an answer engine to answer\u2014the user simply wants a link to the destination.<\/p>\n For instance, if you\u2019re in the market for an iPhone, a Google search for \u201ciPhone\u201d will present Apple\u2019s page at the top for a quick click. When I sent that search to the answer engines, only ChatGPT gave me a link to that page. The more action-oriented search \u201cbuy iPhone 16\u201d triggered the desired link in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode, but Claude didn\u2019t pick up on the desire for navigation.<\/p>\n This limitation explains the recent study conducted by Columbia University\u2019s Tow Center for Digital Journalism, which strongly criticized the accuracy of the answer engines<\/a> when searching for news. In fact, what the study tested was the answer engines\u2019 ability, given an excerpt from an article, to identify the corresponding article\u2019s headline, original publisher, publication date, and URL. In essence, they were asking for a specific page. That may have been necessary research methodology for reproducible results, but even the study authors admit that it doesn\u2019t reflect typical user behavior. Additionally, although I haven\u2019t confirmed this suspicion, I suspect that the answer engines aren\u2019t nearly as quick as Google at indexing breaking news.<\/p>\n Other specialized searches that work better in traditional search engines include visual searches that return images instead of text, real-time information such as sports scores and flight status, searches for local businesses that benefit from integrated maps and business details, and other location-based information that requires an interactive map. Even if you switch to an answer engine for most searches, you may wish to keep a Google toolbar icon a click away for quick navigational searches.<\/p>\n Ultimately, only you can determine whether you\u2019ll find an answer engine effective. It will depend on what you\u2019re trying to achieve and how well you can refocus your brain to ask questions instead of performing keyword searches. Here are my recommendations, along with the details you\u2019ll need to use each:<\/p>\n You\u2019ll note that these answer engines, besides the experimental Google AI Mode, require or encourage a subscription. Currently, only Perplexity is experimenting with advertising<\/a> using sponsored follow-up questions, which are easily ignored. (I hadn\u2019t noticed the sponsored follow-ups in real-world usage.) The company says it will never share personal information with advertisers.<\/p>\n The leading browser makers\u2014Google, Apple, and Mozilla\u2014have never been enthused about adding alternative search engine options. It\u2019s not surprising, given that Google Search accounted for $175 billion in 2024 (about 57% of Google\u2019s revenue) and delivered roughly $20 billion to Apple and $500 million to Mozilla. Search is big business.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, with a little effort, you can change the default search engine in all three browsers on the Mac. Once changed, all searches you initiate from the location bar will go to your new answer engine rather than Google. Changing search engines is more difficult or impossible in Safari on the iPhone.<\/p>\n (Personally, I use Arc Search<\/a> on the iPhone, which has its own Browse for Me answer engine and lets you select Perplexity as the default search engine. However, given The Browser Company\u2019s lack of meaningful updates to Arc and Arc Search since late 2024, due to chasing the fever dream of a more mainstream browser, I can\u2019t recommend Arc Search if you\u2019re not already deeply invested in Arc.)<\/p>\n You can configure most of the answer engines directly within the search settings for Chrome or another Chromium-based browser like Arc, Brave, Edge, or Vivaldi. Navigate to Settings > Search Engine<\/strong>, click the Add button, and enter the details for your answer engine, replacing the query with This approach isn\u2019t supposed to work for ChatGPT, although using Apple doesn\u2019t allow custom search engines in Safari. However, the Customize Search Engine<\/a> extension lets you configure additional search engines using the same approach as Chrome. After you\u2019ve installed and enabled the extension, click its toolbar icon to access its settings.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t appear that you can configure search engines directly in Firefox. Instead, you need to add a search extension. I\u2019ve found unofficial extensions for Perplexity<\/a> and ChatGPT,<\/a> as well as an official one for You.com<\/a>. Once installed, choose Firefox > Preferences > Search<\/strong> and choose the desired one from the Default Search Engine pop-up menu.<\/p>\n![\"Perplexity](\"https:\/\/tidbits.com\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Perplexity-search-revenue-answer.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSearch Engines Versus Answer Engines<\/h2>\n
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Procedural Differences Between Searches and Answers<\/h2>\n
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![\"Perplexity](\"https:\/\/tidbits.com\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Perplexity-Excel-answer.png\")
<\/a><\/li>\n![\"Perplexity](\"https:\/\/tidbits.com\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Perplexity-Excel-suggestions.png\")
<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nAnswer Engine Limitations<\/h2>\n
Choosing an Answer Engine<\/h2>\n
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https:\/\/www.perplexity.ai\/search?q=%s<\/code>, or you can use the Perplexity Mac app<\/a>. I found using the app more awkward than searching directly in Arc.<\/li>\nhttps:\/\/chatgpt.com?q=%s<\/code>. OpenAI also offers a ChatGPT Mac app<\/a>, but it requires a Mac with Apple silicon.<\/li>\nhttps:\/\/www.google.com\/search?udm=50&nord=1&q=%s<\/code>.<\/li>\nhttps:\/\/you.com\/search?q=%s<\/code>.<\/li>\nhttps:\/\/claude.ai\/new?q=%s<\/code>, or you could try the Claude Mac app<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nConfiguring Browsers to Use Answer Engines<\/h2>\n
Google Chrome and Chromium Browsers<\/h3>\n
%s<\/code>\u2014the necessary URLs are above. Click Add and, once back in the list, click the three-vertical-dot menu and choose Make Default.<\/p>\n![\"Custom](\"https:\/\/tidbits.com\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Chrome-add-Perplexity.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/chatgpt.com?q=%s<\/code> worked fine for me. If necessary, you can instead make ChatGPT the default search engine by installing the ChatGPT search Chrome extension<\/a>.<\/p>\nSafari<\/h3>\n
![\"Customize](\"https:\/\/tidbits.com\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Safari-Custom-Search-Engine.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFirefox<\/h3>\n
![\"Choosing](\"https:\/\/tidbits.com\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Firefox-search-engines.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n