Some time ago, I mentioned in an article how I believed AI could replace a traditional search engine, and the reasons behind that were focused on the lack of advertisements, improved results, and better information.
To that claim, I’ll add this: I only use AI for specific types of searches, mostly research, where I find Google and DuckDuckGo to be less than helpful. For everything else, I’ll go with a traditional search tool.
Recently, I discovered I could set Perplexity as my default search engine in my web browser, and it’s been a game-changer. I’m not going to say the results are 100% helpful and 100% accurate, but the same thing could be said of Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and every search engine on the market. In fact, I take this one step further. With the Arc browser, I can set a specific search engine for different profiles. To that end, I have Perplexity set as the search engine for my writing profile and DuckDuckGo set for my user profile. This way, when I’m in my writing or work Workspaces (which are associated with my writing profile), I get the power of AI for searches, and when I’m in any other Workspace, I get the simplicity of a traditional search engine.
Also: Zen Browser is the customizable Firefox I’ve been waiting for – here’s why
But with Perplexity, you get more than just a search engine. You get news summaries (“What’s in the news today?”), a deep research tool that allows for follow-up questions, and you don’t have to worry about ads or paid sites bubbling to the top of your search queries. For example, in my current book, which is a sci-fi series about rehousing the population on the moon, I have to find out what can cause a “dust storm” of regolith on the moon. With Perplexity, I get my answer, but then I can follow up by asking questions regarding the answer, while still retaining the original answer.
For me, this combination of AI and traditional search has done wonders for my ability to get the information I need quickly, and as long as I always vet any suspect AI answer, it’s all good.
Let me show you how I added Perplexity to both Chrome and Firefox.
How to add Perplexity as a search engine for Chrome
What you’ll need: The only thing you’ll need for this is a running instance of the Chrome (or Chromium) web browser.
The first thing to do is open Chrome, then click on the menu button (three-dot button near the upper right corner), and click Settings.
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On the resulting page, click Search Engine in the left navigation and then click “Manage search engines and site search.”
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You can’t just click Change because Perplexity has yet to be added.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
In the resulting “Site Search” section, click Add to open the “Add search site” pop-up. In this pop-up, add the following information:
- Name: Perplexity
- Shortcut: perp
- URL: https://www.perplexity.ai/?q=%s
When finished, click Add search engine.
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Adding Perplexity as a search engine option in Chrome is simple.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
This is optional, as you can always search with Perplexity by opening a new Chrome tab, typing “perp” in the address bar, hitting your Tab key, and then typing your search string. If you want to make Perplexity your default search engine, go back to the Search engine section of Chrome Settings, scroll down to Site search, click the three-dot menu button for Perplexity, and click Make default.
Bingo, you’re done.
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Also: I tried Perplexity’s assistant, and only one thing stops it from being my default phone AI
If you like, you can set Perplexity as the default search engine.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
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How to make Perplexity your default search engine in Firefox
With Firefox, we’ll add a third-party add-on.
1. Install the add-on
Open Firefox and point it to the Search Engines Helper extension from within the Firefox Add-ons store. If you’d like, you can also check out the source for the extension on GitHub. Click Add to Firefox and then, when prompted, click Add.
2. Configure Perplexity as a search engine
Click the Search Engines Helper extension on the Firefox toolbar and click Add New Search Engine. In the resulting page, type https://www.perplexity.ai/?q=%s and everything else will auto-populate.
Paste the URL and everything else will auto-fill.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
3. Add the search engine
Right-click within the Firefox address bar and select Add “perplexity.ai.” Now, if you go to Settings > Search, you can select Perplexity as your default search engine.
Make sure you do this before closing the current tab.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
And that, my friends, is all there is to adding Perplexity as your default search engine in Chrome and Firefox.
