Google has been, for many, perhaps the universe of internet search for so long that recently a U.S. district court judge ruled that it has acted illegally to maintain its monopoly on online searches. You’ve likely used Google Search for as long as you can remember; it replaced things like phone books and encyclopedias.
However, just because Google is the most popular search engine doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to using it. If you’ve never considered exploring other search engines, you might be surprised to discover the options that exist.
There are numerous alternatives to Google Search that have been gaining popularity. Whether you’re looking for greater privacy, advanced AI features, or simply something different, there are some interesting options that deserve your attention.
While Microsoft’s Bing and Yahoo are possibly the most recognized, many other alternatives have been around for years. For this list, we’ll focus on the new players and the lesser-known search engines in the search engine world.
Now, let’s explore some alternatives to Google Search that are worth a try.
DuckDuckGo
If you value your privacy when searching, DuckDuckGo might be the right option for you. DuckDuckGo doesn’t track your search history, and its privacy policy ensures that no personal information is collected or shared, unlike Google, which gathers data to personalize search results and ads.
DuckDuckGo has a simple design that allows you to search for images, videos, news, maps, and shopping results. You can also filter results by date, viewing the most recent ones from the day, week, month, or year, and you can tailor results by specific regions.
Like Google, DuckDuckGo offers a safe search feature, with options to disable it or set it to “strict” or “moderate” modes.
For those interested in AI, DuckDuckGo provides anonymous access to various AI models, including OpenAI’s GPT-4o mini, Anthropic’s Claude 3, Meta’s Llama 3.1, and Mixtral. DuckDuckGo assures users that their interactions won’t be used to train these AI models.
Ecosia
Ecosia is an excellent alternative to Google Search for those who want to contribute to environmental conservation. This search engine directs all its profits to tree planting and other environmental projects, having already planted over 213 million trees in more than 35 countries.
The search engine is easy to use, with results provided by Google and Microsoft’s Bing, allowing you to get similar results while supporting a good cause.
Ecosia uses essential cookies to provide search results, but the searches are encrypted. If you prefer personalized results, you can enable them with your consent.
Brave
Like DuckDuckGo, Brave Search emphasizes privacy as one of its key strengths. Brave claims it doesn’t share, sell, or collect your personal data, and it doesn’t rely on other search engines, instead using its own independent search index.
Brave presents AI-generated answers to most queries at the top of the results. If you prefer not to see these answers and want standard results only, you can disable this feature in the settings.
The engine also has a “Discussions” section that displays content from forums like Reddit. Additionally, you can refine search results with the “Goggles” feature, allowing you to filter results with options like “no Pinterest,” “tech blogs,” “left news,” “right news,” and more.
Like other engines on this list, Brave offers a safe search feature that you can set to “strict” or “moderate” mode.
Startpage
If you’re used to Google’s search results but want more privacy, Startpage is a good option. Although Startpage uses Google’s technology, it promises not to collect personal data or track your activity.
Startpage’s “Anonymous View” feature hides your identity when browsing other websites, similar to a VPN. It also blocks trackers and removes your IP address from its global local servers.
Startpage allows you to access news without it being based on your browsing behavior. You can disable the promotional content on the homepage and search results page in the settings if you prefer.
This engine works similarly to Google, but if you need access to Maps, it will redirect you to Google or Bing.
Perplexity
Perplexity has been surrounded by some controversy recently, but it remains one of the most popular AI-powered search engines, so it’s worth mentioning.
Unlike other search engines that offer AI features as an add-on, Perplexity was designed as an AI-powered engine from the start. It’s like a combination of an AI chatbot and a search engine.
Perplexity uses a conversational approach to answer your questions, providing a concise response and, if you prefer, a list of related websites for further exploration. Additionally, it presents related queries at the end of your search to encourage further exploration.
While the engine is free, you can subscribe for $20 a month to access additional features, such as image generation models and the option to choose your preferred AI model.
SearchGPT
Although OpenAI’s SearchGPT isn’t widely available yet, it’s certainly an option to look forward to once it officially launches.
OpenAI has promised that SearchGPT will provide “quick and timely answers” to your queries, displaying information and images from the web along with links to relevant sources. You’ll be able to ask follow-up questions and explore related searches in a sidebar.
The answers will be backed by cited sources, allowing you to know where the information comes from. SearchGPT will focus on search and be independent of the training of OpenAI’s generative AI models, displaying results from sites that haven’t participated in AI training.
Although it’s still a prototype, SearchGPT will definitely be a search engine to watch when it becomes widely available.
By: Nestor Castillo, ForAllTechNews Director