Are you tired of being tracked across the web just to be served more ads, or are you looking for better search engines to perform research? Even a chat engine that has the capability of being conversational should be aware that there are plenty of search engines capable of competing with Google.
Most new search engines emphasize privacy as the main benefit to those who are disconnected from Google, but there are some that are more charitable or socially impacting, and others that can reveal information that is otherwise hidden by Google. These are the best search engines today.
Please leave us a comment if you have any suggestions to add to this list and we'll update accordingly!
Every major search engine out there, including Google, is looking to answer your search queries in a conversational manner.
Microsoft's Bing is speeding up the deployment of a ChatGPT-based technology in their search engine, and Google is similarly adding conversational capabilities to their search engine. However, there is a new player in town if you want to learn how an AI search engine works.
You.Chat is a new search engine that you can visit to see how ChatGPT may transform search engine results from a list of links to an actual chat bot interaction.
What's great about You.chat is that it doesn't just show an answer created by many sources online, but it also gives you the information you need to get back when you're looking for it. That way, when you research, you can get an answer that's quick and helpful, then you may go deeper into a source article if you need more information.
After using You.com for a week instead of Google search, it convinced me to upgrade my default Firefox browser to It. Unlike ChatGPT, which is usually at capacity, You.chat was invaluable whenever I needed an immediate answer to a question.
When I asked YouChat "How does YouChat work and how does it compete with Google?", the company provided the following answer:
YouChat is capable of creating its own text based on input, offering a more conversational experience than Google.
If you want a Google alternative, check out this AI search engine. It's probably the future of search engines in general.
DogPile, the Best Search Engine
Dogpile is the mother of all search engines because it is actually a metasearch engine. That means it displays results from most other major search engines.
DogPile is a fast-track search engine that includes Google, Yandex, Yahoo, Bing, and others. It's also one of the oldest search engines around, which was launched in 1996. However, don't be fooled: this is a great search tool when it comes to uncovering the results Google usually drops down.
DuckDuckGo is a private search engine for duck ducks.
Use DuckDuckGo if you want to keep your browsing habits anonymous.
DuckDuckGo is the most well-known privacy-oriented search engine, and is the easiest way to disconnect from Google without losing the sleek Google interface.
DuckDuckGo avoids this by not profiling users – it displays the same results to every user, every time.
If you're doing research with a tight deadline or you just want specific information fast, try DuckDuckGo's Bang searches - they're quick and extremely effective.
Before your usual query, mark an exclamation mark and a letter shortcut for the webpage you want to explore. For example, you would search on DuckDuckGo for the term "!w iPhones," and the engine would return the Wikipedia pages with the "iPhones" keyword.
Disconnect from your private search engine.
Disconnect is another great search engine for privacy-aware individuals.
It's probably the best private search engine, considering that it's also used by default by the well-known Tor Browser.
Disconnect.me Search is a VPN service that connects you to other search engines without tracking your searches and other browsing habits. You can use DuckDuckGo, Bing, or Yahoo to monitor your browsing habits.
BraveSearch is a private search engine.
BraveSearch is an excellent choice if you want a search engine that isn't Google but that looks very similar to Google.
BraveSearch has its own website index, unlike DuckDuckGo, which uses Bing search results. It doesn't collect any user data, not even browsing habits, and ranks search results transparently – so you know exactly why a website appears in your query.
The Brave browser is also available for purchase, since it includes all the adblockers you might need everyday and a search engine.
StartPage, a private search engine, has been added to its database.
StartPage, one of the oldest search engines, promises complete privacy and anonymity.
Startpage, founded in 1998 as Ixquick, displays Google search results anonymously. It removes all Google trackers from your searches and does not store any personal information. You will see ads, although that's how the business operates.
Accessed April 26, 2017 by the author of "The New York Times."
Oscobo, a private search engine, is now available.
No tracking, profiling, or cookies are used by Oscobo, although all traffic that enters it is encrypted.
Use Bing and Yahoo to find English pages (similar to DuckDuckGo) in its search results.
Since StartPage does not contain tracking or cookies, it serves ads during a session based on just what you searched at the time.
OneSearch, a private search engine, has launched a private search engine.
OneSearch, Verizon's search engine, has similar capabilities. It has encrypted keywords so no one can know what you're looking for, and it displays Bing results.
Even the links you click are encrypted when Advanced Privacy Mode is enabled, and searches expire after one hour. However, OneSearch is not available worldwide, rather primarily US-oriented.
SwissCows is a private search engine.
SwissCows is one of the finest private search engines we've ever tried. DuckDuckGo is a more powerful privacy policy, but it does not record users' IP, search queries, profiles, or anything.
The main drawback is the location. SwissCows is based in Switzerland and operates their servers there, therefore they are not under US or EU jurisdiction.
It's also a great search engine to have around the house, since it automatically blocks adult material.
Bing is one of the most popular search engines.
What makes Bing so popular? Does anybody even use it?
We certainly do use Google at least daily and can attest to the quality of the results. For general queries, Google's is superior, but we haven't discovered a better video searcher yet.
Bing is particularly helpful when it comes to video searches since it doesn't prioritize YouTube as much (unlike Google, which owns the service). It also provides Dailymotion, Vimeo, and other similar services, so you can get exactly what you wanted.
Plus, when you travel to the United States, the Rewards program is actually a payment for your use – who can resist that?
Yandex, the largest search engine, is the most powerful.
Yandex, the world's largest Russian search engine, is used at least once a week. When searching for niche information and publications, Google and Bing make the cut, since they serve a highly curated list of top websites.
Oftentimes, Yandex provides more terrifyingly accurate reverse image searches, sometimes better than Google's results. It's always worth it to try something new if you're looking for an image at a higher resolution.
Privacy is obviously the last concern here, since it's owned by Russians, so be cautious.
Ecosia is a great search engine.
Do you want to help the environment the next time you open your web browser to satisfy a curiosity? We have compiled a list of "good search engines," and when we mean "good for the environment."
Ecosia is a promising search engine that claims to have a tree in its roots. Just check out their main page to see how many trees have been planted so far, and see their transparent reports.
Ecosia displays advertisements based on what you search, and if you click the link, the company receives money from the advertiser, and it donates 80 percent of its earnings to reforestation initiatives.
Ecosia provides Bing search results, so please switch – you get the same search results as you do on Google, and you save money.
Ekoru is a great search engine.
Ekoru, a hydroelectricity-powered search engine, claims that "every search cleans our oceans."
Every time an Ekoru clicks an ad that appears next to their search results, Ecosia receives financial support to participate in various projects.
Ekoru participates in Big Blue Ocean Cleanup in an effort to clean up the oceans, and in Operation Posidonia, a project developed by scientists at University New South Wales and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science to combat climate change by reforesting oceans with seagrass.
Ekoru goes so far as to quantify the carbon footprint of a web search on every major engine on their website!
The search engine itself, which also uses Bing results, is able to anonymize all traffic, but it refuses to store any user data or allow third-party tracking.
CCSearch is a useful search engine.
Do you work in a creative industry or do you have to do research frequently? Google Search allows you to find free works under Creative Commons licenses. However, it isn't able to distinguish between them and what's available on image banks and the like.
Try the CreativeCommons search engine, a little-known feature that will save you a lot of money, especially if you work as a designer. It has over 500 million free images from sites such as Flickr or even The Brooklyn Museum.
BoardReader is a free search engine.
Remember forums? They may have gone underground as a result of modern social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, but forums are still alive and well...and contain a lot of useful information.
Give BoardReader a try if you want a search engine that can do very specific things, such as troubleshooting an appliance.
This niche search engine scans new and old forums and message boards and returns results extremely quickly (and without ads!)
ListenNotes are a great search engine.
ListenNotes is by far the best podcast search engine on the internet. If you're interested in learning more about podcasts but don't know where to look for them, give it a try.
You may also subscribe to your favorite shows without having to search for them manually. Each day, you can start off each day with a news digest in podcast format. With the Listen Later feature, you may create a daily or weekly playlist.
If you want to change from Google Search, here are some suggestions. This service controls more than 90% of internet searches. There are plenty of other choices to try out.
Tell us your suggestion in the comments section, and we may include it here.
*The article was initially published in 2021 but has since been updated with new information.
