ChatGPT search
Featured VerifiedThe official OpenAI extension that makes ChatGPT search your default engine in the Chrome address bar.
This extension collects data. The permissions section below lists what it can reach.
What it does
ChatGPT search is OpenAI's own Chrome extension, and it does exactly one thing: it makes ChatGPT the browser's default search engine. Type into the address bar, press enter, and instead of a page of blue links you get an answer with the sources it was built from underneath it.
It shipped in December 2024, a few weeks after ChatGPT search itself went live for paying accounts on 31 October 2024. The package is 11.81 KiB, which tells you how little is actually happening on your machine. It is a search provider override and nothing more. It does not read the pages you visit, it has no popup worth opening and it has no settings screen to speak of.
The escape hatch matters as much as the feature. Prefixing a query with !g sends that one search to Google instead, so you are not locked out of a normal result page when you want one. Anything that needs a list of sites rather than a paragraph is still faster on a classic engine, and this is how you get there without uninstalling anything.
Two facts are worth knowing before you install it. You must be signed in to chatgpt.com for it to work, so every address bar query travels to OpenAI attached to your account. And the listing has not been updated since 18 December 2024, which is a long silence for a four million user extension from a company shipping weekly. Its 3.3 star rating largely reflects that: people who wanted answers in the URL bar are happy, and people who wanted their old search back write one star reviews about how to remove it.
Uninstalling restores the previous engine. If Chrome does not switch back on its own, the setting lives under Settings then Search engine, and you can put Google or anything else back in one click.
Worth installing if you already run most factual questions through ChatGPT and are tired of the extra hop through a results page. It suits people who ask questions in sentences, who want a sourced paragraph rather than ten tabs, and who are happy for that traffic to sit with their OpenAI account.
Skip it if you search to navigate rather than to learn, which is most people most of the time. Typing a brand name to reach a site, hunting for a specific document, or scanning many results at once are all slower through a chat answer. Skip it too if you share a machine, since the searches are tied to whichever ChatGPT account is signed in.
Key features
- Sets ChatGPT search as the Chrome default search engine
- Answers include links to the pages they were drawn from
- Type !g before a query to send it to Google instead
- Manifest V3 and 11.81 KiB with no content scripts
- Needs a signed in chatgpt.com session to return results
- Uninstalling restores your previous search engine
Permissions & privacy
- Read & change data on specific sites Scoped to chatgpt.com only. The extension does not read the other pages you visit. Medium
- Change your default search engine Points the address bar at chatgpt.com. Prefix a query with !g to send it to Google instead. Medium
Searches are sent to OpenAI through your signed in ChatGPT account, so queries typed in the address bar are handled the same way as messages typed into ChatGPT. OpenAI declares on the listing that the data is not sold to third parties, is not used or transferred for purposes unrelated to the item core functionality, and is not used to determine creditworthiness or for lending.
Pros & cons
Pros
6- Published by OpenAI rather than a third party repackaging the same idea
- Tiny at under 12 KiB with no content scripts and no page access
- Answers arrive with source links attached so claims stay checkable
- The !g prefix sends any single query to Google without uninstalling
- Works in Edge Brave Opera and other Chromium browsers from the same listing
- Free with any ChatGPT account including the free tier
Cons
6- No update since 18 December 2024 which is a long silence for an official listing
- Requires an active chatgpt.com session so every query is tied to your account
- Slower than a normal search when you only want to reach a known site
- Rated 3.3 out of 5 with many reviews about how to undo the search change
- English United States is the only listed language
- Nothing to configure so there is no way to keep some searches on Google by default
How to install
- Sign in to ChatGPT first. The extension needs a live chatgpt.com session. Without one, searches land on a login screen instead of an answer.
- Open the Chrome Web Store listing and choose Add to Chrome, then confirm the prompt that says your default search engine will change.
- Search from the address bar as usual. There is no popup to open and nothing to configure. The next query you type goes to ChatGPT search.
- Keep Google one keystroke away. Type
!gin front of any query to send that single search to Google instead. - To reverse it, remove the extension from chrome://extensions. If the old engine does not come back by itself, set it under Settings then Search engine then Manage search engines.
Edge, Brave, Opera and other Chromium browsers install it from the same listing and behave the same way, though each one manages its default engine in its own settings screen.
Version history
- 1.11 Dec 18, 2024 The current build on the Chrome Web Store and the last one published. Nothing has shipped since.
- 1.0 Dec 4, 2024 First public release, following the launch of ChatGPT search for paid accounts on 31 October 2024.
FAQ
Is the ChatGPT search extension made by OpenAI?
Do I need ChatGPT Plus to use it?
How do I search Google again after installing it?
Does it read the pages I visit?
Why has it not been updated since December 2024?
Why is the rating only 3.3 out of 5?
Does it work in Edge Brave or Opera?
Is it safe from a privacy point of view?
What Users Say
Extension Information
- Developer OpenAI
- Licence Proprietary
- Price Free
- Version 1.11
- Size 12 KB
- Manifest V3
- Updated Dec 18, 2024
- Collects data Yes
- Account Required
- Store chromewebstore.google.com
- Privacy policy openai.com
- Status Live
Works in
Tags
Languages
English
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