ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini (among others) have successfully made AI chatbots mainstream, serving as viable alternatives to traditional search engines. In turn, traditional search engines continue to introduce AI features. We’ve been testing AI services since the beginning, so you can trust that the AI search engines we highlight here are the best of the current crop. Google’s AI Mode and Perplexity are currently our favorite ways to search the web with AI, thanks to their ease of use and excellent response quality, but you should still check out all our top picks below, followed by everything you need to know about the rapidly shifting world of AI search engines.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
June 24, 2026: With this update, we removed Komi and added Felo to our lineup of recommended AI search engines. We vetted the remaining picks for currency and availability.
(Credit: Google)
(Credit: Google)
Why We Picked It
Google is the world’s most popular search engine, and it’s just as much of a juggernaut in the AI search world. Not only does it generate AI Overviews that conveniently summarize results for traditional searches, but its AI Mode provides a robust AI search experience powered by the company’s top-notch Gemini LLMs. With generally accurate, detailed results and broad availability (even if you don’t pay or sign in to a Google account), Google makes AI search just as easy and worthwhile as traditional search. If you pay for Google Gemini, you get increased access to Gemini’s latest models in AI Mode, alongside other features.
Who It’s For
Google users: If you’re already a habitual Google Search user, selecting the AI Mode tab within the Google Search interface is the easiest way to try out an AI search engine.
People who want quick answers: AI Overviews come in handy whenever you want to find an answer to your question as quickly as possible. However, make sure to verify any information you get whenever you ask important questions.
(Credit: Perplexity)
(Credit: Perplexity)
Why We Picked It
Perplexity is a robust AI search engine with many AI chatbot features, including deep research, image and video generation, and more. Its well-designed interface makes parsing responses easy, while its wide selection of models means you can search the web with best-in-class tech from all the top providers. You can use Perplexity for free, but paying $17 per month, billed annually, gets you higher usage limits across the board, image and video generation features, the ability to select models, and more.
Who It’s For
Fans of AI chatbots: Perplexity is a good choice if you enjoy using chatbot features but not chatting with them. It’s more of an AI search engine than an AI chatbot.
Feature maximalists: If you want a single service for all your AI needs, Perplexity offers everything from an AI web browser to image recognition tech, in addition to its AI search engine.
(Credit: Andi)
(Credit: Andi)
Best Free Search Engine
Andi
Why We Picked It
Andi bills itself as “search for the next generation” and has a friendly interface that makes it easy to check sources, filter responses, summarize results, view related links, and more. Different viewing options allow you to further customize your experience. Andi doesn’t bother with features outside the core searching experience, but it can search the internet effectively and doesn’t cost a thing. It also has a great privacy policy and won’t harvest your data.
Who It’s For
First-time AI search users: If you haven’t used AI search engines before, Andi’s straightforward interface makes it just as easy to understand as Bing or Google.
The budget-conscious: If you’re on a tight budget, Andi won’t try to get you to buy credits, sign up for a subscription, or anything else. It’s totally free and doesn’t even have ads.
(Credit: DuckDuckGo)
(Credit: DuckDuckGo)
Why We Picked It
If you’re weary of AI services because of privacy concerns, DuckDuckGo’s privacy protections extend to its AI features, including Search Assist (which generates answers to search queries). It doesn’t share your location by default or train AI models on your data. Moreover, it stores your prompts locally on your device and sends them to its servers only as necessary. DuckDuckGo encrypts said data and stores it only temporarily. This is a best-in-class privacy policy not just for an AI search engine, but for AI services in general.
Who It’s For
Occasional AI users: DuckDuckGo gives you control over its AI features. You can simply turn Search Assist off or decrease the frequency at which it appears. You can even tell DuckDuckGo not to display AI-generated images.
The privacy-conscious: If you appreciate an ironclad privacy policy, DuckDuckGo should be the AI search engine you choose.
(Credit: Felo)
(Credit: Felo)
Best for Multilanguage Searches
Felo
Why We Picked It
Felo excels at leveraging AI to incorporate sources across different languages to answer queries. For example, if you ask Felo which anime you should watch, it automatically incorporates not just English-language sources but also Japanese-language ones, too. Felo uses an AI credit system that provides 200 credits per day, more than enough for casual queries. However, you can sign up for a premium plan to get more credits, starting at $12.50 per month, billed annually.
Who It’s For
Casual searchers: If you need to perform just a few searches here and there, Felo allows you to use the latest models, such as Gemini 3.5 Flash, and search for free, courtesy of its free daily AI credit allotment. You can even use more advanced features, such as slide generation, sparingly for free.
Multilingual users: If you regularly search for content across multiple languages, Felo automatically includes sources in different languages and translates the information as needed. This results in less prompt engineering and more searching.
Buying Guide: The Best AI Search Engines for 2026
What Is an AI Search Engine?
The distinction between AI chatbots, AI search engines, and traditional search engines is nebulous. However, in the context of this list, we seek search engines with substantial AI functionality rather than AI chatbots that primarily focus on areas beyond search. That said, you can search the web with AI chatbots, too.
How Do AI Search Engines Work?
AI search engines rely on large language models (LLMs). Think of these as complex equations that you can plug questions into and get responses from. With an AI search engine, the underlying LLM searches the internet to find information relevant to your prompt and then condenses it into a concrete answer. So, instead of Googling “Is raw chicken safe to cook after three days in the fridge?” and clicking through to an article you have to read to find the answer, you can prompt an AI search engine with the same question and get an answer that sources that same article. (The answer is probably not.)
Are AI Search Engines Better Than Traditional Search Engines?
Depending on the prompt, an AI search engine might work better for you, but not always. In many ways, AI search engines work with the same fundamental information as traditional search engines: AI search engines just leverage an LLM to do the traditional searching for you and provide answers directly. So, don’t expect an AI search engine to give you answers that a traditional one can’t find.
Is Google an AI Search Engine?
If you go to Google and search for something, you’re using Google’s traditional search engine. However, Google puts AI Overviews at the top of results pages. Google calls its AI Overviews “snapshot[s] of key information about a topic or question with links so you can easily explore more on the web” and not necessarily answers to questions. On the other hand, if you click the AI Mode tab in Google Search, you’re using Google’s full-featured AI search engine. AI Mode lets you prompt a LLM (Google’s Gemini in this case) for answers.
Is Deep Research an AI Search?
Deep research is usually a feature of AI chatbots, but it’s a type of AI search. Whereas an AI search engine might take a few seconds to answer a question in a paragraph or two and cite a couple of sources, a deep research feature can take upwards of 10 minutes to generate a report spanning dozens of pages and citing over fifty sources. Put simply, deep research is a more detailed and in-depth version of AI search.
Recommended by Our Editors
Are AI Search Engines Free?
In most cases, AI search engines are free. However, some AI search engines have premium plans. Our favorite free AI search engine is Komi, thanks to its straightforward design and reliable results. Our favorite overall favorite AI search engine, Google’s AI Mode, is also free to use, albeit with some limits. In general, most people won’t need to pay for a premium AI search engine.
