How to change the search engine in the browser

Let’s see how to change the search engine in the browser to use a different search engine to get the information you need, instead of the default search engine installed. This choice determines what you see in the search results.

Each search engine works according to its own algorithms; user requests entered into the browser’s address bar are processed differently. Therefore, the user sees different results in the issuance in the form of certain sites.

Do not confuse the choice of a search engine with the search bar on the main pages of Yandex, Google or Bing. These websites use their own search engine which cannot be changed.

In this guide you will find instructions on how to change the search engine in the browser. In the article we will consider the most popular browsers: Yandex Browser, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, running on the Windows operating system.

How to change the search engine in Yandex Browser

In Yandex Browser, the default search engine is Yandex (Yandex), from the Internet portal of the same name, and we understand why this is happening. In the settings of the program options, you can change the current search engine, select a different one, or add a new one.

In order to change the search engine in Yandex Browser, you need to change the settings of the “smart bar” (address bar), which is used to enter a search query, site name or insert a link.

Let’s see how to choose a search engine in Yandex Browser:

1. Right click on the smart line.
2. In the context menu, click on the “Manage search engines …” item.
3. On the “Search engine settings” browser options page, select another suitable search engine from among those offered.
4. Select it in a special form or hover your mouse over the name of the search engine, and then click on “Set as default”.
5. As a result of changing the settings, another search engine will be used as the default search in Yandex Browser.

Now you will receive information using the selected search engine.

How to add a search engine to Yandex Browser

You can add a new search engine to the list of search engines if it is not among those available in the proposed list.

Do the following:

1. Click on “Add” in the upper right corner of the settings page.
2. In the “Add search engine” window, enter the name, key (letter or word) and link (URL with the “%s” parameter instead of a query), click the “Add” button.
3. If you want to use this search engine in the future, then move the mouse cursor to its name, and then click on “Set as default”.

Unnecessary search engines can be removed from the list by clicking on “Remove”.

In addition, you can quickly change search engines if you need to get different results for a particular query. In the pop-up window after typing the text of the query before pressing the “Enter” key or clicking on the search icon, the buttons of several popular search engines will be displayed in the lower right corner, which you can use to get the necessary information.

How to change search engine in Google Chrome browser

In the Google Chrome browser, the search engine is Google, but you can change this by selecting a different search engine to use in the address bar (omnibox).

Go through the steps:

1. Click on the “Customize and control Google Chrome” button (three dots in the upper right corner).
2. Select “Settings” from the context menu.
3. In the left menu, click on the “Search Engine” option.
4. In the “Search engine used in the address bar” option, click on the arrow in the field for the name of the current search engine.
5. The drop-down list contains several search engines, one of which you can choose.

How to add search engine to chrome browser

If the desired search service is not in the list provided, you can add an additional search engine there.

Do the following:

1. In the search engine settings, click on the “Manage Search Engines” option.
2. In the “Other search engines” section, click on the “Add” button.
3. In the “Add search engine” window, enter the desired parameters:

• Search Engine – The name of the search engine.
• Keyword – a letter, number, or word that will be selected by this search engine.
• URL with %s parameter instead of request – copied address of the search results page, where the parameter “%s” is substituted instead of the request.

4. Click on the “Add” button.
5. To select the added search engine as the main one, in the “Other search engines” option, click on the vertical three dots in the field of the desired search engine.
6. In the context menu, click on the “Set as default” item.

How to change the search engine in the Edge browser

On current versions of the Windows operating system, the Microsoft Edge browser is used as the default browser unless the user changes this setting.

Instructions on how to change the search engine in the Edge browser:

1. After clicking on the three dots (“Settings and more”) in the upper right corner of the browser window, a context menu will open where you need to select the “Settings” item.
2. Open the “Privacy, Search, Services” tab in your browser options.
3. In the “Services” section, click on the “Address Bar and Search” option.
4. In the “Default search engine” parameter, specify a different search engine.

If you need to change the default search engine, in the “Services” section, click on “Search Engine Management”.

On the “Search engines in the address bar” page, select the appropriate option. Click on the three horizontal dots opposite a specific search engine to “Set Default”, “Edit” or “Remove”.

If there is no suitable search engine in the proposed list, click on the “Add” button.

In the “Add Search Engine” window, enter the search engine name, keyword, and URL with “%s” in place of the query, and then click the “Add” button.

To add another search engine as the main one, click on the three dots in the field of this search engine, and in the context menu that opens, select “Set as default”.

Choosing a default search engine in Mozilla Firefox

The Mozilla Firefox browser runs on a different engine, so there are slightly different settings for choosing your preferred search engine.

Do the following:

1. Click on the “Open application menu” button (three bars).
2. From the context menu, go to “Settings”.
3. Open the Search tab in your browser options.
4. In the “Default search engine” section, select a different search engine.

In the settings, you can specify alternative search engines that will appear below the address bar and search bar when you start typing your query.

Unwanted search engines can be removed from the Search Engine Icons list. Clicking on “Find other search engines” will open the Firefox browser extension store page with search tools.

Changing the search engine in Opera

In the Opera browser, like other Internet browsers, the user is offered several alternative search engines, in addition to the default search engine.

Do the following:

1. Click on the “Opera” button in the upper left corner of the browser.
2. Select the “Settings” context menu item.
3. In the “Settings” window, go to the “Search Service” section.
4. In the “Default search engine” option, select the appropriate search engine.

Through the option “Other search engines” add a new search engine to the Opera browser. In the “Keyword” field, enter the first letter of the name of this search engine, if it is not taken.

Search engines that are not in the search service list cannot be made the default search engines. But, there is a way out of this situation.

To search through another search engine, not by default, you need to enter in the address bar the keyword specified in the settings of this search engine, and then add a search query separated by a space.

As a result, you will receive a response to a query from this search engine in the results.

Article Conclusions

Any modern browser uses one of the default search engines to search from the address bar. Browser developers install their own search engine, if available, or offer another option.

In the browser settings, you can select a search engine from the list of available search engines, instead of the current service. In addition, there are options to add other search engines that you can use in your browser.