When you search online, it’s pretty common to open multiple tabs just to find one clear answer. AI search engines change that. Instead of showing you multiple websites, they summarize information and give direct answers. The question now is: are they really better than what we’ve been using for decades, or are they just complicating things?
What Is an AI Search Engine?
An AI search engine is not much different from your regular ChatGPT chats. It uses large language models (LLMs) to understand your query, gathers data from various sources, and provides you with a summary of the findings. And yes, the answers are provided in a conversational tone, often with follow-up questions to expand your query. In some cases, you’ll get links or sources of where the AI got the information from.
How Do AI Search Engines Work?
AI search engines work by first breaking your question into smaller ideas to understand what you really need. Then, they scan millions of pieces of content, either from their training data or across published online posts. In a matter of seconds, they provide an answer to your query, which may include links to sources, as we mentioned earlier.
In short, AI search engines act like a middleman and an assistant at the same time: they search what you need and give you a, well, TLDR answer. No need for you to go through hundreds of websites to find what you are looking for.
What Is the Difference Between a Traditional Search Engine and an AI Search Engine?
The main difference today is how much work you still have to do to get your answer. Let’s take a closer look:
Search Results
One of the glaring differences between old-school search engines and AI-powered ones is how they present information to you.
For instance, on Google, when you search for “what is a cat,” you get an AI summary at the top, ads, and then a list of websites that answer your query.
Here’s what it looks like:
But when you go directly to an AI search engine like Perplexity and enter the same query, you are not greeted with different websites. Instead, you get a direct answer with clickable links or sources.
Another difference? You get to enjoy an ad-free experience with AI search engines (at least for now).
One Search vs. Ongoing Conversation
Now, what if you have a follow-up question? With traditional search engines, you have to open a new tab and perform another search. AI, on the other hand, you can just ask in the same chat.
Perplexity, for instance, even has a list of follow-up questions for you to choose from:
[Photo of Perplexity]
You Do the Work vs. The Tool Does It for You
With traditional search, even when you get a quick summary, you still have to look at individual sources. AI search removes that step. It pulls from multiple sources at once and turns them into one clear explanation, so you don’t have to piece everything together manually.
What Are the Top AI Search Engines?
Now that you understand how AI search engines work, here is a run-down of the free AI search engines:
Google AI Mode
Website: www.google.com/ai
Yes, Google has its own AI search engine known as Google AI mode. You enter your query, and, as we mentioned earlier, the AI provides a direct answer with links to its sources.
The answer, per se, is structured with headers and a bullet list to make the text more digestible. It also added relevant information. In my “What is a cat” query, I also got key characteristics, types, and domestication.
Now, what if you want to verify the provided information? Google has its sources baked directly into the AI-generated answer. On the right side, there is also a list of reliable sources.
It is also simple to use. You just type your query and get an answer in an instant. Plus, there is an AI mode history, allowing you to jump through old chats or pick up where you left off. Aside from typing general queries, you can also use voice search, upload an image or PDF, and create images.
Perplexity
Website: www.perplexity.ai
Using the same “what is a cat” query, Perplexity provided the same structured approach and citations. What makes it different from Google AI mode, you ask? There are three things.
First, you are provided with a list of follow-up questions at the end of the answer. Second, navigating to the “images” at the top lets you access query-related photos (in my case, cats) from different websites. Lastly, there is a “Links” tab that lists all of its sources.
Aside from general queries, you can navigate to Perplexity Health, Perplexity Finance, Perplexity Academic, Perplexity Patents, and more for a more tailored experience.
What makes it even more interesting is that you have access to different LLMs (Sonar, ChatGPT 5.4, and more), but you need to sign up and pay to access these.
Microsoft Copilot (Bing)
Website: www.copilot.microsoft.com
With Copilot, you can choose between Smart, Think deeper, Study and Learn, and Search. In my “what is a cat” query, I selected “Search” and got this:
Compared to Perplexity or Google AI mode, the answer is more succinct. Even the related information is kept short.
It doesn’t include follow-up questions, but it does have underlined keywords that open a new chat when clicked, letting you explore the topic further.
There are citations, too, but not as well presented as Perplexity of Google AI mode.
ChatGPT Search
Unlike CoPilot, Google AI mode, and Perplexity, ChatGPT Search only focuses on what you really want to know. Again, using my “what is a cat” query, the AI answered my question, omitting details (history, types, etc) that other AI search engines included.
Is this a good thing? If you prefer a short and straight-to-the-point answer, then, yes. But worry not, you can switch to Deep Research (you have to create an account or get the free plan, though).
When I changed to “Deep Research,” it took several minutes (more than seven minutes). Here is a snippet of what I got:
It is significantly longer and can be helpful for academic research or academic papers. But for quick answers, it is a bit overkill.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it! AI search engines just make it easier to find what you are looking for because you spend less time clicking around. But that doesn’t mean you should trust it 100%. Fact-checking is always crucial, whether you get the info from traditional search engines or AI-powered ones.