What is an AI search engine?
AI search engines use technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning to contextualize user queries. Unlike typical search engines that generated a list of web links, AI search engines present an answer or answers, often summarized, along with citations, and allow a conversation with the AI.
How does AI search differ from traditional search?
- Natural language understanding: They have the ability to “understand” meaning instead of focusing solely on just the user’s keywords or phrases.
- Summaries over links: They deliver the “answer” with references (links) usually hidden from initial view.
- Conversation and context: You can follow-up on the earlier question without having to repeat the entire query.
- Learning over time: Some AI learn from your last set of searches, in order to provide better results for your next search.
Why consider an AI powered search engine?
- Quicker answers: You get a straight answer without needing to go to a number of different sites.
- Better interpretation: AI tends to understand context and intent better.
- Helpful tutorials and break-downs: Good for things like researching or writing.
- Privacy options: Some options provide a greater capacity for data protection.
Leading AI search engines
1. Perplexity
- Designed for conversational search with subsequent queries.
- Supplies counts of sources and summary-type answers.
- Provided as a free version; you can pay $20/month for additional features with the Pro version.
- Good for research, just a little slower when it comes to current events.
- Feedback from users tends to emphasize that it is easy to use and useful to see the source.
2. Google AI Mode / SGE (Search Generative Experience)
- Artificial intelligence driven search engine that is hybrid, meaning it is part of regular Google Search.
- Appears as a tab besides traditional links and – Google SGE’s “News”, “Images” or “Any, All” tabs.
- Free and displays that it provided the AI generated answer.
- Good for current questions; it’s part of the Google ecosystem.
3. Bing Copilot
- Artificial intelligence powered search embedded in Bing.
- Free. They also offer a web chat and voice option.
- Utilizes real-time web results.
- Good for people already on the Microsoft ecosystem.
4. You.com
- Privacy and personalization focused.
- Chat-first artificial intelligence virtual assistant; at the time of this writing, the only AI that also draws from web data and supports images.
- Provides a cleaner ad-less experience.
5. Andi
- Made for quick, no distractions answers.
- Very bare interface; speedy answer.
- Basic interface, but quick and effective for basic answers.
6. ChatGPT Search / ChatGPT with Browsing
- ChatGPT-4 based chatbot-style search with access to the web.
- Ideal for precise answers and gathering a lot of information.
- Free in standard mode, $20/month to access Pro Plan.
- Great support for reasoning, great support for research.
7. Brave Leo
- Privacy first, baked into the Brave browser.
- Contains its own index and community based filtering.
- Provides AI answers, no ads.
8. Kagi
- Paid for search, minimalist search and allows variations.
- Includes AI answers and provides quick synopsis.
- Lets user filter discussions or pdf easily.
Comparison Summary
1. Perplexity
- Best for: Research & conversation
- Price: Free / $20 Pro
- Notes: Provides citations, limited news coverage
2. Google SGE (Search Generative Experience)
- Best for: Up-to-date general use
- Price: Free
- Notes: Combines traditional search with AI summaries
3. Bing Copilot
- Best for: Microsoft users, voice search
- Price: Free
- Notes: Pulls real-time web data, integrates with Microsoft ecosystem
4. You.com
- Best for: Privacy & personalization
- Price: Free / Paid plans available
- Notes: Chat-based interface, supports real-time data
5. Andi
- Best for: Quick, distraction-free answers
- Price: Free
- Notes: Simple interface, suitable for basic queries
6. ChatGPT Search (ChatGPT with Browsing)
- Best for: Deep, chatbot-style searching
- Price: Free / $20 Pro
- Notes: Excellent for logic, synthesis, and reasoning tasks
7. Brave Leo
- Best for: Privacy-conscious users
- Price: Free
- Notes: Uses independent index, delivers ad-free answers
8. Kagi
- Best for: Power users & custom filtering
- Price: Paid only
- Notes: Offers clean interface and personalized features
9. NeevaAI
- Best for: Users who want private, ad-free search
- Price: Paid only
- Notes: Prioritizes privacy and clean results without ads
Choosing the right AI driven search engine
1. Goal
- Research? Try Perplexity or ChatGPT Search.
- Daily inquiries? Google SGE or Bing Copilot.
- Privacy-first? You.com, Brave, or NeevaAI.
- Mobile chat? Andi.
2. Budget
- Free options: Perplexity, Google, Bing, Andi, Brave, You.com (basic).
- Paid features: Pro plans on some, subscriptions on others.
3. Interface
- Chat style: Perplexity, ChatGPT, You.com.
- Hybrid search: Google, Bing, Brave, Kagi.
4. Privacy
Use privacy metrics if personal data is a concern.
Free vs paid AI search engines
Free editions provide basic functions, including contextual search. Some enhancements include
- Faster responses, model options, document uploads,
- Custom filters and additional data sources are available, with no company-sponsored ads.
For example:
- Perplexity Pro: $20/month for document uploads and advanced models,
- ChatGPT Pro: $20/month for GPT-4 levels,
- You.com: Customization options with paid tiers,
Risks and important points
- Vision: AI can produce fabrications.
- Privacy: Ad-based models may collect information of users-check policies.
- Trust your sources: Check citations ALWAYS.
- Impact on the web: AI summarization may affect web traffic and content producers.
The future of AI search engine
- Anticipate more multimodal searches (using images, voice).
- More browsing-enabled AI bots will emerge like ChatGPT.
- More improved, enhanced AGI models focused on privacy will be differentiated.
- Publishers have begun to deploy AI-producing engines in AI like Taboola’s DeeperDive.
- Governments and businesses will also look for sovereign AI search models—type of Perplexity through Nvidia in Europe.
Conclusion
AI search engines are changing the way information is searched. They are AI driven tools that embody a search engine, present you with answers, comprehend the context of your search, and can even hold a conversation with you. Choosing the basic ai search engine version or premium version, is a true consideration of what do you need?
If you need to do deep research, practically all deep research uses materials from more obscure sources. In that case you could use: Perplexity or ChatGPT Search.
If what you need is everyday questions, then you could use: Google SGE or Bing Copilot.
If you are looking to emphasize privacy and customization, then you could use: You.com, Brave Savanna, or NeevaAI.
Use responsibly. Fact check, support original content, and find what works for you. These AI driven search engines and searching in general are not a fad right now they’re impacting the way we search…for good.
