Search without the surveillance — plus an AI sidekick

Brave Search runs its own web index (no Google reselling) and bakes in Brave Leo, a conversational AI that summarizes results and answers questions inline. For users who want ChatGPT-style help without feeding Big Tech, it's the privacy-friendly default.

Who it's for: Privacy-conscious users who still want AI answers while they search.

Key features

Independent index No Google

Brave builds its own crawl — results aren't repackaged from elsewhere.

Brave Leo AI answers

Summarize pages, compare sources, and chat — right in the sidebar.

No tracking Private by default

No profiling, no creepy retargeting across the web.

Goggles You steer

Apply custom ranking rules to bias results toward what you care about.

The honest take

✓ What works

Genuine privacy — independent index
Leo AI answers without an account
No ads that follow you around
Goggles let you customize ranking
Free

✗ What doesn't

Index smaller than Google/Bing for niche queries
Leo sometimes less capable than ChatGPT
Fewer integrations
Ad-free model means fewer features than funded rivals

Verdict

Brave Search is the search engine to recommend to anyone who wants AI-helpful search without the surveillance. Free, private, and with Leo built in, it's the most credible Google alternative in 2026.

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