Set Google As Default Search Engine In Internet Explorer 11 In Windows 10

Internet Explorer is no longer the default web browser in the Windows operating system. With Windows 10, Microsoft introduced Edge browser and made it the default web browser.

Although there is a new browser from Microsoft for Windows 10, Internet Explorer 11 continues to be part of Windows 10. While it’s certain that v11 is the latest and last version of Internet Explorer, millions of PC users are still using it.

In Internet Explorer 11, just like in earlier versions, Bing is the default search engine. Bing search engine has evolved over the years, and it has a decent market share in many regions, but most users use Google when it comes to web search and want to make it the default search engine in Internet Explorer 11 as well.

Changing the default internet search engine in Internet Explorer 11 is not a very straight-forward task. There are no options under settings to set Google or any other search engine as the default.

Luckily, Microsoft offers a couple of add-ons for Internet Explorer using which you can set Google as the default search engine.

Set Google as the default search engine in Internet Explorer 11

Follow the directions given below to set Google as the default search engine in Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 10.

Step 1: Open Internet Explorer browser. Click the Tools icon (gear icon) located just below the close button and then click Manage add-ons option.

Step 2: Click Find more toolbars and extensions link. This will open Internet Explorer gallery webpage in your default browser from where you can install add-ons and extensions for Internet Explorer.

IMPORTANT: If the Internet Explorer gallery page is opened in a browser other than Internet Explorer, please copy and paste the Internet Explorer gallery webpage link in Internet Explorer browser to open the same webpage in Internet Explorer. This is because you cannot install Internet Explorer extensions from other browsers. You can install IE extensions only when the Internet Explorer gallery page is open in Internet Explorer browser.

Step 3: Scroll down the gallery page to see Google Search extension. Click the Add button. When you see the confirmation dialog, click Add button again.

Step 4: Now that you have installed Google Search extension, click the Tools icon (appears just below the close button of IE) and then click Manage add-ons.

Step 5: In the left Add-on Types column, click Search Providers to see Google Search entry on the right-side. Here, on the right-side, you will see all installed search engines.

Step 6: Finally, select the Google Search entry by clicking on the same and then click Set as default button to set Google Search as the default search engine in Internet Explorer 11 browser.

To restore Bing as the default search engine again, please select Bing Search in Step 6 and then set it as default.

Also learn, how to make Google default search engine in Edge.