Don’t like Windows 10 using Bing for the start menu search? Here’s a simple way to set Google as the default search engine and redirect Bing searches to Google in your favorite browser.
Whenever you search for something in the start menu, it shows web results too. Being a Microsoft product, all the web results are powered by the Bing search engine. As a result, when you click on a web result, it will open the result in the Bing search engine. Not to mention, the start menu ignores your default browser preference and forces you to open the Microsoft Edge browser for the search query. For example, even when you set Google Chrome as your default browser, the web results in the start menu forces you to open the Edge browser. If you want to, you can completely disable web results in the start menu.
Though not a bit deal for the most part, if we are being honest, Bing is nowhere as accurate as Google search engine. So, if you don’t like this behavior, you can change the default start menu search engine from Bing to Google. Additionally, you can also force Start Menu to open the search query in your favorite browser rather than in the Microsoft Edge browser.
So, without further ado, let me show you can do it in simple steps.
Google as Default Search Engine in Windows 10 Start Menu
To redirect Bing searches to Google in Windows 10, we have to intercept the query. Though sounds complicated, it is very easy to do thanks to a free and open-source application called SearchDeflector. All you have to do is install the application and configure it. It will do all the heavy lifting for you.
1. First, go to the official Github page and download the installer. Since there are two types of installers (.exe and .appx), download the regular EXE version. If you like the software, you can download the Store version directly from the Microsoft Store and support the developer.
2. After downloading Search Deflector, install it like any other Windows software.
3. At the end of the installation procedure, Search Deflector will open a wizard window for the initial configuration. In the setup window, select your preferred browser from the first drop-down menu, select your preferred search engine from the second drop-down menu and click on the “Apply” button.
Along with Google, Search Deflector also supports other search engines like DuckDuckGo and StartPage. Select the search engine of your choice.
4. Finally, complete the installation procedure by clicking on the “Finish” button.
5. (Important) Now, search for something in the start menu and click on the web result. You will see an app picker window. Here’s select “Deflector”, select “Always use this app” checkbox and click on the “Ok” button.
That is it. From now only, your start menu web searches will open in your favorite browser using Google or another preferred search engine.
If you ever want to modify the Search Deflector settings, simply launch the application from the Start Menu. You will see the familiar configuration window where you can modify the default search engine and the browser.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, changing the start menu search engine from Bing to Google is nothing hard. After all, the app is doing all the heavy lifting of redirecting start menu Bing searches to Google.
Simply put, Search Deflector is a neat little app that does exactly what it says. It is minimal and works in the background without much effort. If you like the app, do consider purchasing the Microsoft Store version. It costs you less than two bucks.
Hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.
