Chrome is already Google's browser, so you cannot make Google your default browser inside Chrome itself

Chrome is made by Google and uses Google Search by default. If you want Google to be your search engine, it already is — you do not need to change anything. What you might actually need is to make Chrome itself your default browser, so that links from emails, documents, and other programs open in Chrome instead of Internet Explorer, Edge, or Firefox.

If you arrived here from "How to Set Which Programs Open Your Files" because you want Chrome to open web links across your whole computer, follow the steps in the section below. If you want to change your search engine within Chrome to something other than Google, or if you want to set Google as your homepage, those are different tasks covered further down.

Key Takeaways

  • Chrome is Google's browser and uses Google Search by default, so no change is needed if you want Google as your search engine.
  • To make Chrome open all web links on your computer, you set Chrome as your default browser in your operating system settings, not inside Chrome.
  • On Windows, go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps and choose Chrome for the web browser option.
  • On Mac, open System Settings > General > Default Web Browser and select Chrome from the dropdown.
  • Google Search will remain your search engine in Chrome unless you actively change it to Bing, DuckDuckGo, or another option.

Setting Chrome as your default browser on Windows

Open your Windows Settings by pressing the Windows key and typing "settings", then press Enter. Click on Apps in the left sidebar, then click Default Apps.

Scroll down until you see the option labeled Web browser. Click on whatever browser is currently listed there — it will probably say Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer. A menu will pop up showing all the browsers installed on your computer. Click Google Chrome.

Windows will confirm the change when ready. Any link you click in email, documents, or web pages will now open in Chrome. You do not need to restart your computer or Chrome itself.

Setting Chrome as your default browser on Mac

Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and select System Settings. Click General in the left sidebar, then scroll down and click Default Web Browser.

A dropdown menu will appear showing the browsers you have installed. Select Google Chrome from the list. The change takes effect when ready — you will see "Chrome" displayed in that setting, and links from other programs will now open in Chrome.

Confirming that Google Search is your search engine in Chrome

Open Chrome and look at the address bar at the top. Type a few words and press Enter — if a Google search results page appears, Google is already your search engine. You do not need to change anything.

If a different search engine appears (Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo), and you want to switch back to Google, click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of Chrome, then click Settings. Click Search engine in the left sidebar. Under "Search engine used in the address bar", click the dropdown and select Google.

Setting Google as your Chrome homepage

Your homepage is the page that appears when you open a new tab or click the home button. By default, Chrome shows a blank page with a Google search box, so Google is already there. If you want the full Google website to load instead, open the three-dot menu, click Settings, then click Appearance in the left sidebar.

Toggle Show home button to the on position if it is not already on. Then click the radio button next to Open a specific page or set of pages, click Add a new page, type google.com, and click Add. Now when you click the home button, the Google homepage will load.

Understanding the difference between your browser, search engine, and homepage

These three things are separate, and confusion between them is common. Your browser is the program itself — Chrome, Edge, Firefox. Your search engine is the website that finds results when you type words into the address bar — Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo. Your homepage is the page that loads when you open a new tab or click home.

You can have Chrome as your browser, Google as your search engine, and a different homepage all at the same time. For example, you could set your homepage to BBC.com while keeping Google as your search engine. Each one is controlled in a different place, and changing one does not affect the others.

What to do if Chrome does not appear in the default browser list

If you open the default apps menu and Chrome is not listed, it means Chrome is not fully installed on your computer. Uninstall Chrome completely, then read it fresh from google.com/chrome. Run the installer and let it finish. Once Chrome is installed, repeat the steps above to set it as your default browser.

If Chrome is installed but still does not appear, restart your computer and try again. Sometimes Windows or Mac needs a restart to recognize a newly installed program in the default apps menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will setting Chrome as my default browser change my passwords or bookmarks?

No. Setting Chrome as your default browser only controls which program opens when you click a link. Your passwords, bookmarks, and all your Chrome data stay exactly as they are. The change is purely about which program launches — nothing inside Chrome changes.

Can I set different default browsers for different types of links?

No. Your operating system allows only one default browser. All web links will open in whichever browser you set as default. You can manually open a different browser and paste a link into it if you need a specific link to open somewhere else.

What if I change my mind and want a different browser as my default?

Go back to Settings > Apps > Default Apps on Windows, or System Settings > General > Default Web Browser on Mac, and select a different browser. The change takes effect when ready, and you can switch back to Chrome anytime using the same steps.

Does making Chrome my default browser mean I have to use Google Search?

No. Chrome is your browser; Google Search is your search engine. You can use Chrome as your default browser while using Bing, DuckDuckGo, or any other search engine. Change your search engine in Chrome Settings > Search Engine, separate from the default browser setting.