If Chrome keeps switching your search engine to one you didn’t pick, set it back first, then find what is changing it. Check three things: your extensions, whether a policy has made Chrome “managed”, and the programs on your computer. Google’s help says that if you set your search engine and the change doesn’t stick, you may have malware (Set default search engine and site search shortcuts).
Set your search engine back
- Open Chrome and select More (the three dots at the top right) > Settings.
- Select Search engine.
- Under “Search engine,” select Change and choose the one you want.
Then clean up the list: select Manage search engines and site search, or paste chrome://settings/searchEngines into the address bar. Next to any entry you don’t recognize, select More > Delete. For more on choosing and adding search engines, see how to change your search engine in Chrome.
If Settings says an extension is controlling it
When an extension has taken over search, Chrome’s search engine setting names it and says it is controlling this setting. Chrome may also ask “Did you mean to change your search provider?” or “Change back to Google Search?” with the buttons Change it back and Keep it. Choose Change it back, then remove the extension:
- Paste
chrome://extensionsinto the address bar. - Find the extension Chrome named, plus any others you don’t recognize.
- Select Remove and confirm (Google’s extension help).
If you can’t change it at all
If Chrome won’t let you change the setting, check whether it is managed. Select More (the three dots) and look at the bottom of the menu. Google says that if you see Managed by your organization, your browser is managed (Check if your Chrome browser is managed).
- Work or school computer: your administrator can choose the default search engine. That is expected, so ask them.
- Your own computer: open
chrome://policyto see what was set. Google’s fix for a personal device is to remove unwanted programs and extensions and then reset Chrome. Our guide to removing “Managed by your organization” covers it step by step.
If it changes back after a restart
A program on the computer is probably resetting it. Follow the full clean-up in how to remove a browser hijacker from Chrome: uninstall programs you don’t recognize, run a full antivirus scan, then reset Chrome’s settings, which puts the default search engine back (Reset Chrome settings to default).
Changes that are not a hijack
- Chrome undid a change. Each time it starts, Chrome checks whether a program changed your settings and restores safe defaults if so. When it resets your search, a small notice appears on the next results page with Got it and Learn more (Google’s malware help). Set your preferred engine again afterwards.
- Chrome asked you to choose. Google says that in some countries Chrome asks you to choose a default search engine rather than using Google Search automatically. Picking one there is normal.
- You signed in to a work or school account. Its administrator may set the search engine for you.