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There was a time when typing all of my geeky, gaming, and vacation inquiries into Google was a daily occurrence.Once a lightbulb came on over my head and compelled me to look up the best home office upgrades, the most up-to-date news about varied topics, and gaming tech that made me want to burn a hole in my wallet, I’d go to Google to find all the information I desired. With the inclusion of AI overviews and the tried-and-true tradition of pages full of links, I’ve been slowly moving away from relying on Google and doing all my searches with chatbots.Thanks to the AI tools I’ve become familiar with this year, my daily search sessions have given me more personalized results. And thanks to those chatbots’ ability to analyze my prompts, compare options, and reason through them before giving me what I’m looking for, AI searching has become a go-to practice.To give you an idea of how AI searching has proven to be better than Google searches, here’s a collection of prompts that work wonders for me.The prompts I prefer over a traditional Google search
(Image credit: Shutterstock)These seven prompts provide examples of those types of situations where I present them to a chatbot with the hope of getting personalized responses that distill all the information I need about topic research, future purchase inquiries, and more:The “I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for” search: I have $500 to spend on upgrading my home office. I already have a MacBook Air and a 27-inch monitor. Research current options and recommend the 5 upgrades that would make the biggest difference to my productivity. Prioritize genuinely useful items over gimmicks, and explain why each is worth the money.The “compare 10 things at once” search: Compare the 10 best AI voice recorders and wearables available right now for someone who has frequent meetings. Evaluate transcription accuracy, speaker identification, summaries, integrations, privacy, pricing, and mobile support. Rank them from best to worst and tell me which one you'd choose for a heavy daily user.The “find the best option for me” search: I want to visit Japan for 7 days in May. I love video games, anime, great food, and unusual experiences, but I don't want a rushed itinerary. Research current attractions and build me a realistic itinerary that balances Tokyo, Kyoto, and one less-touristy destination. Explain every major choice.The “research a complicated question” search: I want to understand whether buying an OLED TV is actually worth it compared with a high-end Mini-LED TV in 2026. Research current models, prices, brightness, contrast, burn-in concerns, gaming performance, and reviews. Give me a simple verdict for movies, sports, and console gaming.The “find something incredibly specific” search: Find me a pair of wireless headphones under $250 that have excellent noise cancellation, strong microphones for calls, multipoint Bluetooth, physical controls, and at least 25 hours of battery life. Eliminate anything that fails even one requirement, then rank the remaining options.The “make sense of the internet” search: Research the biggest developments in AI over the past month. Ignore routine product announcements and focus only on developments that could meaningfully change how ordinary people use AI. Identify the 7 most important developments, explain what happened, why it matters, and what consumers should actually do differently because of it.The “answer the question behind my question” search: I want to buy an Asus ROG Ally X, but I'm not sure whether I actually need one. Ask me the 7 most important questions about how I play games, what devices I own, where I play, and what games I like. Then use my answers to determine whether I should buy one, recommend alternatives if I shouldn't, and explain your reasoning.Figuring out if what I want is something I actually need
