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Safari uses the search engine selected in its search settings when you submit a web search from the address or Smart Search field. On Mac, you can set different engines for regular and Private Browsing. On iPhone, you choose a default search engine in Settings. Search suggestions are a separate option: they can send partial terms to a search engine but do not select which engine Safari uses.

How Safari selects the search engine

The engine is a setting, not a choice Safari documents as being made from your search history, location, or a hidden automatic-selection rule. Apple describes the Mac Smart Search field this way: “A search engine looks across the internet for webpages, based on the words and phrases you enter in the Smart Search field.” Apple Support: Choose a search engine for Safari on Mac.

Apple’s public guides explain how to choose an engine, but do not explain Safari’s internal rules for deciding whether typed text is a web address, a search, or another action. The available engine choices may also vary by device, operating system, or region; Apple’s cited guides do not establish one universal list.

Change the search engine on Mac

  1. Open Safari and choose Safari > Settings.
  2. Open the Search pane.
  3. Choose an engine from Search engine for regular browsing. Apple documents a separate Private Browsing search engine control for Private Browsing. See Apple’s Safari search settings guide.

You can also change the engine from the Smart Search field: clear the field, click its magnifying-glass menu, and choose an engine. Apple documents this quick switch in Choose a search engine for Safari on Mac.

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Change the search engine on iPhone

Open Settings, then use the path available on your iOS version:

Tap Search Engine and select the option you want. The menu labels or path can differ between iOS versions. Apple’s cited iPhone guidance does not establish a separate search-engine control for Private Browsing like the one documented for Mac.

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Search suggestions are a separate setting

Suggestions do not determine the selected engine. They affect whether Safari requests suggested searches based on what you have started typing.

On Mac

In Safari > Settings > Search, Include search engine suggestions controls suggestions from the selected search engine. Apple warns that the search engine may record the terms. Safari Suggestions is a distinct Apple suggestions feature. See Apple’s Safari search settings guide.

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  • BUCKLE UP — Along with a next-generation CPU, faster unified memory, and up to 2x faster SSD storage,* M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a more powerful GPU with a Neural Accelerator built into each core, delivering faster AI performance and on-device training capabilities. So you can blaze through demanding workloads at mind-bending speeds.
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On iPhone

In Safari’s search settings, Search Engine Suggestions has its own toggle. Turning suggestions on or off changes suggestion behavior; it does not change the engine selected in Search Engine. Apple describes these controls in its iPhone Safari settings guide.

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  • HAPPILY EVER FASTER — Along with its faster CPU and unified memory, M5 features a more powerful GPU with a Neural Accelerator built into each core, delivering faster AI performance. So you can blaze through demanding workloads at mind-bending speeds.
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What to check if Safari uses an unexpected engine

  • Check the selected engine in Safari’s search settings rather than assuming Safari chose based on your location or past searches.
  • On Mac, check both the regular search engine and the Private Browsing search engine; they can be set separately.
  • On Mac, inspect the magnifying-glass menu in the cleared Smart Search field if you want to change the engine quickly.
  • Review suggestion controls separately if your concern is whether partial terms are sent to request suggestions.

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