---
title: "Let your bot search Google"
description: "Let your bot search Google, or a single website, for up-to-date information such as news, prices or documentation that isn't in its knowledge."
canonical_url: "https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/google-search"
last_updated: "2026-09-25"
---

# Let your bot search Google

**Available on:** Basic, Standard, Pro, Enterprise plans.

Add the **Google Search** power-up so your bot can search the web when the answer isn't in its knowledge, or when the information changes too often to keep in a data source.

**Who can do this:** [team owners and admins](https://chatthing.ai/docs/account/teams#what-each-role-can-do).

Example uses:

- **Current information:** news, events, flight or travel updates.
- **Search one site:** limit searches to your help centre or a trusted source, such as a research site or a supplier's documentation.
- **Research assistant:** find sources, then read the best one with [Browse a web page](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/browse-webpage).

[Video: Browse web page and Google Search power-ups (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBwA8qx31_s)

*Video walkthrough; the first part covers Google Search. Recorded in 2024, so some screens have changed since.*

## Steps

1. Open your bot, go to the **Power-ups** tab and click **New power-up**.
2. Choose **Google Search** and click **Create power-up**.
3. Edit the **Power-up name** and **Description**. Say when the bot should search, for example "Search the web for current information the knowledge base doesn't cover, like prices or news."
4. Under **Site and query**, optionally fill in:
   - **Site**: a domain such as `example.com` to search only that site. Leave blank to search the whole web.
   - **Search query**: a fixed query to run every time the power-up is used. Leave blank to let the bot write the query.
5. Optionally choose a **Display mode** to show results as cards or a table. See [Show a power-up's results visually](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/display-modes).
6. Click **Save**.
   ![Google Search power-up settings with the name and description, and optional Site and Search query fields under Site and query](https://res.cloudinary.com/djyjvrw5u/image/upload/v1711627495/google_search_power_up_settings_f76ce56602.png)

## What the bot gets back

Each search returns a page of results, each with a title, a short snippet and a link. The bot answers from these and can ask for the next page of results. It doesn't open the pages themselves. To let it read a result in full, also add [Browse a web page](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/browse-webpage).

![The bot uses Google Search to answer a question about flight prices from Birmingham to Prague, listing results with links](https://res.cloudinary.com/djyjvrw5u/image/upload/v1711627495/search_flights_chat_3d5dd70898.png)

## Check it works

1. Chat with your bot while signed in and ask about something recent that isn't in its knowledge.
2. Open **View details** on the power-up call to see the query the bot used and the results.

## Troubleshooting

### The bot searches when it should use its knowledge

Make the **Description** narrower, for example "Only search if the answer isn't in the context provided", or add a rule to your bot's [prompt](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/instructions).

### Results come from the wrong sites

Set a **Site** to restrict every search to one domain, or name trusted sources in the **Description**.

## Related

- [Let your bot read a web page](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/browse-webpage): Let your bot fetch a web page during a chat and pull out what it needs. Use any URL or one fixed page, with CSS selectors, a custom prompt and basic auth.
- [Knowledge](https://chatthing.ai/docs/knowledge): Give your bot the knowledge it answers from - add websites, files, Notion, YouTube, RSS and manual content, keep it fresh and tune retrieval.