Google gets a new rival as Brave Search opens to the public

Brave, the maker of a popular ad blocking browser, opened on Tuesday a public beta of its privacy-focused search engine, a first step in creating a product that could compete with market titan Google. Brave Search will become the default search engine in the Brave browser later this year.

Unlike other new search engines, which generally repackage results from Google and Microsoft's Bing, Brave is building an independent index of the web. Brave Search will rely on Bing in some areas, like images, where its own results aren't yet good enough. And for ordinary searches, Brave can blend in Google results for people who enable the feature when prompted.

Initially, Brave Search won't show ads -- the chief way that Google monetizes its search results. Later, it'll offer free, ad-supported search and a paid option with no ads.

Taking on Google is an enormous undertaking. More than 92% all searches go through Google, according to analytics firm StatCounter. Bing is a distant second with less than 3%. But an opportunity may have opened as Google comes under intensifying pressure to protect consumer privacy and as governments around the world ramp up antitrust scrutiny. Public opinion, legal action and legislation could help smaller challengers take on Big Tech.

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