Browser maker and Google Search alternative Brave announced on Monday that it is adding a new feature to its AI-powered search suite. This feature, called Ask Brave, is designed to provide detailed answers on a topic based on a user’s query.
The company stated that this new feature will coexist alongside its AI Answers feature, which was introduced last year to give summarized responses to search queries. Brave revealed that people are already getting more than 15 million AI answers every day through its platform.
You do not need to switch to a special mode to use Ask Brave. The search engine will automatically recognize the type of query you are asking and provide a response accordingly. You can use the ask button next to the Brave search box to begin a search. You can also turn a normal search query into an AI search query by tapping into the ask tab on the search results page. For users who have Brave set as their default search engine, appending a double question mark to a query will initiate an Ask Brave search.
Chief of Search at Brave, Josep M. Pujol, explained the difference between the two features in a statement. He said that while AI Answers give users quick summaries, Ask Brave provides longer answers, follow-ups, and a chat mode enhanced with Deep Research. He emphasized that it also includes contextually relevant enrichments such as videos, news articles, products, and shopping information in the right place at the right time. Pujol noted that search makes this possible and large language models glue it together. The company anticipates that Ask Brave will generate millions more daily AI-powered answers with this powerful combination of search and chat.
The format of the answer from Ask Brave is more akin to a report from services like ChatGPT or Perplexity, which includes links, videos, and image carousels. After receiving an answer, users can ask the AI chatbot to convert the answer into a different format or ask follow-up questions.
Brave said that it is using its own API to ground search results for accuracy, along with deep research for certain queries.
AI-powered question and answer features are now appearing in various search experiences. Google has expanded its AI mode to multiple languages, including a global rollout for Spanish last week. Brave’s feature is similar but comes with a privacy claim that the company encrypts users’ chats and deletes them after 24 hours of inactivity.