In this post, I provide a walk-through of how to use Siri to search the Web. For instance, did you know there are specific commands you can give Siri to search the Internet for you? Siri can also comb through different search engines, like Google and Bing, when searching your query for articles, photos, and videos.
See the most common questions answered in the FAQ section, or view the complete list of Siri Web commands under Keeping Up With Siri in the table of contents below.
- FAQs
- Keeping Up With Siri
- Web Search Commands
- “Hey Siri, search the web for polar bears”
- “Hey Siri, search for vegetarian pasta recipes”
- “Hey Siri, search the web for best cable plans”
- “Hey Siri, google the war of 1812”
- “Hey Siri, bing Norah Jones”
- “Hey Siri, find pictures of killer whales”
- “Hey Siri, show me videos of Niagara Falls”
- “Hey Siri, what’s the news for Chicago?”
- Web Search Commands
FAQs
Can Siri search the Web for answers?
Yes. Siri can search Google, Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo for articles, pictures, and videos. Check out the commands listed below to learn how.
How to turn on or enable Siri Web search?
You don’t need to turn anything on to use Siri for Web search. Just say the commands listed below to search the Internet using Siri, and you’re good to go.
How do I change the default search engine for Siri?
Siri uses the default search engine for your browser. If you’re using Safari, you can change the default search engine in settings. Here’s how you find it:
- Open the Settings App
- Tap on Safari
- Tap on Search Engine
From there, you can change the default search engine to Google, Yahoo, Bing, or DuckDuckGo.
Keeping Up With Siri
Welcome to Keeping Up With Siri. In this series, I outline Apple’s Siri Guide of the complete list of commands and capabilities Apple’s Voice Assistant can do. Now that the most common questions are answered, let’s dive in to learn all of the Web search commands Siri supports on your iPhone or iPad.
Web Search Commands
“Hey Siri, search the web for polar bears”
When you use this command, Siri brings up a list of articles from Google that look like this:
From there, you can click on each entry to open it in your default browser.
“Hey Siri, search for vegetarian pasta recipes”
You don’t have to mention the word “Web” to search either. When you use this command, Siri shows you a list of recipes from Google. Like with the last command, you’re able to click on each recipe to open it in your default Web browser.
“Hey Siri, search the web for best cable plans”
This command is much like the others above. When you use this command, Siri searches your default search engine for the phrase “best cable plans.” You’ll get a list of pages to click on. And when you tap on an article, your browser will open with more information.
“Hey Siri, google the war of 1812”
You can also use the phrase “Google” or use any other search engine name to trigger a Web search.
“Hey Siri, bing Norah Jones”
As mentioned in the previous command, Siri isn’t limited to only searching Google. Even if your default search engine is set to Google, you can specify other search engines for Siri to search through. For instance, when you use this command, Siri opens the Web browser to Bing and searches for the phrase “Norah Jones.”
To summarize, there are four search engines Siri knows:
- Yahoo
- Bing
- DuckDuckGo
“Hey Siri, find pictures of killer whales”
Siri can search for pictures. First, Siri looks for pictures in your library. If nothing is found there, Siri then moves on to the Web. When you use this command, Siri searches the web using Bing for photos. Here’s what it looks like:
“Hey Siri, show me videos of Niagara Falls”
Siri can also search for videos, specifically YouTube videos. This command will show you a grid of videos available from YouTube. Tapping on a video will open your default browser to YouTube.
“Hey Siri, what’s the news for Chicago?”
This command is really a Siri News Command for it doesn’t get Siri to search the Web. Instead, when you use this command, Siri pulls up a list of articles from the News App that are related to Chicago.
When you tap on a story, the News App is opened where you can then read the full article.
With just a command, you can have Siri quickly and easily searching the World Wide Web for you. If you think that’s neat, check out what else you can do with Apple’s Voice Assistant in Keeping Up With Siri Commands.