With default installation settings, Windows 10 uses the Bing search engine when you perform a web search from the Start/taskbar search box. The web search results are automatically opened in the Edge browser even if you have set a different program as your default web browser.
Although it’s true that the Start/taskbar search is primarily used to launch installed programs and not to search the web, there are users who use it to search the web quickly.
Search Deflector
is a free program developed to set your own search engine as the default start/taskbar search engine in Windows 10. The program also enables you to configure the Start/taskbar search to use a custom web browser instead of Edge to show search results.
According to the developer, the Search Deflector automatically redirects search made from Start/taskbar search box to the search engine and web browser you would like to use.
Here is how to use the Search Deflector to set a custom search engine and web browser as default for Start/taskbar search.
Make Google the default search engine for taskbar/Start search
Step 1: Visit this page of GitHub and download the latest version of Search Deflector installer.
Step 2: Run the installer. During the installation, you will get a Command Prompt window with a message asking to select one of the installed browsers to set as the default browser for Start/taskbar search.
Please enter the number appearing next to the browser entry and then hit Enter key.
When you are asked for the confirmation, type Y and then hit Enter key.
Step 3: Next, you will be asked to select a search engine. As you can see in the picture below, the tool offers over 12 search engines to choose from, and there is also an option to set a custom URL. Type the number that represents one of the listed browsers and then hit Enter key.
Type Y button when you are asked to confirm the selection.
Finally, when you get “Press Enter to close the setup” message, please do the same to close the Command Prompt window.
That’s it!