What it does well

Andi is one of the the conversational ai search engine that answers with sources, not just links. In 2026, it's a serious option for anyone in this category. We tested it for two weeks on real work — here's the honest take on what's great, what's broken, and whether it's worth your money.

Who it's for: Anyone tired of getting 10 blue links who wants a direct, cited answer instead — students, researchers, casual users.

Key features

Chat Conversational search

Ask a follow-up, then another. Andi remembers context across the thread — closer to chatting with a research assistant than querying Google.

Cite Sources built in

Every claim links back to its source. Click to verify. No more "according to the internet, maybe..."

Privacy No tracking, no ads

Andi's business model is subscriptions and partnerships, not your data. Search history isn't sold.

Reader Smart summaries

Paste a long article or PDF and ask Andi to summarize, extract, or explain it. Great for research.

The honest take

✓ What works

Free tier is genuinely useful (no login required)
Cited answers — see your sources inline
Multi-turn conversations about a topic
Privacy-first: no tracking or data sale
Clean, fast interface with no clutter

✗ What doesn't

Smaller index than Google — niche queries sometimes miss
No image search or maps yet (text-focused)
Less polished mobile app than Perplexity
Pro tier only adds a few features over free

Verdict

Andi is the best free AI search engine if you value privacy and cited sources. Perplexity is more polished, but Andi's no-tracking stance is genuinely rare in 2026. Use it as your default for research.

💡 Transparency: This review contains affiliate links. If you sign up through our link, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. We only recommend tools we use ourselves. Full disclosure.